Upcoming science forum to address climate change locally

The Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve Citizen Stewardship Committee will be hosting a science forum at Bellingham Technical College on Saturday, November 9. The forum will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Room 102J in Building G.

The forum, titled “Climate Challenges in the Salish Sea,” is free of charge and is open to the public. A $5 pizza lunch will be available for purchase.

Some of the speakers include Padilla Bay Reserve education coordinator Susan Wood, kelp biologist Max Calloway, forage fish biologist Todd Sandell and environmental studies professor Sean McDonald.

McDonald will be speaking about the recent increase in European green crabs, an invasive species recently detected in Drayton Harbor.

“The emphasis is that it’s a presentation of scientific studies and works,” science forum organizer Robert Kaye said. “It’s intended to be a somewhat scholarly afternoon, but it will all be in the backdrop of the issues of climate change.”

As a member of the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve Citizen Stewardship Committee, Kaye is responsible for surveying Cherry Point and the reserve. The committee helps provide input for ongoing citizen science projects in the area.