James Morin/SML

Harbor seals are among the marine mammals that frequent the Isles of Shoals, where expeditions leave Shoals Marine Laboratory from Appledore Island.

Ron Sher/SML

View from Celia Thaxter's Garden on Appledore island, with the one of the Shoals Marine Lab boats, the R/V Kingsbury, in the background.

Weekend getaways at Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML), Cornell University's and University of New Hampshire's seasonal marine field station in the Gulf of Maine, will be offered this summer as part of the laboratory's adult education program. Subjects include island bird study, seascape painting, marine mammal ecology and sea kayaking

Fees for the non-credit programs, which begin May 17 with "Island Bird Study" and continue through Sept. 9, with "Paddle to the Sea," range from $300 to $650 per person, double occupancy. Details are available on the Web at http://www.sml.cornell.edu/ or by calling(607) 255-3717.

"Shoals Marine Lab is primarily a facility for college undergraduate education and research, but there are so many historic and natural resources here that we want to share this special place with the rest of the world," says James G. Morin, laboratory director and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell. Appledore Island and the Isles of Shoals were remote fishing and trading outposts in the 18th century, a destination for summer guests and artists in the grand hotel era of the 19th century, and always a biodiverse habitat for marine life and birds.

"We're six miles off the Maine-New Hampshire coasts on a small, rugged island," Morin continues, " but our accommodations are comfortable, the New England-style food is fantastic, our scientific facilities are modern and well equipped and our seaworthy fleet of research vessels are very, very busy – as are the students who take credit courses each summer at this learning island. The shorter, adult-education courses are an opportunity to partake of this bounty at a more relaxed pace."

The adult education program for 2002 at Shoals Marine Laboratory includes:

• Island Bird Study , May 17-19. For beginning and experienced birders, a chance to see, study and photograph over 100 species of spring migrants, the island's resident gull colony and heron rookery and other species that call the Isles of Shoals home for the summer. Birding excursions aboard SML research vessels are included. Instructors: Arthur C. Borror and Steve Mirick.
• A Garden Is a Sea of Flowers , July 19-21. Learn about the life of Celia Thaxter, the history of her island garden that attracted artisans in the 19th century, and the challenge of preserving flower varieties that have become obsolete. Enjoy the garden, while taking in the beauty of Appledore's island landscape. Taught by John M. Kingsbury, Louise Kingsbury, Robert Tuttle and Virginia Chisholm.
• Marine Mammals of the Gulf of Maine , Aug. 29-Sept. 1. Offshore observation of whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals with the scientists who study them – Edward G. Lyman and Leila Hatch.
• Seascapes and Landscapes: The Isles of Shoals in Watercolor and Pastels , Aug. 29-Sept. 1. The colors, textures and light that inspired impressionist painter Childe Hassam – and other artists who visited Appledore Island's rocky shores – are subjects for students of professional artists Elsie Dinsmore Popkin and Wendy Turner. Participants may extend through Sept. 4.
• Paddle to the Sea , Sept. 6-9. Basic instruction in sea kayaking, including excursions through the coves and inlets of Appledore and neighboring islands, to visit Duck Island's harbor seal colony and the White Island tern restoration project site (weather permitting). Offered in cooperation with Cornell Outdoor Education.