Scott M. Graves, Ph.D.

CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSTIY
PROGRAMS AT OUTER ISLAND

Dr. Vince Breslin currently serves as the SCSU coordinator for Outer Island Programs. A partnership between the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge and the Connecticut State University System has been established to provide access for educational and research programs using the island. Clayton Penniman, (Professor, Biology Department, Central Connecticut State University) also serves as a coordinator for Outer Island Programs. My duties as a coordinator for Outer Island include providing access and guided educational activities to visiting school groups. In addition, I also guide educators in planning activities and assist in supervising student interns who staff the island during the summer months. This webpage provides information necessary to schedule a group visit to the island, a video tour of the island habitats, and information concerning rocky intertidal environments.

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Outer Island is the outermost island in the Thimble Island chain off the coast of Branford, Connecticut. Outer Island was privately owned until October 1995 when Elizabeth Hird donated the island to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in memory of her husband Basil Rauch. The island is now managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. A partnership between the McKinney NWR and the Connecticut State University system has been established to provide access for educational and research programs on the island.

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Educational Access to Outer Island
Access to Outer Island is available by prior arrangement with CSU faculty and staff who accompany groups visiting the island. Visits to Outer Island can be arranged by contacting the Center for Education and Research at Outer Island (CEROI) by phone at (203) 392-6265 or contact Dr. Vincent Breslin. School groups visiting the island do not pay a fee for access to the island or for the supervision provided by faculty and staff of the CSU system. The cost to school groups is for their own transportation from the school to the Stony Creek dock in Branford and from the dock to the island by water ferry. Water ferry access to the island is provided by the Thimble Island ferry (Sea Mist; 203-488-8905) and ferry reservations are made by the visiting group. The capacity of the ferry usually limits the size of visiting groups to a maximum of 25 individuals per ferry trip.

Outer Island Coastal Habitats Video
The Outer Island video presents a 13 minute 20 second guided tour of the diverse habitats of Outer Island. The video production was a collaborative effort between the Connecticut State University faculty (Tara Casanova, SCSU; James Tait, SCSU; Clayton Penniman, CCSU; and Vincent Breslin, SCSU), the staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (William Kolodnicki and Jennifer Brown) and the COM 492 Practicum in Video Production course at Southern Connecticut State University. A student group (Melissa Insalaco, Brendan Long, Kori Mecham and Sam Gachelin) filmed and produced the video.

The tour begins following a brief boat ride through the Thimble Islands to the dock at Outer Island. The tour proceeds clockwise around the island pausing for visits at a tide pool, a rocky intertidal zone at low tide, a salt marsh and a sandy beach. During the tour, the predominant organisms and ecology of each environment is presented. The importance of the island as a nesting area for migrating birds is also emphasized. Also, the issue of marine debris and the importance of being good stewards of the environment are discussed. During the tour, vocabulary words and terms including salinity, marsh, intertidal zone, beach, and wrack line are highlighted on the screen for educators to use to prepare students for visits to the island. Finally, still photos are shown which depict students conducting field activities while music and text present contact information for educators who wish to schedule visits to the island.

Additional photographs and information concerning the habitats of Outer Island can be accessed here.

View the Outer Island Video
The production and distribution of the Outer Island video is designed to accomplish the following goals: (1) to increase the awareness of educators in Connecticut of the opportunity to accompany CSU faculty and staff on an educational experience to Outer Island and to integrate Long Island Sound environments into their science curriculum; (2) to increase the number of individuals and groups (schools, nature centers, youth groups, etc.) visiting Outer Island each year; (3) to provide a pre-visit and post-visit tool for educators to use in support of their curriculum for increasing student knowledge concerning the ecology of Outer Island and Long Island Sound; and (4) to serve as a general introduction to marine ecology and increase student awareness of the importance of protecting and preserving the diverse natural habitats within Long Island Sound. Copies of the video are available upon request.

Support for Outer Island Programs
Programs at Outer Island are funded in part by a $250,000 grant from the Long Island Sound Fund which is supported by Preserve the Sound license plates and contributions. Matching funds and fund administration is provided by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. The duplication and distribution of this video was made possible with a $2,955 US Environmental Protection Agency funds awarded by the Long Island Sound Study and administered by Cornell University and New York Sea Grant.