Mallie Balser Senior Project

 Today was a busy day. I was running around doing errands with my mother. I also had to speak to a few people. I cooked dinner and tried my best to read up on new marine mammal information. It wasn't as long of research as my previous days but I'm hoping to head to the Boston Aquarium tomorrow for more information. The sun was out which was nice as well. Overall it was an okay day research-wise. Hours Today: 30 min Total Hours: 83/84 and 30 min

  Today I did some more research. It rained a lot as well which wasn't ideal. As I said previously I planned to watch a documentary. It was hard to find one that fit my exact purpose. I found one that was called Andy Irons: Kissed By God which was really good but only really involved the ocean and not marine mammal rescue. So I found another which I watched as well called Wild Pacific Rescuee which was interesting. I also watched a sea lion episode on Netflix's wild baby nature documentary series. This in particular showed me some issues sea lions (particularly babies) deal with in the way of predators.  Hours Today: To be honest I'm not even sure like 4? Hours T otal : Approximately 83/84 I believe

  Today I did more research which was very fulfilling. I also had an appointment in the morning which I got out of the way. I only researched for a bit today and found a documentary I plan on watching. I think the documentary will shed more light on marine mammal rescue for me. This in particular will help me learn more about the issues in my area. I will get an early night tonight and head to the beach in the morning tomorrow as well to get better in touch with the research I'm doing. So far I feel I have gained a lot of knowledge. I am excited to see where this knowledge leads me.  Hours Today: 1 hour 28 min Hours Total:  81

 Today I flew home. We caught the red-eye which is nice because that's my favorite time to fly. When the whole world is asleep yada yada yada . I researched cape cod's grey seal, harp seal, harbor seal, and hooded seal populations as that is where I am from. It was interesting for me to see the difference in rescue issues between the west and east coast. I noted that where the west coast struggles primarily with malnutrition and illness the east coast struggled more so with climate change and tourism. While all issues were prevalent on both coasts there was definitely a drastic difference in severity between the coasts. Tomorrow I plan to further research why that may be and on Sunday go to the Boston aquarium to discuss in further detail with those who have some first-hand experience. It has been exciting to further research about marine mammal rescue in an area I am very familiar with and a lot of the issues I read about hit close to home. I am excited to further my resea...

   Today was our last day working formal hours at the kiosk before our assigned research assignment time. We decided to make the most of it even though it was drizzling a bit and the weather is not the best. The overall day went fine and I was happy to both open and close up shop for a final time. Over the weekend we have worked out research assigned to us individually about marine mammals and rescue centers in our respective areas. We are excited for the next step of our journey now that our office hours have been completed and we can more freely look up and visit rescue centers in our areas. While it was fun being in California, I'm excited to see what Boston has to offer in the way of Marine Rescue. I am satisfied with the work we have done here and the new work we will be doing th us forward. Hours Today: 7 Hours Total: 77

 Today was an okay day. The weather was mid . Dinner was mid. The kiosk was pretty mid and slow as well. It was really just a fairly mid-day. Kat had an appointment that I dropped her off at after work which literally took 3 and a half hours. Honestly, working at the kiosk is generally fulfilling I just wish there was a little bit more going on even if it's a Wednesday. I think things will look up tomorrow though! Hours Today: 7 Hours Total: 70