Safe Harbor provides environmental permitting and management services for construction projects and habitat restoration projects. Permitting services include: the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act; Massachusetts Endangered Species Act; Local Wetlands Bylaws and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. Safe Harbor specializes in using sustainable strategies for coastal habitat restoration.
Visit us on Duck Creek Marsh, at 95 Commercial St., Wellfleet, MA.
Give us a call (508- 237.3724) and stop by for a cup of coffee. You can check out this view from our window.
or contact us via:
email: gordonpeabody@gmail.com
Snail mail: P.O. Box 880, Wellfleet, MA, 02667
This website is structured for environmental education, with downloadable publications.
Gordon Peabody works as director of Safe Harbor’s multiple programs. He also spends up to six months each year living aboard a wooden sailboat. “My background is in Marine Ecology, so living at Sea has helped me understand how much communities and natural resources need each other to survive. I encourage people to study resources as “Systems”. Resource Systems have significant internal links, as well as significant external links, to other systems.We restore resource systems by understanding the internal energy flowing through that system. Thinking sustainably, creates more sustainable solutions. We can also make better choices by voting for better ideas with our dollars.”
“Our web site’s Educational section is significant. I encourage everyone to explore and take advantage of this learning opportunity. Being informed helps us make better decisions. I believe the best way to protect environmental resources is through education. We all have something to learn and we all have something to teach. Our door is open to new ideas. Feel free to share yours with us.” gordonpeabody@gmail.com
Recent Bio Notes, February, 2012
Conservation Commission:
- Peabody was Chair of a Cape Cod Conservation Commission for nearly 5 years.
Educational:
- The University of Wisconsin selected Peabody to be the Visiting Professor for Sustainability, Climate Change and Environmental Management. Peabody was required to make presentations to: administrators; faculty; graduate students; undergraduate students; and Montessori schools, as well as the community Rotary Club.
- Peabody makes up to 25 environmental education presentations annually, to colleges, high schools, environmental professionals and community groups.
- At Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commission Annual Environmental Conferences, in both 2010 and 2011, Peabody co-presented workshops for Massachusetts Conservation Commissioners: “Using Sustainability to Make Better Decisions”.
- Peabody sponsored “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, an innovative learning conference to review failed environmental projects on for Cape Cod.
- Safe Harbor’s innovative restoration systems, strategies and techniques, have been made Public Domain.
- As editor of OCEAN newsletter, Peabody presents Annual Environmental Recognition awards to innovative leaders.
- Peabody manages Safe Harbor’s educational website, SafeHarborEnv.com.
- Peabody has participated in developing and teaching the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commission’s revised program on Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control. The program includes innovative systems, techniques and strategies developed by Safe Harbor.
Publications:
- Peabody is editor of OCEAN environmental e-newsletter (Outer Cape Environmental Awareness Newsletter), which is published in London and has international readership.
- Peabody publishes the “Outer Cape Conservation Commission Directory” listing contact information, schedules and submission requirements for Commissions.
- Peabody published “Risk Reduction Strategies for Environmental Projects”, in the (AMWS) Association of Massachusetts Wetlands Scientists Newsletter. The article reviewed failed environmental projects on Cape Cod.
- Peabody wrote an article for the (AMWS) Association of Massachusetts Wetland Scientists Newsletter titled “The Role of Uncertainty in Climate Change Decisions”. The article used North Atlantic Drift Currents, atmospheric teleconnections and Atlantic Hurricane patterns to illustrate changes in decision-making.
- While Peabody was Chair of a Conservation Commission, he wrote and published “An Applicant’s Guide to Conservation Commissions”, which is still in use.
- Peabody has written booklets on: Deconstruction; Using Concrete; Storm Water; Steep Slope Stabilization; Invasive Vegetation; Coastal Process; Salt Spray Impacts on Native Vegetation Diversity; Cape Cod Habitat Restoration Guide.
Restoration:
- Peabody was elected chair of the Technical Committee planning the largest salt marsh restoration in New England. The Committee included Federal, Stare, County and Local agencies. (Herring River Technical Committee).
- Peabody has been experimenting with innovative, bio mimicry restoration techniques, utilizing the wind energy within resource system to power restoration efforts.
- In an experiment to restore a barrier dune, Peabody’s integrated bio mimicry system collected fourteen vertical feet of new sand in 13 months, restoring eroded profiles.
- Peabody has received Certification as a Coastal Invasive Vegetation Manager.
Australian Connection:
- In 2006, while visiting the city of Perth in Western Australia, Peabody noticed that coastal communities with limited ground water resources had no systems in place to recharge their aquifer with storm water, which ran off into the sea. After meeting with a member of the Western Australia Water Board, which controlled water use in an area comparable to half of the U.S., Peabody wrote a report titled “Areas of Critical Concern: Coastal Aquifers-Tools for Sustainability: Conservation of Water Mass”, recommending recharge of the coastal aquifer with storm water. The report was submitted to the Western Australian Water Board and circulated.
- Two months later, according to a press release: “The Western Australia Government initiated a million dollar model program, for ground water recharge, in the coastal community of Cottisloe”, near Perth.
- Peabody’s full report was published the following month, in the Australian Water Authority’s W.A. Water Journal.
Cape Cod Life Magazine featured Safe Harbor Director Gordon Peabody in the 2011 Annual Issue. Click on the link below if you are interested in reading the article.
http://capecodlife.com/life/stories/2011/01/wellfleet-cape-islands-voices/
Enjoy getting to know these people who have shared their commitment with us, to make a difference in our coastal restoration projects and educational efforts. Most of our interns are featured on the Intern Program Page.
Special Recognition Award, Whitney Johnson
Whitney has earned this Special Recognition Award for her consistent, creative contributions and hard work, in publishing OCEAN electronic newsletter that have made our efforts so successful. OCEAN currently reaches a direct readership of over 2,000 readers, on Cape Cod and as far away as Australia. Thank you Whitney, for your exceptional vision and technical skills! Whitney telecommutes from London, England.
Loren Vandegrift is an actor currently living in L.A. He also has his own consulting business and designs creative web sites, including ours. Loren has made a tremendous contribution to the environment on Cape Cod by providing us with this incredible, educational web site.
Lara is working with us as a Project Coordinator. Her responsibilities include keeping track of multiple projects, permitting timelines and communications with regulatory agencies. Lara also has her Real Estate license.
Audra began as a winter interns. She had graduated from UMass Amherst and was taking post grad certification in Coastal Zone Management and Coastal Ecology. Audra coordinated all of our educational presentations lastwinter. This summer she was doing salt marsh research.
Chris has a degree in Environmental Studies. He worked with us in coastal erosion projects and implementing globally rare, maritime heathland habitats.
Danielle is our planting coordinator for coastal restoration projects. She also works as a site coordinator for geo mass restoration systems. Danielle has her own seasonal landscaping business, Moonflower Landscaping.
Katie holds a graduate degree in Environmental Economics. She works with us as a project coordinator. Katie also spends winter time snow boarding.
James is our Go To guy..he makes difficult projects go a lot smoother. James is also a gifted artist, who came to Cape Cod with a Fellowship at Provincetown’s Fine Arts Work Center. This photo is from an innovative salt marsh restoration project on Nantucket Sound.
Kayla works with us in the field as a site coordinator on coastal habitat restoration projects. This photo was taken during a restoration project at Pamet Harbor in Truro.
Amy works with us part time and also works as an intern with the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, in their North Atlantic Right Whale research program.
Jerome is an artist and lateral thinker. We used his inventive thinking to solve project problems.
Liberty has 2 children and works with us part time. Her background is in Marine Ecology.
Kristyna has worked on coastal restoration projects, is currently a research coordinator and previously served as the project coordinator for our Haiti Water Project: sending water filters to Haiti instead of shipping water. She is a psychology major going into her senior year.
Camille works with our winter team, on coastal restoration projects.
Alexis coordinates restoration of globally rare maritime heathland habitats. She is a graduate student at Antioch University. Alexis recently received a major grant to continue her studies of the role salt crusts play in colonizing dunes with vegetation.
Sarah works as Safe Harbor’s Staff Photographer, providing consistency in photo documentation of our projects. Images are critical educational tools for sharing some of our innovative environmental mitigation techniques and systems.
Anne works in the field, with indigenous re-vegetation and erosion control systems. Anne also is a fiction writer and has just published an award winning book of short stories.
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Bob Byrnes teaches high school science in Harwich. He worked with us as part of a Cape Cod Community College “Extern” program, which matches high school teachers with environmental professionals. Bob helped us with indigenous revegetation projects. His experience with our indigenous habitat restoration systems has been passed on to his students.
Simone works at and studies printmaking, in Boston and Brooklyn. Simone works on every job as part of our summer team
Past workers:
Effie has been a key support worker during the spring and fall seasons. She has a degree in psychology.
Vida graduated Suma Cum Laude in environmental studies. She began working for us as an intern and stayed on for a year. She currently is running a beer garden, with her brother.
Diana worked with us part time, coordinating our office and filling in on site work.
Sarah is a talented musician and songwriter. She has a degree in Biology and has worked with us as a project coordinator.
Hayley is our native planting coordinator. She has a background in botany and environmental studies. Hayley is also a champion body surfer and has worked as a life guard.
Rose worked as our summer intern. She is studying environmental engineering at Syracuse University.
Nicole worked with our endangered species permitting. She previously worked with the National Park Service.
Petra worked with us for several summers. She is now working as an architect in Europe.
Adam is a talented artist, who worked with us for several summers, on all of our projects.
Lisa has worked in the field and in our office. She graduated from New Hampshire college and is now traveling, working and studying in Europe.
Irene worked with us as our part time botanist. She has a lifetime of study with native plants.