We would love to see you at our upcoming Molt Search Train the Trainers workshop.
On Friday April 18 From 10 am – 3:30 pm
Doors open (and coffee will available) at 9:30 am
At the Village Green Community Center
26159 Dulay Rd NE
Kingston, WA
Lunch will be provided! Please RSVP by Wednesday April 2 using this google form https://forms.gle/echJEURXdhFgP31VA. Some of you have already indicated that you are coming – please reply anyway so that we know about any dietary restrictions. Thanks!
About the Train the Trainer’s workshop
This free workshop will prepare you or members of your organization with the information and resources needed to train others to participate in Molt Search – a community science program focused on early detection of the invasive European green crab. Scroll down to learn more about the Molt Search.
This year’s training workshop will cover:
- Background information for those who are new to Molt Search,
- Recent updates to the survey protocol involving Dungeness crab data,
- An overview of the free Molt Search resources,
Plus
- Updates on the status of green crab control efforts in Washington State,
- “Ask an Expert” – with Dr. P. Sean McDonald, and
- Facilitated group discussion on best practices/lessons learned – specific topics TBD
If you can lead one or more public Molt Search trainings or events, and/or provide Molt Search training to your staff, members, and/or volunteers in 2025, we would love to include you in this year’s Train-the-Trainers workshop. We would love to engage new partners to grow the program further.
Additional Ways to Help
If you cannot lead public events or provide training to your staff, members, or volunteers, you can still lend a hand to this important effort by, for example, providinga venue or refreshments for Molt Search events, or by promoting the Molt Search events to your local community. If you can help in one of these ways, please let us know about it!
For more information about all of the ways to get involved, see the one page overview: One-Pager Molt Search Engagement Details 2025-01-06.pdf
About Molt Search – Early detection of invasive European Green Crab
WSU Extension and Washington Sea Grant’s Crab Team launched Molt Search in 2023 to mobilize volunteers in the early detection of invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) – a recent arrival to the Salish Sea. Through systematic searches for crab shells (“molts”), community members can support state-wide efforts to identify population spread while numbers are still low in the Salish Sea.
Molt Search is a flexible, app-based protocol designed for use on any Salish Sea shoreline where users have safe, legal access. Molt Search participants are trained in how to conduct timed molt surveys, identify what they’ve found, and report their findings via the MyCoast app. The resulting reports support European green crab management. Participants are also asked to collect data on Dungeness crab to support scientific research.
In 2024, 400 community members learned Molt Search protocols at trainings hosted by the 10 organizations who attended our Train-the-Trainers workshop, and almost 600 Molt Search reports were submitted. To see the Molt Search reports submitted as a result of this effort please go to https://mycoast.org/wa/crab.
