The Marine Program of North Coast Land Conservancy (NCLC) has wrapped up another successful season of the Tidepool Ambassador Program (TAP) at Cape Falcon Marine Reserve.
NCLC’s sixth TAP season kicked off in June at Short Sand Beach, which is adjacent to the marine reserve, and concluded in September, around Labor Day weekend. Michelle Schwegmann and Mylasia Miklas returned for the third summer to serve as TAP Coordinator and Guide, respectively.
Throughout the summer, 20 TAP volunteers contributed a total of 157 hours to be down at the tidepools—located on both the north and sound ends of the beach—where they play an active role in their stewardship through education and outreach.
There were tidepool ambassadors down at the beach for 74.5 hours spread across 21 shifts. Additionally, they participated in a couple of weekends tabling at the entrance to Short Sand, where they had the opportunity to interact with general beachgoers, along with tidepool visitors.
A few other key stats from the 2026 season:
- Tidepool ambassadors had 1,960 interactions with visitors
- They received 1,150 expressions of gratitude
- They observed 83 counts of destructive behavior (such as trampling, drones, dogs off leash, and harassing)
- The average shift duration was 3.55 hours
“Most folks that are asked to change behavior do,” Michelle says. “If they don’t want to, they usually just leave the area.” That sometimes happens, she adds, if they don’t have a leash for their dog or similar situations.
Check out a few photos from this season:
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