Optional Programs

Add to your conference experience! There are multiple opportunities to connect with us, including:

Mentor/Mentee Program

This conference fosters a welcoming environment for students and first-time conference attendees. The mentor/mentee program provides an opportunity for students to connect with mentors in a similar area of study. The committee will match mentors and mentees with similar areas of interest, allowing them to connect via email prior to the conference and meet in-person during the conference to chat about career goals and provide advice.
Mentees may include undergraduate or graduate students looking to expand their career in benthic ecology. Mentors are more experienced conference-goers, ready to inspire the next generation of scientists. By joining this program, each of you commits to connecting via email prior to the conference and meeting in-person during the conference.
Registration deadline: February 1, 2026

Field Trip: Boat Tour of the Virginia Coast Reserve

Sunday, March 1st from 9:30am to 4pm

The field trip will take you to the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where you will meet with practitioners from The Nature Conservancy and partake in a guided boat tour of South Bay, one of the coastal lagoons. Participants will view mature restored eelgrass meadows and oyster reefs, and walk on the barrier island beaches. Participants will assemble in the Marriott lobby at 9:30am and will be driven to Oyster, Virginia (1 hr drive over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel). The trip will end at the boat launch by 2:30pm and participants will return to the hotel by 4pm. Participants should dress warmly and pack a lunch and water.
Registration is capped at 20 attendees with a charge of $40 per person.

Field Trip: First Landing State Park

Sunday, March 1st from 2pm to 4pm

Explore First Landing State Park, which is Virginia's most-visited state park with 20 miles of trails. A park ranger will take participants on a 1-hour guided tour (approximately 2 miles) through bald cypress swamp, maritime forest, and salt marsh. Participants should meet in the Marriott lobby at 2pm. We will drive to the park's trail center and begin the tour at 2:30. At the end of the tour, participants will have some time to explore the visitor center exhibits (including live tanks!) and return to the hotel around 4pm. Trails may be muddy if it recently rained, so bring good trail shoes and a water bottle. Registration is capped at 20 participants. There are only 5 tickets available with transportation provided ($15 per person). For participants with access to a personal vehicle, tickets without transportation are available at a reduced cost of $5. The park is an easy 10 minute drive from the hotel heading north along Atlantic Ave (2500 Shore Dr, Virginia Beach, VA 23451). Note that the trail center and visitor center are separate - navigate to the trail center and turn east on Cypress Swamp Drive (yes, it has restrooms).

Workshop: Countering Science Denialism with Storytelling

Sunday, March 1st from 2pm to 4pm in the Marriott conference room

This 2-hour workshop will be led by Kimberly W. Heiman, Senior Lecturer of Biology at Muhlenberg College and published essayist and short story author. With the increasingly frequent attacks on science, education, and public health, scientists must find ways to fight back against the pervasive misinformation, science denialism, and demonizing of our field. One underutilized tool in the science justification and communication battle is narrative storytelling. As practicing scientists, we are taught to remain unbiased, but this inhibits our ability to connect with the public, making us seem like aloof know-it-alls. In this workshop, you will learn how storytelling prompts understanding and retention of information by discussing research from fields including neurobiology, psychology, and educational studies. This two-hour workshop will examine passages from successful scientist-authors, including Robin Wall Kimmerer, Hope Jahren, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, identifying how they tell science-themed stories. Punctuated throughout the workshop, you will have opportunities to practice creative writing skills such as creating characters, identifying plots in your research, and using the setting to stealthily communicate science information. You will leave this workshop armed with knowledge and skills to enable you to tell your science stories. Registration is capped at 40 attendees with a charge of $25 per person.

Workshop: Graduate School and Early Career Panel

Sunday, March 1st from 11am to noon in the Marriott conference room

Panelists representing different professional career stages and tracks will convene for a discussion about how to find graduate and post-doc mentors. Panelists will discuss strategies that worked for them, what they expect to see in a prospective student and how to stand apart, and how prospective students and trainees can prepare for an interview with a prospective advisor. Panel workshop lead by Jeff Shields and David Johnson. Registration is capped at 35 attendees, charge waived.

Affinity Groups

These groups are intended to foster a community outside of scheduled events. In the registration form, you may indicate interest in joining any of the following groups. Groups with sufficient registration will be connected via email prior to the start of the conference.

• LGBTQ+
• Persons with Disabilities
• Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
• First Generation in Science