Old Saybrook

So any way that we can engage young people and adults in exploring learning, being part of the natural resource, that's a home run for us.

When you touched upon accessibility to the soundly, I was reminded of the fact that if you're up in Mystic, Old Saybrook area, or you're down in the Brantford, New Haven area, or further down the coast south of Bridgeport, any one-mile swath of coastline shooting out toward the sound could present some unique underwater characteristics and unique environmental characteristics.

And I'm wondering if you tailor your curriculum, not just by the age of the audience that you're educating and working with, but do you also tailor it to where specifically in the sound that educational group is studying?

It's an interesting question.

I know you have a listenership on the Connecticut shoreline.

I'm located in Old Saybrook, Jonna, which is 15 miles due north of Greenport.

Can you hear us? In Old

Saybrook? How is it coming over there? How's the signal?

We'll be hosting three debates this year, a state rep, two Congressional debates, a- and we'll be taking some of those ideas and making questions out of them for the candidates.

But before we, uh, before we talk about politics, let's, let's talk about Old Saybrook.

We have a story about motivational speakers, small town spending.

Give it to us just in a nutshell.

Old Saybrook has spent a quarter of their professional development budget on two motivational speakers in the first two months of the school year.

So we're talking how much?

$26,000, a little bit over $26,000.

I have to say, I've been to a lot of, uh, uh, convocation speeches in my time in, in school and academics.

So for people who live in the state who haven't gone out and seen certain places or maybe don't get, get out as much, these are great ways to go out and see some things.

Like one surprise for me was learning, uh, you can actually sleep in a lighthouse at Saybrook Point Resort and Marina in Old Saybrook.

Like how important is it to let people in the state know that there are great places to go and check out?

I think it's hugely important, and it's definitely a big part of the work that we do for many different reasons.

Uh, Stonington, for example, is lovely, like their downtown.

I think Water Street, Mana Zarrinjah, who works at, uh, Connecticut Forum, uh, really hyped that place up.

So if you're in Mystic, and there are other places down on the shoreline you can go to that are tremendous, uh, like Old Saybrook, Essex.

Uh, if I was stopping in my old, uh, haunt, uh, New London, feel free.

This was August, July, August.

And I wanted to go to Old Saybrook, which is where she lived.

Mm-hmm.

And we found a, a small, um, hotel to stay in, and when we checked in, it was an elderly lady, and she said, "So why, what brings you here?" 'Cause it's a tiny little town.

Yeah

... of, like, Old Saybrook.

And that's almost gonna be the first thing you hear if you ask the kids what was one of their favorite parts of the program they were in.

It will be the kids they met, the friends they made that they would never have made because they're from Manchester and they don't know anyone from New Britain.

They chose Saugatuck to live because it reminded them of Clinton.

And Clinton, in case you don't know, is right next to a very pretty famous little town, Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

Okay.

Which is right on the water and just like this.