2026 Pilot Season: Fully Funded
With the launch of the R/V HMS Buttercup and an $18,000 initial seed investment, our 2026 operations are live.
High-Resolution Science for a Resilient Seacoast.
We bridge the “Data Gap” in the Great Bay Watershed. By combining trained Citizen Stewards with forensic robotic sensing, we map our waters from Source to Sea.
The Two Pillars: What You Do vs. What We Do
Pillar 1: Become a Certified Citizen Scientist
The Individual Invitation
Learn professional water-sampling protocols through our online LMS. Climb the ranks from a Level 1 Steward to a Level 2 Field Analyst by completing interactive coursework and submitting verified field data.
Equipping your stewardship is turnkey. Grab a branded, pro-grade HMS Water Testing Kit from our store, get certified on your own schedule, and begin streaming lab-grade data from your local watershed.
Pillar 2: ‘Ghost’ MSU Watershed Mapping
Our Technical Commitment
While our community monitors the shorelines, we deploy the HMS Ghost—our custom-built, semi-autonomous robotic sampling unit. Designed with dual airboat-style propulsion for ultra-shallow tracking, the Ghost can be hip-towed by our Whaly 380 or remote-controlled into critical environmental hotspots that traditional research vessels can’t touch.
We are actively running multi-depth transects—dropping our telemetry winch down to 10 feet—to capture real-time, forensic water quality data from the rivers feeding the Great Bay, down the Piscataqua, and out to the Gulf of Maine.
The Strategy: Connect, Understand, Protect
Connect
Join our 2027 Steward Cohort
Join our 2027 Steward Cohort. Get trained, get armed with a professional field kit, and claim ownership over your local waters.
Understand
The Single Source of Truth
We layer your community shoreline observations directly over the HMS Ghost’s deep-water forensic telemetry.
Protect
Data Into Defense
Turning raw science into environmental agency. We provide the ironclad, agency-grade evidence our Seacoast towns need to mitigate runoff and combat pollution.
What We’re Doing in 2026
We’re field-testing the HMS Ghost, a shallow-draft robotic skiff designed to map forensic hotspots that traditional research vessels can’t reach.
Engineering the HMS ‘Ghost‘ MSU
We are currently finalizing the technical specifications for our custom-built HMS Ghost Mobile Sampling Unit (MSU). This year is all about precision engineering—blueprinting the dual airboat-style propulsion system, shallow-draft hull, and automated multi-depth telemetry winch. While we aim to hit the water for initial hull-stress testing late this year, 2026 is the build phase that guarantees a flawless, full-scale tactical deployment in 2027.
Outfitting the R/V HMS Buttercup
Our yellow Whaly 380, the HMS Buttercup, is officially in the shipyard being transformed into our primary tactical support vessel. We are outfitting her for rugged field use, rigging her to hip-tow the Ghost, and installing top-tier marine safety and navigation gear. The Buttercup will serve as the mothership and command center for all upcoming river and bay transects.
Architecting the Digital Academy
Before we put test kits into the hands of our community, we are building the digital infrastructure to support them. We are actively developing our custom Learning Management System (LMS) and online coursework. This curriculum will teach water-sampling protocols, track field accuracy, and award Stewardship Badges (Levels 1–3), ensuring our Citizen Scientists are fully trained and ready to deploy alongside the fleet.