The Campfire

Sunday, March 7th - Evening
Post by: Andrew Davis

For our last activity at SeaCamp, we had a campfire. The night began with a fun game called "Ram, Sam, Sam." In this game, a group of individuals is challenged to complete a song and hand movements in as short amount of time as possible! We we were told that the SeaCamp record was 8 seconds, but after three tries we set a new record: 7.2 seconds! After that we enjoyed listening to Clark and Gavin playing music and singing, we played another game called "Song Wars." In this game we were given a word and then were challenged to think of a song that had the word in the lyrics, and had to sing a verse! After the song game we made s'mores and hung out around the campfire! Clark and Gavin also taught our counselor, Alex, how to play the ukulele - he was a pretty adept student! Finally, at the end of the evening, we heard the famed story of what happened to Flat top 7: this one boat was missing form the fleet and no one would reveal why! The story involved a boat trip that went awry, with the flat top breaking down, children being saved, and a giant squid crushing the boat and sending John adrift! I can't say we all bought it! After this story, we all went around the campfire and said what we enjoyed most about our experience at SeaCamp! When the campfire was over, everyone began to transition to the idea of going home: We were both eager to return to the comforts of home, yet were sad to see our trip end!

Our Final Boat Trip

Hi All - I am now entering our blog from Ross. After a long day of travel (8 hrs total from tip to tip), we are back in sunny EH. Anyhow, here are the accounts from our final day in the Keys where we went on an all day boat trip over to the Gulf Side (the division between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf is marked by Rte. 1). Enjoy the blogs and photos!

Post by: Gavin Nelson
Today we went on an all day boat trip out in the Gulf of Mexico. Our first stop was at a place called Undercut Island. It is called Undercut, because the tides and currents have eroded the bottom of the mangroves causing an undercut to form (the island is shaped like a mushroom). We were able to tie up to the Island, and walk through the mangroves, cleaning up marine debris. After we were done collecting trash on the island, we suited up for snorkeling. I checked the water temperature and found out that it was a balmy 59 degrees F (cold water was not mentioned in the course description!). Amazingly at the location that had the coldest water the whole trip, everyone went snorkeling! When we got in the water, we had to be extra careful not to kick down and mix up all the sediment. There was not a whole lot to see unless you dove under to look at the undercut. John Booker (the resident scientist) told us that if we were lucky, we would see some fish swimming upside down in the undercut. They would do this because they wanted to light and the only light under there would be bouncing off the bottom: Being upside sown would make them closer to the light. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone saw an upside down fish. One thing we did find however was a sea star stuck to the wall of the undercut. After a while the sediment on the bottom got kicked up (as everyone was in at once), making it harder for us to see so we got on the boat for a picnic lunch in the sun (and no wind!).

Post by: Louis Caiola
Today, I was ready to embark on an all day boat trip. Our first destination was Undercut Island. This island was very interesting, because of its mangroves forming almost of its foliage. Not only does this make an interesting effect on the top of the island, but the root systems of the red mangrove formed an island once they trapped the sediment. This island is a perfect example of what mangroves do over time. These forces hold and trap sediment from the currents pushing sediment particles in the roots. This high power tide created a groove going around the island which cuts out some of the exterior, under part of the island. The wind plays another role in the development as not only does it restrict the propagules from dropping further (red mangroves do not like deep water), but also it brings in marine debris which binds the aerial roots.

I spent a good portion of the morning collecting the marine debris. Walking on the island was like entering a jungle. Fine silt and mangrove roots peppered the bottom of the island. Orb weaver spiders and other spiders and their branches infiltrated the branches all over the island. Fire sponge grew on the perimeter of the island and green spiny caterpillars (these are poisonous) inhabit the trees along with the spiders. The marine debris we recovered included buoys, trap rope, plastic bags and bottles which were strewn all over the roots of the mangroves. Birds also inhabit the island. The aerial roots hung over the branches and reached down into the waters of undercut island, making it an incredibly wild island!

The Final Day

Good Evening Everyone -
We are about to head off to our final evening activity: s'mores at the campfire! We had an all day boat trip out to the Gulf Side in what is called back country! We spent the day relaxing on and near a sunny fringing mangrove island - no wind for the first time! Anyhow, we are all excited to return home and share our adventures with everyone! See you at Ross tomorrow night around 8 PM - be listening for your phones to ring around 7:30! Enjoy the scenes of our day!

Algae Biodiversity Lab

Saturday, March 6th, Evening Activity
Post by: Jon Lesser

Earlier in the day, at the different sets of coral heads, we collected two different types of algae. One was a green algae, called Halmeida oputia triloba, and the other was a red algae called Neogoniolithon strictum. We spent the evening learning about the different types of alga, the differences between plants and algae, and the specific type of algae we were studying. We were then given forceps, spoons, small trays filled with salt water to remove and categorize different species hidden within the algal samples. We began with the green algae, which mainly had marine worms (spaghetti worms were so awesome to look at) and echinoderms (30 brittle stars in one sample whose arms glow at night when agitated - we saw this!). This was because it was softer and easier for these creatures to move through. The second algal sample was the red algae. It mainly had crustaceans and sponges. The crustaceans like this algae, because it has hard crevices for crabs and shrimp (many colors of mantis shrimp) to hide within. The sponges like it because it is easier to stick to with its hard surfaces. The coolest thing we found in the algae was a one-year old tiny octopus hiding in the a crevice in the red algae. This unbelievable find topped off one of the best days of the trip perfectly!

Coral Heads: SPA Zone

Saturday, March 6th Afternoon Activity
Post by: Kate Nelson

After lunch we got ready for snorkeling and boat trip, part two. It was decided that we would return to the Coral Heads to try our luck in the SPA zone (hoping that visibility was conducive to good snorkeling). Since the Coral Heads are made up of patch reefs there are different areas to explore - grass, coral mounds and the halo area. We first headed to the site 1 in the SPA zone. The visibility was even better than this morning! We snorkeled along the edge of the patch reef as Alex had suggested. Just some of the cool creatures that we viewed in this area were gray angelfish; small mouth, french and blue stripe grunts; a small Nassau Grouper, and a spotted sea hare (a worm-like creature in the shape of a taco shell with a cheetah print). Swimming along we saw as many as 5 nurse sharks (all resting on the bottom along the coral mounds). Even a huge southern stingray was buried in the sand. Possibly the coolest experience of the day that I had was when a school of 100 (at least) Look-downs swam by in a pod. Trying to get a closer look and a better picture, I dove down only to realize that these odd-shaped paper thin fish had enveloped me. I was swimming along with the school, surrounded on all sides! I was a fish, a part of the underwater world. I then took a moment to just float. Looking around, I was amazed at the biodiversity, tons of species right there below me. An uncountable number of fish, sea fans, coral worms, eels, sharks, stingrays, sea grass, sea stars, sea plumes, vase sponges, and innumerable organisms around me that are invisible to the human eye. It was truly an awesome day at the reef!

When we had snorkeled most of the first set we still had time and energy left to snorkel at site 2 in this SPA zone. We made our way over to this site to spend the last 20 minutes. It was very similar to the first, but had a slight eerieness to it! Huge tracts sat coral-less only with abandoned traps at the bottom, which had become homes to many organisms. Here we saw in addition to the many fish from the first site, spiny lobster, moon jellyfish, and a hogfish , rounding out my favorite day yet. Our luck got even better when Alex went to collect more alga and came across a large, bright orange cushion star, and endangered species. It was a wet ride home, and we were all wiped out from a tiring, eventful but incredible day!

Coral Heads: Site 3

Saturday, March 6th Morning Activity
Post by: Clark Hamilton

This morning was a boat trip to the coral heads. Today we went to site 3, outside of the SPA zone. At sector 3 we could pick up and touch animals, as well people are allowed to fish in this zone. So, even though we were anchored with a diving flag up, there were fisherman nearby that we had to be aware of and stay away from. This morning's snorkel was by far the best, as the wind had switched directions so the visibility improved greatly. On this dive, some rare animals were viewed such as: 2 Southern stingrays, a nurse shark, a spotted moray eel and some small sea hares (type of nudibranch). We were all so psyched! This site was beautiful to snorkel as the coral mounds were huge, and the area in the center was like a lagoon. On our way back to camp, we stopped to collect green calcarious alga (a hard algal material). This material was for our night lab. When we returned we all went to sit in the sun to get ready for our afternoon boat trip - we were all ready to take advantage of clear waters and sunshine.

NIght Wade

Friday, March 5 Evening Activity
Post by: Max Tabet

Tonight we went on a night wade. Walking around in the shallows and perusing the marine environment with our flashlights, one thing became evident very quickly - it was cold! The air temperature was likely in the mid 50's, but the water was relatively warm.

We looked incredibly silly, 19 people standing, holding buckets and nets in the middle of the night (9-10 pm) between two islands (in Coupon Bight), wearing bathing suits and wading shoes on the bottom and ski jackets on the top! It was like 19 Christmas trees, elaborately adorned on their branches with their trunks left naked! We found several interesting creatures, but the one I enjoyed the most was the spiny lobster. This is a type of lobster that is gray and yellow with two massive antennae. It didn't like being held and it tried to escape several times.

The other animals we saw included a spider crab that had just molted (we had the molt to inspect as well), a needlefish, a baby pipefish, several shrimp (one that snaps its front claws), a big red hermit crab and an upside down jellyfish. It was really interesting to find animals at night because they behave differently than when they are found during the day. The night was very peaceful and relaxing and we all learned to appreciate this nocturnal habitat.

Service Learning: Horseshoe Island

Friday, March 5 Afternoon Activity
Post by: Samantha Busiello

This afternoon we finished our marine debris recovery program, by restoring the Western side of Horseshoe Island. Like we did before, we made our way over to the Island by canoe and kayak and then hugged the mangrove shoreline collecting debris. All of the marine debris that we collected was brought back to the camp and loaded in a dumpster to be properly disposed of. As we had before, we measured the length of the shoreline that we cleaned - this was our transect, and tried to classify the type of garbage recovered.

Jocelyn and I took on the task of measuring the shoreline. We split the contour into sections that we measured, angling in at each bend and dip to try to get an accurate measurement. The measurements that we took ranged for each section from 6 meters to 58 meters, depending on how easy it was to follow the contour of the shoreline being processed (We will be collating the data tonight from this lab).

We were all surprised by the amount of garbage that we recovered, completely filling three canoes (the boats had to be walked across the bight). It does not seem right that this amount of garbage should be on such a small island. We found a tire, planks of construction lumber, fishing rope (not as much as before), shoes, a baby doll arm, old bottles, a cooler, plastic bags, pieces of styrofoam, old buoy markers and cans. We also found the bones and plate of a hawksbill turtle that had washed up on the Island. However, because this a protected species we were not allowed to remove the bones from the island. This activity was just right for us, as we all had such an extraordinary amount of energy: It felt good to be so active while doing good!
I must say we should all sleep well tonight (and they did!).

Marine Management

Friday, March 5 Morning Activity
Post by: Chela Novak

This morning the weather was chilly and windy, and we all rolled out of our bunks only a few minutes before the bell for breakfast rung. We were all in one of two states of mind: extremely giggly and hyper or in a state of happy coma! Breakfast was what SeaCamp has dubbed "breakfast pizza" - a bit of baked eggs on a doughy crust (we miss Ross food - everyone talked about our fritattas that morning!). After breakfast we headed over to the Port Portable classroom for a class on Marine management led by their lead scientist and marine expert, John. We first reviewed taxonomy with Joe and then began an interesting session on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and how these waters are managed to serve the interests of all. We began first by learning about all the various zones that are designated for different types of uses and blocked these out on a map of this area. We also discussed how these waters are managed on both a state and federal level. After looking at the existing zonation, we were then challenged to think about what we would recommend to an advisory committee. Most of us felt that more of this reef system should be protected, but realized that this is a delicate situation due to the interest of various parties: commercial fishers, sport fishing, guided fishing tours, etc. We came up with more ways to protect the Keys, such as blocking off more area that cannot be fished in or even snorkeled in. The Florida Keys are really in trouble, because there seems to be no logical solution that would help the problem of the massive decline of marine life and keep people happy. marine environments are not just important for the ecosystem but also the economy. Our discussion ended with all us trying to figure out how to help the Keys, as well as finding connections to our local environment in Long Island.

Squid Dissection

Thursday, March 4th Evening Activity
Post by: Nick Grille

Last night we did a squid dissection for our evening activity. First Joe told us some general information about the classification of squid: Phylum Molluska, Class Cephlopodia. We then brainstormed questions that we had about squid that we could attempt to answer or deduce from our dissection. One thing that I learned was that when you rub the mantle of the squid it changes colors as they have chromatophores (color cells) that expand and contract when stimulated. These are controlled by the squid's nervous system. Why? Well, one reason is for communication with other squid to signal advancing predators and also to attract mates. The squid is able to signal differently from either side.

After drawing and labeling the external anatomy of the squid, we made our first incision - up the mantle. I was partnered with Dylan and while I held the squid he made the first cut. As we opened the mantle we revealed the ink sac, which we removed. It was a small sac almost sewn into the skin. Then we removed the gills, which we placed in water allowing us to see how they feather - increasing their surface area for oxygen absorption. This feature allowed us to deduce that they must be active creatures. We also located the heart located between the two gills. As well, we found the beak in the center of its arms and removed this along with the squid's radula (spiky tongue for mechanical digestion). The dissection and surrounding discussion were both interesting.

Watson's Sponge Flats

Thursday, March 4th Afternoon Adventures
Post by: Sam Kramer

After lunch, we took another boat trip. For the first time, we went to an area in the Gulf of Mexico, called Watson's Sponge Flats. Alex, our instructor, gave us a lecture on the phylum Porifera - sponges. We learned about the the three classes of sponges as well as the anatomy of sponges. After the lesson, we put on our wet suits and jumped in!

The water was roughly the same temperature as Looe Key, even though we were in the Gulf. Three of us, armed with nets, went off to search for spiny lobsters that like to hide in the large vase and loggerhead sponges. First, we had to spot the lobsters, who were hiding in the large sponges with their two long antennae showing at the rim tops. After we gently prodded them out of their hiding spots, we had to act fast with two nets to catch them as they would quickly swim backwards to another hiding spot. Working as a team, we were able to collect two lobsters along with multiple sponge specimens to inspect on the boat.

After we examined and returned the specimens, we looked at a bracket showing how many Americans are killed yearly from different causes. Shark attacks were tied for last place, with .5 American deaths/year. Lightening strikes took the top spot with 75 deaths/year. From 1990-2000 there were 321 reported shark attacks in the United States, whereas in the 1996 there were 43,000 toilet related injuries. The point, shark attacks are not as common place as people believe. After this enlightening discussion , we headed back to SeaCamp where hot chocolate and warm showers were waitng for us.

Looe Key Snorkel

Thursday, March 4th AM Adventures
Post by: Jocelyn Cole

Today was the first day back from the Everglades and Big Cypress. This morning we went on a boat trip to Looe Key, a SPA (Sanctuary Protected Area) zone. The visibility was not as good as the last time that we snorkeled this area, mainly due to the constant wind stirring up the sediment. So, the SeaCamp led us into shallower areas near the reef crest, where we could see more. Each of the boats saw amazing fish like Midnight parrot fish, rainbow fish, stoplight parrot fish and a barracuda or two. When we were on our way out of the Looe Key area we spotted a barracuda jumping and spiraling out of the water. It was thought that it was being attacked, maybe by a shark (some people saw a dark shadow beneath it). It was a very strange and interesting view. We then headed back to SeaCamp for lunch, time in the sun and afternoon activities.

Key West Photographs

Hi All - Here are photos from our day in Key West: East Martello (one of the forts), Nancy Forrester's Garden (with the macaws that she has rescued), the Conch Train Ride (historical and architectural tour of Key West), and Sunset Festival. We all enjoyed a fresh seafood dinner at the Half Shell Raw Bar on the Pier. Enjoy the photographs!

Photographs from the Everglades

Hi All -
Here are some scenes from the Everglades. We all enjoyed ourselves in Big Cypress. I will post photographs from Key West tomorrow. We had a nice day in SeaCamp - more snorkeling, a bit of sun, but chilly again tonight. The kids are great! All our best, Patty and Greg

Air Boats and Aboriginal Tools

Tuesday Afternoon, March 2
Post by: Dylan "D-Stil" Stilin

Hi Everyone!
After several storms during our first week in Big Pine Key, it seemed this morning that we had brought the rain with us. However, despite heavy rain this morning, we were still able to get through everything on our jam-packed agenda (Buddy didn't want us to miss anything!). After a busy morning, our hectic schedule continued into the afternoon as we had many more activities planned for after lunch: bird show, air boat ride, aboriginal tools, a hike and then journaling time!

Upon the completion of the bird show, we made our way over to the dock for our much anticipated air boat trip. The trip did not disappoint us, as we sped around the swamp (in man-made canals) while seeing many alligators, raccoons and even a family of pigs. When we returned we were treated to yet another great show, this time involving Indian tools and weapons.

The tool show was very interesting and a great learning experience, as Hans (Billy Swamp Safari park guide) showed us a multitude of tools and weapons, while explaining their usage and even using one of them to start a fire. Next up on our agenda, and the last activity in the Everglades, was a walk on the boardwalk, a bridged trail through a Cypress Marsh. This ended with a group photograph in front of one of the small chickee huts. After our photograph, we had journaling time, dinner and some down time until lights out at 10:00 pm. Wednesday morning (by 7:30) we will once again board the bus to head to Key West before returning to SeaCamp for the second half of our program.

Snake Show and Safari Ride

Tuesday, March 2nd
Post by: Andrew Davis

We began the day with an early start, with everyone waking up around 7:00 AM in our new surroundings. We headed to breakfast in the cafe at 8:30 where we had eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes and hash browns (a very hearty start to the day!). After breakfast, we visited their gift shop (they sold the traditional patchwork Seminole clothing), for about 10 minutes. In this time, a dark cloud rolled in and unleashed a torrential rain storm. Fortunately, we were scheduled to attend a venomous snake show, which was housed inside!

In the snake show, we were introduced to 6 snakes (all except one are indigenous to Florida) and a baby alligator. Almost every snake that we saw, with the exception of the Florida rat snake, was venomous. We saw two different types of rattlesnakes: the pygmy rattlesnake and the Easter timber rattlesnake. We also saw a coral snake, and learned the proper saying to identify these venomous snakes from rat snakes: "Red on yellow, kills a fellow whereas red on black is a friend of Jack." The show was amazing, as our park guide, Hans, was so knowledgeable and really demonstrated the importance of snakes in the ecosystem as well as the fact that they do not attack humans unless aggravated.

After the snake show, we went for another swamp buggy ride - but this one during the day! We saw much more than we did on the night ride. On the ride we saw numerous Asian Water Buffalo, bison, ostriches and the wild hogs. We were also able to see more of the vegetation as we drove through Hardwood Hammocks, cypress domes and also a rich array of ferns.

We had lunch under one of the outdoor chickee eating huts (the Seminoles had different chickees for different purposes - the eating one is open air and on raised platforms). Buddy, our guide for the two days, had packed us a picnic that allowed us to try some of Florida's produce: papaya, apple bananas, tamarind and mango. For dessert we had guava bars and cookies.

After our feast, we attended a birds of prey show that were all indigenous to Florida. At the show we were introduced to three different types of birds. The first we saw was a black vulture, which the trainer allowed to fly freely around the outdoor atrium. It was neat to watch them chase each other around. Then he introduced us to a red-tailed hawk, which was a bird that the handler had trained. He had rescued it himself when he found it with a broken wing. This bird was very unique as it was almost all white, with red tail feathers (the bird was older and aging). The third and final bird that we met was an American Kestrel. This bird was very pretty and small in stature. It looked like a Peregrine Falcon but much smaller. This experience was another informative show, and eveyone walked away with a new understadning about these animals.

Billy Swamp Safari

Monday Evening, March 1
Post by: Nick Grille

When we arrived at Billy Swamp Safari we settled into our chickee huts and headed out for night buggy ride. When thinking of a "buggy" I imagined a Jeep-like vehicle. But no! These vehicles were about 20 ft tall and the tires were wide to take on any tytpe of terrain. We all got in, went through safety rules (no hands outside of the vehicle and watch out for passing branches) and headed for the safari trail. Once through the mechanized fence door (separates wilderness from display) we went through a canal marsh boundary over into the "grasslands." As we cruised along we saw: alligators, Asian Water Buffalo, white tailed deer, wild pigs, Nilgai, herons, raccoons, field mice, and African Eland. We had a humorous, yet knowledgeable, park guide. Many of the animals were imported from different locations around the world. This fact disappointed us a bit, as we all wanted to see only those that were native to Florida. Also, we were hoping to spot a Florida panther, as a few do live on the reservation, but did not! Our tourguide informed us that before Hurricane Wilma, in 2005, they had a 14 ' 9" alligator named Superman living on the preserve. He was one of the largest in Florida, and thus attracted many tourists. However, he died, they believe due to the stress of the move that he endured when they tried to bring him into a safe zone in preparation for the hurricane. The park guide also said that in the gift shop they had a postcard of Superman with a small man sitting atop him, and the man's feet barely touched the ground! After our night tour, we to bed in our huts (under many wool blankets), excited about what was yet to come.