Evening Sky

Hi All -
Our last night in Big Pine Key before taking off for the Everglades in morning! As always, nature provides us with a beautiful image!

Near Shore Environment, Sharks, and Echinoderms

Day 5: Saturday, February 27
Post by: Kate Nelson

Our Looe Key snorkeling experience had been like visiting a busy metropolis with coral buildings and bright fish swimming every which way, in and out of the coral apartment buildings.The barracuda patrolled the area while the fish went on with their daily lives. This was a striking contrast to our site today, the near shore environment. We now saw patches of sea grass moving in the current and mermaid's shaving brushes (type of sea grass) swaying side to side. Huge vase sponges towered over the landscape.

When you snorkel it's like witnessing a whole other world at work. You watch its daily activity through the glass of your goggles. When you put your face beneath the water, you enter a foreign country, something so different from our daily lives. But the time came soon enough to the leave the underwater country side as we boarded the boat and headed for home.

After showering (to get warm again) and heading to lunch, we reported to the Port Portable for our shark ecology lab. Joe and Alex (our instructors) talked about sharks, where they live, their teeth, their differences from bony fish and their external anatomy. We were then challenged to order the a shark's senses based on how far away they work. We were not very close, but came to realize the needs and functions of each sense. To further apply our knowledge we walked over to the Sink Lab (wet lab) to see some shark specimens that had been found dead after the recent cold snap in Florida (about a month ago when temperatures plummeted into the 20's). All the sharks and fish had been frozen solid in a freezer which we proceeded to explore.

Next on our list of activities was swimming with the sharks (bonnet head sharks) in the holding pond. Since most people did not want to go in (still cold) a few brave souls took the plunge. Again, due to the wind and sediment moving, we could not see the bottom 5 feet below us and with a spontaneous rainstorm we were forced out of the pond in a matter of minutes.

We had an awesome dinner of spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and brownies before our evening program. In the sink lab, once again, Joe set up different echinoderm stations where we had a chance to investigate first hand sea biscuits, sea stars, brittle sea stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. It was amazing to get a first hand look at the tiny creatures, finally truly realizing that they are alive! Hundreds of tube feet would extend moving this way and that, grabbing debris to stick on themselves as camouflage. They are awesome little creatures and provided a great end to our day.

Patch Reefs

Day 5: Saturday, February 27
Post by: Sam Kramer

We woke up this morning to a warm but windy weather and a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs and hash browns. Our morning activity was a boat trip to one of the smaller patch reefs instead of the outer reef. Due to the high winds, the seas were choppy and the water was quite turbid. At the first dive site, there was some less colorful but still intricately designed coral and a few sea fans. However, there was a lack of fish: The only ones around were a few blue striped grunts. We soon left the first site and moved to a shallower sea grass bed to collect echinoderms (sea stars, urchins, sea biscuits). We hit the water and were unable to see the sea floor. I dove to find the bottom and within a second found the bottom three inches from my face! We attempted our echinoderm search for a few minutes, but we only came up with one sea urchin. We decided there might be better conditions closer to SeaCamp instead of in the open ocean. So we moved to an even shallower location near Island X. We were able to snorkel up in front of the mangrove roots and view their structure up close. We returned to the boat with a few specimens and came back to SeaCamp.

Another Evening Storm

Hi All - So, another cold front rolled in quickly this afternoon. Yet, as always, nature provided us with her beauty!

Sea Grass Beds

Day 4: Friday, February 26
Post by: Chela Novak

When we woke up this morning, the weather was much better than the day before. The wind had calmed down, and the air was warming up. We were all exhausted (from the storm the night before), but excited to start our day. In our first class, we learned about sea grass and its impact on marine life. We talked about how sediment builds on the bottom of the ocean, and how in each level different types of organisms grow. After we learned about sea grass (how to identify, growth patterns, and ecological succession) we went out in our wading clothes and measured a patch of sea grass (to analyze its profile). We measured the depth of the limestone (below the sediment) and the elevation of sediment (to the water level). We noticed how in the center of the sea grass meadow it becomes deeper. Knowing how much sea grass there is is important because the animals of the ocean depend on it for food, rearing young and shelter. After we finished getting our data, we were very cold and went back to our dorm rooms to get ready for the rest of the day. Later that night we graphed the results of our study, showing the profile of the patch.

Snorkeling

Day 4: Thursday, February 26
Post by: Jon Lesser

Finally after a few long days of basically no snorkeling, we got to take a flat top boat out to Looe Key. The water out in the ocean was glassy it was so calm. The boat ride out took about twenty minutes, and the cold sea spray made us eager to get in the water. We stopped the boat at one of the mooring balls, since it's illegal to anchor on the coral. After a quick lesson on the formations of coral, we strapped on our snorkel gear and hopped in the water. Immediately as we hit the water we saw a beautiful tow foot long Midnight Parrot fish circling the mooring line. As we swam down one of the spur formations, we started noticing dozens of missile-shaped dark spots on the edges of the spur. These missile-shaped spots turned out to be some of the biggest Barracuda you could ever see. The biggest ones were about five feet long and about two feet in circumference. On the Barracudas were these bright blue and black worm looking fish called neon Gobies. Neon Gobies are cleaner fish and they were cleaning the Barracuda's mouth. All around the reef there were a plethora of species of fish, coral and sponges. When we got back on the boat to head back to camp, everyone couldn't stop talking about everything they saw. On the way back to camp we had some engine problems and communication difficulties, but we all made it back in one piece. After dinner at the camp we compiled our own species lists and finished the Dissolved Oxygen samples that we took at the site.

It's A Beautiful Day

The sun shone, we got in the water, all smiles!

The Hike

Afternoon Day Three:
Posted by Jocelyn Cole

This afternoon, we explored more of Big Pine Key with a hike. After lunch, we met our instructors and walked down the road - off property - to a trail opening at the Key Deer Preserve. While on our hike, we continued our marine debris clean-up efforts (this trail runs right along the bite and Horseshoe Island is across from this area). To help with our clean-up efforts we brought along a wheelbarrow, garbage bags, scissors and paper-pickers. As we walked along the trail and the roadside leading to the Preserve we picked up as much garbage as we could, which was a lot! In the park we explored some of the different trails, which led to many cool places and discoveries. One trail led to a beautiful view of clear blue water and a sailboat in the distance. Another brought some of us to brief sighting of key deer, and an opportunity to see an orb weaver in the trees (a type of spider that had red and black spikes on its body). On the hike we also saw and learned about mosquito trenches. Mosquito trenches were built in the 1940's to help the Keys with their mosquito problem. The trenches were designed to capture freshwater in them, which attracts egg-laying females. Then at high tide, the salt water would wash the mosquito eggs out to sea. However, this plan completely backfired: The builders were paid by the foot rather than by the quality of the job. Therefore they were poorly built and in random areas this resulted in intensifying the mosquito problem (the tides had no impact). After we saw the trenches we hiked a trail that was covered over by a canopy of trees (buttonwood, white mangroves and sea grape). We continued to pick up quite a bit of garbage(mainly bottles and cans), which we brought back to SeaCamp to have dumped (and recycled).

After dinner, we had a class on reef fish identification (readying us for our first dvie on Friday). We were introduced to different types of reef fish and given ways of identifying them by their morphology. Some of these tips came with tricks for remembering them while snorkeling. We also learned about schools (a groups of fish of the same species), shoals (an aggregate of fish), and pods (when fish swim as a large group resembling a single unit) through a very fun and active game!

Water Testing

Day 3: February 25th

Post by Annie Strada:

Today we started off our day with bagels for breakfast (we all enjoyed these!). After breakfast we had about an hour of free-time before our first class. In our class, we learned about hydrography. Hydrography is the study of water chemistry. The parameters that we discussed were pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity and temperature. We learned that in the ocean that these parameters have specific ranges that ensure the health of the organisms. For example the pH of the ocean should normally be about 8.2, but this value is changing due to anthropogenic forces - global climate change being the main factor. After our discussion, we learned how to measure the dissolved oxygen level in a sample of water. We collected water from the bite (the water in front of the camp) and had an opportunity to work with the test kits firsthand. It was fun! We first had to fix the water (so that we could preserve the amount of oxygen in the water, which we did with a series of chemical reagents) then we titrated the sample to make the actual calibration. The average dissolved oxygen level was about 8.4 ppm: A healthy measurement. We will be taking measurements of the dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature and salinity at each of our dive sites! It was a busy morning, but a good one!

Photographs of Our Adventures Thus Far!

Water
Testing










Amateur Hour

Swim Test

Hi Everyone - Greg and I figured how to work the technology (with the help of Sam Kramer!) Enjoy!

A View from our Rooms: Mangroves Fringing the Flats

Bubbles

Hi Everyone -

Here is a picture of Bubbles, the dolphin - enjoying SeaCamp!

Mangroves and The Storm

Activities Day Two: February 24th

After our pancake breakfast, we were led to the equipment tent to receive our snorkel gear and wetsuits. Then we headed to the swim channel for a swim test, snorkel lessons and diving instructions. Everyone was asked to participate, even Drossel and Patty! The goal was to have everyone practice clearing their masks, submerging and clearing their snorkel tubes as well as learning how to dive down without creating too much turbidity (we all passed!).We were told that the sign for "okay" was to pat a fist on the top of our heads, and that if we were in distress we should wave our arms above our heads as well as lift our masks off our faces.

After our swim test, we headed into one of the classrooms for a lecture on marine debris. A guest speaker, Todd Hitchens, from NOAA came to talk with us about the negative impacts of littering. In particular, he stressed the dangers of plastics in our waters - as they are ingested by organisms at all levels of the food web! He also discussed the consequences of fishing line entanglement, showing images of sea turtles dragging line and buoys behind them preventing them from being able to dive for food. Hitchens also spoke about the Pacific Garbage Gyre, a topic we had reviewed before our trip!

After a hearty lunch of macaroni and cheese we began our first service project: The mangrove clean-up. Our Seacamp instructors, Joe and Alex, took us over to a small beach that housed the camp's boating equipment as the plan was to access the mangrove fringed island - Horseshoe Island, by kayaks and canoes! We each were partnered with a buddy and our own canoe or kayak, which we paddled across the seagrass beds to the island. The goal was to recover garbage from the eastern side of the island. We measured the transect that we cleaned - two boats took on this task, while the remaining boats began recovering abandoned fishing ropes, buoys and the like. Many of us tied up our boats and waded into the water (about 3-4 ft deep) so that we could access the litter better. Some of the boys snaked their way up into the mangrove roots - particularly Clark and Louis! Once we finished the clean-up, we returned to the wet lab and began classifying and quantifying the marine debris. The shore perimeter that we cleaned was 392.7 meters and in that distance we recovered 342.15 meters of trap line! This is almost as much as the entire distance of the transect that we cleaned! (Much of this rope had to be cut out of the mangroves.) Every felt good about their efforts, despite the weather.

So, the weather...on our voyage back to SeaCamp it started to rain. As we were putting away the boats, the rain intensified, and we could see the front moving in across the channel. It was both eerie and beautiful. You could see bands of rain in the distance. Anyhow, we analyzed our trash in pouring rain as we watched the calm water turn turbulent. We all worked together to quickly untangle the line, measure it and bag it! As we ended the front hit with high winds and sideways rain! It was intense! The wind howled all night and the temperatures dropped quickly! Thank goodness we all had brought some warmer clothes with us - as we needed them to stay warm.

Post compiled by Samantha Busiello and Kathrin Fritz

Student Entries

Hello Everyone,

Now that we are beginning to settle into a routine, each day students will be creating our blogs! At the end of each post, the author will be listed.

The Trip:

The day of travel was long, even though we just went from the Long Island to Florida! However, stepping off the plane in Ft. Lauderdale, into non-freezing air was a relief. We had only a few mishaps along the way, involving our mascot from the Lower School - Bubbles. Bubbles had quite the adventure: almost left on the bus at Islip and then again misplaced at check-in! Once we realized that she did not make it through security with us, Bubbles was safely returned to us by security at Islip! Mr. Drossel is credited with her recovery, after alerting everyone in the airport - including the Suffolk County Police! She now has an assigned caretaker: Chela.

Our actual plane ride was uneventful. SouthWest Airline provided a bit of in-flight entertainment: singing flight attendants. The bus ride was much better with music playing from our speakers. Driving across the 7-mile bridge was cool, although we learend that the newer bridge is actually only 6.9 miles long! When we arrived at SeaCamp we were given a brief tour of the facilities and a cool lecture on coral reefs. I am looking forward to my stay.
Clark Hamilton

We Made It!

Good Evening All -
We are safely at SeaCamp in Big Pine Key. As I am writing the students are engaged in their first program. learning about the geological history of the Keys.

Our ride from Ft. Lauderdale to Big Pine Key was beautiful! We drove through the Everglades, out onto Rte. 1 down to the Keys. Everyone enjoyed crossing the 7 mile bridge into a beautiful Florida sunset. The bird life, along the drive, was quite prolific: Great Blue Herons, Egrets, Ibis, Ospreys, Cormorants, Pelicans and Wood Storks. No Key Deer sightings yet, but we were told that we should see some around the campsite during the course of our stay.

We'll check in again tomorrow.
Good night,
The Florida Group

Getting Ready to Leave

The Florida M-term trip is ready to take-off! We spent the day orienting ourselves for the trip. Each student placed their wet-suit and snorkel equipment orders, and received their reading packets for the trip. After taking care of business we settled down to the day's work: learning about the origins of the Keys, locating our destination on a map and searching out Big Cypress Swamp. As well students read two articles about the toxic role plastics are playing in the marine environment - an issue we will explore more deeply once at Newfound Harbor Institute.

Tonight's activities for the students include final packing and completing their first readings entitled Ancient Origins of the Keys and Recent History.

We look forward to blogging about our adventures once we arrive in the Keys!

Course Description

Hidden Gems of Florida

In this travel course, students have an opportunity to explore two of Florida’s treasures: the everglades and the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary. Students work and live alongside a group of resident marine biologists and environmental educators on Big Pine Key as they “dive-into” an experiential learning journey of its reef system. These experts from the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute are committed to educating our students about the beauty and intricacies of this ecosystem in an effort to build environmental stewardship. As part of this training, students participate in several research projects and learning service programs focused on understanding human impact issues in this area. 

After spending time on the shores, students travel to the Florida Everglades where they live in chickee huts on the Seminole Reservation and explore Big Cypress Swamp by boat. Working with resident herpetologists students learn about the ecosystem’s venomous snakes and alligators. Students tour the Ah Tha Thi Ki museum to learn about the Seminole culture, as well tribe members share stories and legends from their past. Further cultural explorations occur in Key West where students partake in a trolley tour that introduces to legends of pirates, stories of Hemmingway and an opportunity to celebrate in the island’s nightly sunset festival.