Today’s Blog by: Kira, Abby, and Andrea

Having spent an amazing time at Salish Sea Sciences this summer, we all woke up excited to spend our last Saturday all together. We made our way to the farmers market and walked around looking at all the local artists and farmers. We would eventually go to different places and collect more data for our projects, some of us went on a ferry ride, others to Cattle Point, and others stayed back at the dorm analyzing the data they had already gathered. At the end of the day we went to watch Island Stage Left‘s performance of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” under the stars that featured the artist resident Paulina, and we all loved the play!

And now, for the exciting content: student interviews!! Today, the Blog Team interviewed Andrea, Estevan, and Naomi. Let’s start with some thoughts on this morning’s Farmer’s Market trip.

— Andrea, what was your favorite part about the Farmer’s Market?

“I loved the gluten free brownie that I bought. It was a little bit crumbly, but the flavor was there. The market in general was full of life, and the energy there was infectious.”

— Andrea, do you have any other comments regarding your experience at the Farmer’s Market?

“I apologize to the man whose video recording I walked in front of while the band was playing. I honestly did not see the camera.”

— Estevan, what was your favorite stand at the Farmer’s Market?

“I liked the high quality H2O. It was very empowering, it made me feel very open and alive. The natural spring water left a slight tingle on the tongue.”

Naomi, what did you do today during project time and can you tell me a little bit about your project? 

During project development time Naomi headed to Friday Harbor Labs to watch the feeding of the lab’s Pycnopodias. The feeding went well and Naomi says she got a lot of information about the sea star’s feeding behaviors. Naomi is studying and recording these feeding behaviors in individual stars using underwater cameras. The Pycnopodia populations were some of the most impacted by sea star wasting disease so the chance to work with them is really incredible! “I am so happy and grateful to Dr. Jason Hodin and his fellow researchers for letting me work with their sea stars.”

And for our next act, we’ll find out just how much we enjoyed tonight’s play!

— Estevan, what were your thoughts throughout the play?

“Honestly, the quality of the play was fantastic. They really brought life to the stage, and despite pandemic setbacks, it was overall a fantastic performance.”

Essentially, our day was fantastic — just ask Naomi!

— Naomi, what was your favorite part of the day? 

“My favorite part of the day was helping my fellow researchers conduct their experiences with chitons and barnacles. The access we have to the intertidal zone and the variety of organisms that reside in the Salish Sea through the labs is incredible. Thank you Friday Harbor Labs and the University of Washington!” 

Today was filled with productivity and fun! It was an amazing week. From working on our projects as individuals to watching a fantastic performance as a group the week could not have been better. Finally, a special thanks to Naomi, Andrea, and Estevan for their wonderful interview responses!!