By Addy Brautigam, Kaia Wasserman, Max Lundin and Amber Xu
We started the morning off with the First Annual Salish Sea Debate activity prep! We broke out into 4 groups of 5 students each. We have two topics and each group is either pro or con of one of the topics. We did initial research and created our debate points today in preparation for the debate tomorrow night!
We then packed lunch and took off to Mt. Finlayson. We did the loop trail and ate lunch.
the nature we were surrounded by! Photo credits: Addy Brautiga,
Students and staff trecking along the trail. Photo credits: Addy Brautigam
Fun in the SUN! Photo credits: Kaia Wasserman
More views of the trail because it was stunning. Photo credits: Kaia Wasserman
Students enjoying lunch and the view. Photo credits: Kaia Wasserman
Not sure what’s better. The socializing or the view!! Photo credits: Kaia Wasserman
After we returned from our hike, we did some work on our projects!
Sophie locked in! Photo credits: Kaia Wasserman
Students working hard! Photo credits: Addy Brautigam
Keep on the grind!!! Photo credits: Addy Brautigam
Using our resources and mentors! Photo credits: Addy Brautigam
To finish out the day, we have an Eelgrass learning activity with Dr. Olivia Graham, followed by dinner with Dr. Graham and a presentation. She is a marine scientist who is passionate about marine ecosystems, especially eelgrass in the PNW! We are so excited to meet and work with her!!
This morning, we went to the Land Banks‘ Zylstra Preserve and met with Shauna and Julia, members of the San Juan Island Conservation Corps, who helped us to remove the invasive teasels, which are European native weeds that outcompete the native species. They introduced us to the Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) that they recently constructed, being the first on San Juan Island. These man-made dams, mimicking beaver dams, function to slow down river flow downstream to the nearby False Bay, in hopes of improving water quality over time.
Photo credits: Bryce.
After a quick lunch break, we listened to a presentation from Caroline, utilizing her experience as a college counselor, about colleges and the first steps in the search and exploration for the right college. We talked about the importance of academics, location, culture, experience, reputation, and costs, covering almost any prospective topic.
Photo credits: Sophia
After the presentation, we loaded into the vans and took off for Roche Harbor, today’s use of our recreation time. Here we went to the ice cream shop, where Caroline generously treated all of us to ice cream! With our ice cream in hand, we walked around the resort, through shops, and around the marina. Then, Cara beat everyone in bocce ball, and on the walk back to the vans, we encountered an adorable and huge Pyrenees puppy. We headed back to the dorms for our afternoon jobs, taking a quick ukulele break to sing “Lava” with Cara.
Photo credits: Kelly
As of right now, we are all super excited for our guest of the night, Dr. Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria, to discuss sea and eel grasses. On the menu tonight is leftovers!
