By Ela, Kaylee, Kenneth, and Zoe

Trying to get back into the swing of things, we woke up at 7:00, which is much too early for most of us. We started the day off by going to American Camp, on the South part of the island, where we learned about the archaeology that they are working on in preparation for the new buildings.

View from American Camp

While touring the camp, we got a history of the Pig War and how the uses for American camp changed over time. Around the time of the civil war, the British and the Americans were fighting over who owned San Juan Island, which was eventually granted to the Americans by the Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. We got to see the process used in creating a time capsule of what American camp once looked like.  We explored American camp more, eventually making it to Granny’s Cove and looking at the beautiful view.

Granny’s Cove

We got very hot and tired spending three hours in the sweltering sun.  Lunch came just in time before we all collapsed.  With renewed energy, we went to work on the ongoing archaeologic dig. We split up into two groups, one group would map out an area in preparation for a dig and the other would go to the site that was already mapped out to dig holes.  After about three hours of digging, sifting the silt, and mapping we got in the van and went back to the dorm.

Mapping

Mapping

Digging

Getting back to the dorm and out of the sun was a nice break from the long day. We took naps, played foosball, and prepared for dinner.

We had four very interesting and engaging guests for dinner, two of them being Salish Sea alumni. Lisa Yuodelis, one of the alumni, gave us a presentation on the Soundwatch program she is interning with. This program helps educate boaters about whales and makes sure they stay at a safe distance from the whales. Noises from boats can affect foraging and mating patterns as well as hurt the ears, so the work that Lisa is doing is very important to maintain the endangered orcas. The other alumnus was Eric Sable who let us know about The Center For Whale Research and that it just opened a visitors center in Friday Harbor just above the ferry parking lot on front street.

Dr. Jason Wood, our next presenter, continued with a similar topic. His presentation was on his work with bioacoustics and marine mammals. He builds and adapts hydrophones to listen to orca calls at Lime Kiln, and he is working on a project with the Port of Vancouver to get cargo ships to drive slower through the San Juans to reduce noise pollution. Dr. Wood originally developed acoustic devices to monitor African elephant populations. His wife, Wendy, runs the Africa Foundation, an organization dedicated to conservation and empowering communities.

After a long day, we were ready to hit the hay.