Before we begin on day 10, let’s add a bit onto day 9. Last night, we went back to Friday Harbor Labs to learn about eelgrass, from the differences between seagrass and seaweed to conservation efforts.

Now let’s begin on day 10. To start the day, right after breakfast, we left to go birdwatching at Zylstra lake with Sharon Massey. We all brought our binoculars and observed bald eagles, turkey vultures, and some smaller birds such as goldfinches, yellow finches, and white-crowned sparrows. We went home for a few minutes, then departed for Friday Harbor Labs. There we went on a tour around the campus, went into different Labs, saw experiments in progress, learned about the green fluorescent protein, a transmission electron microscope, and saw many animals including Spiny dogfish, which are in the shark family. After our tour, we went back to the house, ate lunch, and proceeded to work on our projects for the duration of the afternoon.

The second day of the trip was the only full day we spent kayaking. Most of our morning was spent paddling out around Cattle Point. We ended up turning around and eating lunch at the beach near Third Lagoon. While there, a few members decided to collect a bit of bull kelp and cut it in a way to make horns, that were fun to make, hard to play, and nasty to use. From there the group split up and half of us went on a hike while the rest went back to the campsite. A few of the hikers were brave enough to take the long walk to Cattle Point lighthouse barefoot after being inspired by our kayak guide Max. By the time the hikers returned to the campground and those who had stayed behind had finished their game of Uno, it was time for campfire chili. We ate around a campfire and some played a few rounds of BS while others experimented with putting s’mores on brownies. Once the fire had been put out and the sky had turned dark, Max and most of the campers headed out to watch the bioluminescence. Max explained the science of the chemicals luciferin and luciferase and the impact of the bioluminescent protists on the ecosystem. We were fascinated by the glow of the plankton and zooplankton. Sadly, their glow was not bright enough to be caught on camera. Eventually, we decided to head back and some returned to sitting around the campfire to make s’mores or to dry off. After that, everyone went back to their tents to go to sleep.

First two pictures by: Max (Kayak guide)

Last two pictures by: Alex Karanov