We started our day at the modest time of 8:00, waking up to prepare for our statistics workshop with the wonderful Dr. Cassandra Donatelli. We downloaded the necessary software, R, to get ready. After that, our paths divulged, with some staying at the dorms and some going to Friday Harbor Labs with our favorite Riley.

At the labs, many of us were continuing data collection, either in Dr. Billie Swalla’s lab space or down at Dr. Sandy’s tanks. It was a beautiful day on the island.

Flora and Ansuya were working on sea hare behavior, while Ian and Max were in the lab observing their behavior under certain stresses.

Supervised by the wonderful Emma, the rest of the students plugged away on their individual projects: designing posters, analyzing data, and compiling all the information we’ve gathered over the past three weeks. It was more productive for some than others, but with the program coming to a close, all the students are locking in to get their projects done.

After an intense work period, everyone needed a well-earned break. Emma and Riley took us all to Community Treasures, an eccentric and abundant collection of knick-knacks, doo-dads, and proverbial diamonds. We wandered around the complex, exploring antiques, cassettes, and fascinating fits put together from the various oddities.

After our terrific thrift trip, we returned to the dorms for our statistics workshop! For a second pleasant time, we had the honor of hosting Dr. Donatelli to teach us about the R program. We learned how to do many things with our data, including creating plots, graphs, and making calculations. This was incredibly helpful and provided a strong backbone for our data analysis work.

Written by Katie Chin, Sam Feit, Max Liu, Scarlett Thornton

We started off the day with an early morning to False Bay to catch the low tide. Despite the perilous sinking sands, we managed to traverse the soft sediment environment. With the guidance of our courageous scientific director Adam, we set off to find lugworms, important detritivores who digest sand, ridding it of bacteria and other organic matter. In order to find these worms, we searched for their spiral-shaped fecal casings and dug underneath. Using quadrats, we determined the density of the worms and their casings.

We met future doctor Frankie Hedge, who is surveying sediment density to inform her study on blood worm density and preferred conditions.

The next part of our day, after a sandwich lunch, was the Friday Harbor Lab Preserve tour. Guided by the most knowledgeable Justin Santiago, we took a fascinating nature hike through the preserve, learning about the incredible Douglas Firs and snacking on some salmonberries. As we walked, the incessant but interesting sounds of different birds filled the soundscape, many of which were identified by bird expert Justin. We learned about interesting indigenous practices for maintaining a healthy forest, as well as the scientists’ goals for the forest in the future. The hike was a rare terrestrial exploration for us marine folk, but both terrestrial and aquatic environments affect each other.

Lastly, we visited the Friday Harbor Labs to purchase some FHL merchandise.

This evening we are looking forward to welcoming Dr. Amy Cook for dinner and a presentation. She studies animal behavior and conservation biology, among other things.

06/27: Kayaking out

We paddled out to Stuart Island for a four day camping trip.

Caleb and Nina on the dock at Stuart Island.

06/28: Hike to Turn Point

— Taken by Guide Gretchen

Group hike up to Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island

Lunch at Turn Point Lighthouse

06/29: Day kayak trip or hike

— Taken by Soren Hecimovich

Some of the group took a day paddle along Stuart Island to explore the waters and marine life including Porifera and harbor seals.

06/30: Kayaking back

The group kayaked across the channel between Stuart Island and San Juan Island early to avoid bad winds coming in. We left at 8:30 and arrived at Friday Harbor around 11:30. Afterwards, the group crashed out at the dorms and watched “The Boys in the Boat” and various other television programs.

We trapped 19 students on an island!!!

Mr. Beast: Wassup OGs? Mr. Beast here with our first daily report on the totally awesome Salish Sea Sciences summer bonanza!

[Cut to footage of people meeting at the airport, with lively music in the background]

Mr. Beast: To start, yesterday was epic! A few of the betas met up with Caroline and Tom at the airport, cruising through Seattle to pick up our studious Alpha and glorious Sigma,

[Camera zooms out to Mr. Beast with a big smile]

Mr. Beast: If you want free Beast Bars, stay tuned for more epic adventures by smashing that like button and subscribing! The top comment on this video will get a free shipping of Beast Bars, FOR FREE!

[Clip of the group laughing and buying onions at a produce market]

Mr. Beast: On the way to Anacortes, they made a pit stop at a produce market where Sigma and Alpha bonded over the hilarious challenge of eating raw onions like apples. Crazy, right?

[Footage of the group boarding a Washington State Ferry, with views of the water]

Mr. Beast: In Anacortes, we met up with more students, including our legendary Zeta. Then we all took a Washington State Ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. On the ferry, Alpha and Sigma took their bond to the next level with a poker game, while Zeta watched patiently.

[Clip of the reunion at Friday Harbor, with hugs and cheers]

Mr. Beast: At Friday Harbor, Alpha, Zeta, and Sigma reunited with our long-lost brethren, the illustrious Kappa. It was like a scene from an epic movie!

[Footage of a pizza dinner with everyone having fun and eating]

Mr. Beast: Once settled, Alpha, Zeta, Kappa, and Sigma joined the betas for a pizza dinner, cooked by the amazing Tom and Cassandra. The dish? Pizza with a salad bar. Absolutely goated meal, guys!

Mr Beast: So, after we finished dinner and made some quick calls home, we decided to hit up the dorm’s backyard and started tossing around a frisbee.

[Cut to: Footage of everyone casually tossing a frisbee]

Mr. Beast: It started off casual, but then it turned into an EPIC game of ultimate frisbee!

[Cut to: People laying out endzones with shoes and running around in their socks]

[Cut to: Fast-paced action shots of the game]

Mr. Beast: Things got intense REAL QUICK! One team SMASHED it with four back-to-back points, totally dominating.

[Close-up of team 1 celebrating]

Mr. Beast: But wait! Team 2 wasn’t done yet—they finally got their first point on the board!

[Cut to: Team 2 celebrating their first point]

Mr. Beast: Just when they thought they were back in the game, team 1 came back STRONG!

[Cut to: More intense gameplay, focus on Alpha]

Mr. Beast: Then, out of NOWHERE, our super-studious Alpha switched sides! The game got even crazier with a few more tense points.

[Cut to: Close-up of the scoreboard tied, crowd looking tense]

Mr. Beast: It all came down to the ultimate point: LAST SCORE WINS EVERYTHING!

[Cut to: Slow-motion shot of Alpha grabbing the disc]

Mr. Beast: In a matter of SECONDS, Alpha grabbed the disc and LAUNCHED it across the field.

[Dramatic music builds up]

Mr. Beast: It was like a scene from a movie, guys. The disc SOARED and landed PERFECTLY in the hands of a beta teammate!

[Cut to: Teammate catching the disc, everyone cheering]

Mr. Beast: GAME OVER, just like that!

[Cut to: Everyone heading inside, high-fiving and laughing]

Mr. Beast: After the game, we all headed inside, totally exhausted but PUMPED, and crashed into our beds. Time to recharge for tomorrow’s epic adventures!

[Closing shot: Dorm lights turning off, screen fades to black]

Mr. Beast: Remember, every day’s a new chance for something AWESOME. See you in the morning!

Mr. Beast: Rise and shine guys! This morning we were presented with an exhilarating challenge: a town scavenger hunt! And you know what that means… It’s time to assemble one of the most extraordinary teams of all time: Alpha Zeta Kappa Sigma! This team is composed of our studious Alpha, the legendary Zeta, the illustrious Kappa, and the glorious Sigma. Words cannot describe the glory of this team, but I’ll attempt it. These guys had that dog in them.

[Cut to footage of the group running amok in Friday Harbor]

Mr. Beast: They wound through the beautiful seaside town of Friday Harbor with remarkable grace and style, like a pack of alpha wolves. Our mission? Take selfies at specific points around town. And guess what? We racked up the 2nd most points! But in our hearts, we were first. Everyone who witnessed this knew it: this was the birth of a superteam.

So, drop a comment down below about your favorite town location and smash that like button! Let’s go!

Mr. Beast: We continued the day with a next-level museum tour! Tracie, our guide, dropped some serious knowledge bombs about killer whales in this area. We even checked out a mind-blowing skeleton of conjoined harbor seal twins—crazy rare stuff!

[Cut to footage of Tracie explaining about killer whales, interspersed with shots of Mr. Beast and the crew listening intently]

Mr. Beast: But hold up, it’s not all good news. We uncovered another way humans are impacting marine life: toxins in killer whale bodies. This is a wake-up call, and we’re here to spread awareness. 

[Cut to serious shots of Mr. Beast looking concerned, overlayed with images of polluted waters and wildlife affected by toxins]

Mr. Beast: The next step in our journey was to hop back into the vans and mosey on down to eat our lunches. With the quick work of Legendary Zeta, we were able to discover that 99.99% of Adam’s playlist is made up of unknown tracks. Meanwhile, Alpha and Sigma had an enlightening discussion on the Top 3 Most Important Inventions of All Time (new video dropping soon!!), which were penicillin, the wheel, and selective breeding! Drop your predictions: will Adam’s songs be hidden gems or wacky tunes, and what do you think is the greatest invention of all time? Top 3 beta comments will win a free 1000 pack of Beast Bars, and tag 3 friends to raise the stakes!

[Cut to upbeat music as Mr. Beast and the crew get ready to listen to Adam’s playlist, with a text overlay: “What will we discover?”]

[Opening shot: Wide view of a dorm’s backyard, dusk settling in]

Mr. Beast (excited): What’s up, guys! After dinner and some quick calls home, we all hit up the dorm’s backyard and started tossing around a frisbee.

Mr. Beast: Hey guys, another Day 2 adventure is going to be epic, led by Adam and Riley. We’ve taken a trip to the intertidal pools, where we’re diving deep into the world of marine life. But first, we’re going to do something a little different. We’re going to observe the environment and jot down 10 biotic and 10 abiotic factors. Let’s scan the area and see what we can find!

[Cut to footage of Mr. Beast and the crew exploring the intertidal pools, taking notes and pointing out different factors]

Mr. Beast: Alright, we’ve got some people that saw seaweed, hermit crabs, barnacles—those are some biotic factors. Rocks, water, temperature—those are abiotic. It’s like a natural checklist!

[Cut to close-up shots of the biotic and abiotic factors they’ve identified, with labels popping up on screen]

Mr. Beast: Now that we’ve got a good grasp of the environment, it’s time for the fun part. We’re playing Intertidal Bingo! You all need to get Bingo by finding the most epic creatures and features we can find in these pools.

[Cut to shots of the Wolf Pack amongst betas holding up their bingo cards, excitedly discussing their strategies]

Mr. Beast: The goal is to find these items and mark them off our bingo cards. Whoever completes their card first wins an awesome prize!

[Cut to montage of Mr. Beast and the crew searching the intertidal pools, laughing and shouting as they discover different creatures]

Mr. Beast: Oh, check this out! We’ve got a sea star, a Gumboot Chiton, and even a sea anemone. These are some serious contenders for our bingo boards!

[Cut to footage of crew members marking off items on their bingo cards, getting closer to completing them]

Mr. Beast: It’s getting intense, folks! Who’s going to find that last elusive creature and claim victory? Drop your guesses in the comments below! Hint: likely not one of the betas…

[Cut to dramatic music as the crew continues their search, showing close-ups of the remaining items on their bingo cards]

Mr. Beast: That’s it for today’s adventure at the intertidal pools. Thanks for joining us on this wild journey of discovery with Riley, Adam, the Wolf Gang, and betas. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss out on our next epic expedition. See you next time!

[this blog post was written with the help of ChatGPT]