Today’s blog by Maddy, Jacob, and Kika.
This morning, we woke up bright and early in preparation for a ferry trip scheduled for 7:50 AM, destined for Anacortes. Derek drove his van down at 5:30, right after the earliest ferry left, in an attempt to guarantee us a space – we thanked him profusely for his generosity. However, despite all of our careful planning and early rising, we were outcompeted by a tow truck! So, instead of collecting eelgrass samples at Padilla Bay, we adapted our plans and took a detour. False bay provided an opportunity to observe the local flora and fauna and collect algae samples, for pressing later. We saw numerous species of crabs, infinitesimal strands of seaweed, and several shorebirds and gulls that fled at the sight of our troop. The tide was marvelously low, which permitted our scientific outing – however, even our high-grade water equipment (our boots) failed to shield us from the wrath of the incoming tide (aka getting water in our boots).
After wringing out our sopping wet socks, we proceeded to the Fourth of July beach. We decided to ditch our sopping socks, and Madelyn, Jacob, and Joey elected to walk to the beach barefoot. Unfortunately, the tide beat us to the beach, and our second eelgrass samples were completely submerged by the time we arrived. We explored along the coastline, but Madelyn’s foot was sliced by a wayward barnacle, prompting us to break out our med kit and plenty of bandaids. Once the calamity was quelled, we settled down to eat our packed lunch.
After returning to the dorm and washing our boots, Derek gathered us on the couch and gave us a challenge; to find the oldest article possible that mentions eelgrass. Instantly we set off on our computers, testing a myriad of search options and websites. We found news articles, books, scientific charts, and graphs, all dating back to the early 1800s. Finally, Jacob found a source from 1753 – the original naming of Zostera marina by Carl Linneaus!
Then, Jess Newly arrived to talk to us about eelgrass and forage fish! At first glance, these organisms seem boring and unimportant, but if you take a deeper look, you’ll realize that they’re integral to the Salish Sea ecosystem. Jess talked extensively about how organisms interact with each other, and how even the smallest creatures have a big impact on their environments. She passed around incredibly interesting samples of forage fish larvae and eggs for us to look at. Lastly, she brought out VR headsets! We excitedly adjusted the straps and put them over our heads, plunging ourselves into a 360 world of eelgrass beds and salmon. It was fascinating to see giant schools of herring from their very own underwater habitat, as if we were one of them!
After that, we were all starving, so Madelyn, Gray, and Joey whipped up a fragrant stir fry, with tofu and lots of veggies. It was beautiful to look at, and also so tasty! Miranda remarked that it was one of the best meals she’s ever eaten. Afterwards, we headed off to bed.