Salutations fellow citizens of our green world, it’s the students of Salish Sea Sciences writing yet another blog. Today was yet another eventful and action-packed day for us. The day started off a little early with a 6:30 wake-up call that I could only describe as harrowing for many of us tired teenagers. Despite this momentary challenge, we were all able to push through and commence our first activity of the day. We drove over to Cattle Point where we rendezvoused with Dr. Dobkowski, the scientist who spoke to us the night prior.
The primary goal of our Cattle Point expedition was to survey different squares filled with algae within a medium-sized grid called a transect. We used data sheets to record which species of algae we could identify and the general percentage of each square they covered along 4 different sections of the beach. The explanation I’m writing probably doesn’t do an adequate job of explaining the process, but the general idea was simply that we were helping Dr. Dobkowski collect data on species diversity in different locations.
On our walks along the shore from site to site we also encountered some pretty cool creatures in the tidepools. Some of us even saw a fuzzy-looking nudibranch chilling in some grass. Overall, it was a pretty busy morning but it was also a good introduction to the kind of field work that marine biologists do to determine the health of an ecosystem.
After our morning of walking and collecting data, we retreated back to the comfort of the house for a few hours. After an uneventful lunch and some time spent further developing project ideas, we were met with a welcome surprise as Islay, a former Salish Sea Sciences student came in to help us work on art and scientific drawings. While some of us certainly made more scientific drawings than others, at the end of our art time, we created some pretty awesome art pieces.
I think almost all of us enjoyed our little art venture as it was not only an excellent way to unwind but also a good practice for creating art in multiple mediums. Some of us even created collages and 3D art pieces which was super cool!
All in all, today was another good day for the students of Salish Sea Sciences. A busy morning contrasted a very relaxing afternoon quite well! As projects continue to develop there will be plenty of opportunities to individualize our research and apply the skills we have been learning steadily over the past two weeks. Hopefully, tomorrow will offer something just as awesome as today!
-Philip and Hannah