[ot-caption title=”The students on the Marine Biology Trip set up tents.” (via Sebastian Christ, senior)”][spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

While the rest of the Upper School students were studying at school, the Marine Biology class got to take a trip off-campus. On the Marine Bio Trip, the students were able to kayak, paddle board, collect shells, see wildlife, eat s’mores, and go to the beach.  They even had the opportunity to witness the supermoon, a phenomenon that has not occurred since 1948. Ms. O’Brien, the Marine Biology teacher, helped plan out this amazing experience for her students. [spacer height=”20px”]

“In the last two years, we did this trip in April, so it was more of a culminating trip, but due to the schedule this year, I will be referring back to things we saw on the trip, during the second semester,” Ms. O’Brien said. [spacer height=”20px”]

The change in schedule allowed the students to see different weather and different species. The weather was definitely a little chilly, but that allowed for studying of newer cold water species. [spacer height=”20px”]

“On Tuesday night, during the night beach walk, the bioluminescent dinoflagellate’s, which are a cold water species, were out and the students were able to see them all glow over the sand,” O’Brien said.[spacer height=”20px”]

Not only did the new dates bring new adventures, but also coincided with the project attached to it. Coincidentally, the project that Ms. O’Brien usually assigns at this time of the year, corresponds with the Marine Bio Trip. In the “Conchology Field Study” project, the students were assigned to collect shells of different mollusks and ID the common name and the class of species it was in. Most students were able to get most of the shells for their project on the Marine Bio Trip. [spacer height=”20px”]

The students benefited from this trip because they were able to understand their course better when seeing the different species they were covering in the class. The class spent the past couple of weeks studying certain classifications that they were able to witness on the beaches of the trip. [spacer height=”20px”]

“We are studying mollusks and shells right now, so everything we were able to interact with on the trip really helped with that,” senior John Jones said. [spacer height=”20px”]

“Everything we saw is something we have talked about or will talk about. For example, we just covered Filo Mollusca, which includes things like clams, oysters and snails, and we got to collect shells and figure out which organism they went to,” Ms. O’Brien said. [spacer height=”20px”]

Another teacher that had the opportunity to go on the trip for the first time this year was Ms. Rice, who said she had an amazing first experience. Ms. Rice was the only other science teacher on the trip, and she recommends taking the interesting class. [spacer height=”20px”]

“Every morning we would wake up and see dolphins right outside of the tents we were at because we were right on the water,” Ms. Rice said.  [spacer height=”20px”]

The chilly weather allowed the students to have a fire going in the morning right before they went out to kayak and paddle board. The students were able to kayak with porpoises right by their side. [spacer height=”20px”]

“Some groups got to see nursery sharks while kayaking. The area that we were in was kind of like a nursery, so mostly filled with younger animals and the sharks are not dangerous,” Ms. Rice said. [spacer height=”20px”]

The kayaking and paddle boarding definitely seemed to be a favorite for the students. The trip was a good break from school and a good time to hang out with their friends. [spacer height=”20px”]

“It was so nice to go kayaking and be out on the water with friends relaxing,” Justin Danzansky said. [spacer height=”20px”]

The Marine Bio Trip was a fun and exciting trip that everyone really enjoyed. They learned the importance of different species and classifications and were able to interact with them close up. If you are interested in taking Marine Biology next year, you definitely have something to look forward to. [spacer height=”20px”]

Sources: Time and Date