Part of something bigger in Penobscot Bay

Guest blog post by Science Educator Alex Griffith

At this point in the season, I’ve seen a lot of different groups come through, and each has aspects that make the time I spend with them—be it for a day or a week—unique and special.

The four days I spent with the Penobscot Bay Leadership Collaborative last week were the epitome of this.  For four days, I had the privilege of working with eight boys and their continuity instructor, Sockeye, as part of a team effort with The Apprenticeshop and Hurricane Island Outward Bound School to give local midcoast Maine boys a closer look at the wonderful natural environment they find themselves in.  For the four days I was with them, we learned about some of the marine and island ecology of Hurricane Island, and worked on team-building through the signature raft challenge and the climbing wall.

Facilities director and climbing guru Sam Hallowell looks on as the boys rock climb and belay.

What made this group so much fun was the fact that they already had gained some rapport with one another and would continue to do so after I left, so their time on Hurricane was not a one-off experience.  The boys came in with some inside jokes, and, unsurprisingly given the way middle school boys function, left with many more, but more importantly gained a greater understanding of how to function as a group.  

Another great part was the fact that I got to introduce them to the scientific component of their trip, which entailed collecting basic marine data (temperature, pH, and turbidity) and then comparing what they noticed on Hurricane to what they recorded when they were in open water in Penobscot Bay.  To be their lead scientific contact over their two weeks in the Bay was a new role for me, and the boys were so enthusiastic that I had no doubt that they would be able to continue their research over the remaining week of their journey on their sailboat.

Several PBLC boys look into a refractometer to test water salinity of the Hurricane Island floating dock.

Getting the boys to slow down a little bit every day for reflection every day was probably the best part.  Most of the reflection was designed to help the boys gain a greater appreciation for their surroundings through observation, and they were always willing to take a step back and think about what they had done that day and what they’d noticed the most.  Our conversations were free-flowing (except for the rare time when the energy got a little too high), which is a real pleasure to have with students, and the boys were genuinely invested in their experience in a way that indicated that they really wanted to be there.

On Monday, when the boys left, they invited me out to their boat for a few minutes of rowing before they shoved off to sea in the fog.  It was bittersweet having the group leave (I was sad to see them go, but at the same time, they left me exhausted), but after experiencing them as a group for the previous few days I knew they were more than ready to live on a tiny boat together for five nights.  The PBLC program is special, and it was great to feel like the boys knew it just as much as their other instructors and I did.

Kelp is key in Vinalhaven partnership

This spring we concluded a year-long program in the Vinalhaven School, primarily focused on kelp aquaculture. These efforts included growing kelp from spores in classroom tanks and experimenting with kelp growth and seaweed product design. The fall programming involved a trip to Hurricane to deploy the kelp in Penobscot Bay, and students came back to Hurricane in the spring to harvest their kelp. All year, we worked with the middle and high school science teachers to incorporate the kelp into the science curriculum, and the Vinalhaven Land Trust provided financial and logistical support.

These 7th grade kelp experts take a moment to enjoy the view from Sunset Rock.

To wrap up the year-long effort, students presented their kelp projects and products as part of the school’s Community Kelp Night in May. Check out the Island Institute’s coverage of Kelp Night and learn more about our work with the Vinalhaven school and community!

Data collection time! Students measure the length of a kelp blade from our aquaculture site.

Salty Queens Rule the Island: Penobscot Bay Leadership Collaborative’s First All-Female Contingent Comes to Hurricane

Guest blog post by Science Educator Allison Hren

Each morning, at 6:45, they rolled out of bed, changed into their swimsuits and jumped eight feet down into Penobscot Bay. This was not the first sign that these girls were tough. From acquiring a film of ocean water all over their bodies and hair (the inspiration behind their name, the Salty Queens) to handling lobsters with their bare hands or divvying up tasks and collecting qualitative data about the ocean, they rose to the occasion. Many of the activities they participated in were far beyond their comfort zone, but they pushed through.

An afternoon spent on our climbing wall

Because this was a local program, it was amazing to see the connections the participants had with each other. Every single girl knew at least one of the others, and most knew a few. They were also very connected to the region and came in to the program knowing a great deal about the ecosystem we were studying.  Because of their past experiences with science, they quickly began to teach each other how to use the scientific instruments and it was a joy to watch them take charge and be the leaders in the lab and in the field.

Observing and identifying plankton

From helping our research staff measure and sort scallops in our aquaculture project to making “pulling boat pudding” with Irish moss for dessert, the wide variety of activities and busy schedule on Hurricane Island never stopped them from asking questions and making connections with everything around them. Each time we learned about a new topic, such as buoyancy, they would apply it to, for example, making raft structures in our raft challenge, or thinking about where to find plankton in our plankton tow.

Learning about HICSL’s aquaculture research and the life of a scallop

As an educator who often only interacts with a group of students for a few days or weeks at a time, it’s my goal to make sure they are given the tools to figure out problems and answer questions on their own. The PBLC girls took everything I gave them and ran with it, reminding me to continue to ask questions in my everyday life, both at work, or simply when I want to know what plants are surrounding me on a walk around town. I have no doubt they will continue to investigate the world with great enthusiasm.

Watching the sunset from Gibbon’s Point

"Endersession" Success

Innovation Academy is a public charter school in Tyngsboro, Mass. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the school is its “Endersession” program. Each year in June, one week is dedicated not to classes, but to a weeklong end of year session or endersession of the students’ choice. Teachers propose endersessions and then students sign up. Some of these sessions involve road trips and off campus excursions, while others are based on campus for cooking classes and daily museum visits. For this first time this year, one of the endersessions visited Hurricane Island and we had a great week.

Scenic rowing in Penobscot Bay

Of the ten Innovation students on Hurricane, some selected the Hurricane trip due to their love of science, while others pursued our trip for their love of the outdoors. Many of them were eager to embrace new experiences in a different setting, and some of them were out of their comfort zones.

My two favorite experiences of the week were our sessions around scallop aquaculture and when we went lobstering. During our scallop aquaculture discussion, students were actively participating and thinking critically about fisheries and aquaculture opportunities. We went down to the dock to pull up the lantern net holding our scallops, something I have done dozens of times, and the students immediately expressed their excitement and interest in the clapping, squirting critters. Sometimes I forget how profound an impact the scallops can have on first impression so I appreciated experiencing the fun again with Innovation students.

Students examine these lobsters and determine they are too small to keep.

Later in the week, we went lobstering, and the students were so animated, curious, and excited as we hauled traps and held the lobsters, examining their anatomy and assessed whether they were legal size. As we progressed through the lobstering and scallop aquaculture sessions, the students’ positive energy fueled me and I had fun as an educator and a facilitator. Innovation’s endersession took place during our last week of school programs before we kicked off our summer season, and I am grateful for the curiosity and positivity with which we ended our own school year.

June Smidgens

Guest blog post by Science Educator Teddy Simpson

Picture everyone huddled in groups, in the classroom, on the porch and rocks beside. On the final full day of the program, the students from Abington Friends School in Philadelphia sprawl about working on their final poster presentations. The windows in the classroom are the best: tall and wide along the east face of the building, Hurricane Sound a basin down the hill, constant and bright. The space feels cinematic, surreal enough that it warrants an honest debate as to whether or not it is a productive learning environment. The light on the wood floors and frames is distracting, but the peace the space inspires is second to none. For now I am on the “pro” side of the debate. Facilitating the final weave of their research experience, I am feeling a little scattered. I bob from group to group, chatting about carrageenan, admiring their meticulous snail sketches, looking down at the galley and out toward Greens Island. My mind dances then plods, like a novice’s needle at a sewing machine (does this simile land with the Island Update’s reader demo? I think I nailed it). But the students play foil to my mind, continually surprising me: they approach me with specific questions about rephrasing methods or interpreting a calculation. They want the details to be right, the lines to be straight, the facts correct.

Abington students collecting data in the intertidal

I explain this moment, small amidst our week together, to say this feeling is not unique. There are myriad times that I have been surprised, supported, challenged by this community in the short while I’ve been here. Hurricane constantly pokes us in the cheek, saying, “look at me. Don’t forget where you are and who you’re with.” During the final campfire with Appleton School, I was poked again. These eight students - after having moved through each day on the island with unending and exceedingly extroverted joy - spoke eloquently about the relationships they’d built with their classmates. They paused. Their silence, their pause, reminded me once again that this place brings presence and intention to its inhabitants. We move curiously among old spruce and sea spray, wondering how these lichen or those wind turbines came to be. It is infectious. When, toward the end of a program, I see how this attitude has rubbed off on students - well, that’s surprising. And I don’t ever want it to not be.

A particularly windy evening on Gibbons Point

Scallops & Students: On fun lessons, good questions, and bivalve friends

Guest blog post by Science Educator Alex Griffith

It’s increasingly difficult to pick a favorite activity to lead with students, but I think that the discussion of aquaculture, and more specifically scallops, is quickly becoming one of my most looked-forward-to lessons to teach—especially now that I know how to pronounce the word the way Mainers do (tall “a,” as in y’all:  “scahllop”).

The lesson starts off pretty straightforwardly, with a simple question asking students what they think aquaculture is.  We then move into a discussion about the local Penobscot Bay lobster industry and the research Hurricane Island is doing regarding the sustainability of kelp and scallop aquaculture as potential supplements to the lobster fishery here.  Unfortunately, the kelp often doesn’t hold students attention as much as the scallops do, but scallops are a little bit easier to identify with (I guess).

A lantern net loaded of scallops enjoys a beautiful day on the docks.

We start off by talking about the lifecycle of the scallop, from spawn to spat to full-grown adult. This of course entails a discussion of how baby scallops are caught in spat bags, then spend their growth phase in the bottom cage, and are finally moved into their final home in the scallop high-rise in our lantern nets or ear hung lines.  After a few more minutes of conversation regarding the sustainability of aquaculture, yada yada yada (this is when some groups start to get antsy), what do you know: students want to go look at real, live scallops.

So I grab a bucket and off we go to the dock.

Some of the students tend to lose a lot of their enthusiasm as soon as they see the condition of our lantern nets, which are covered in brown algae, but for most of them, hearing the scallops snap shut as they leave the water is enough to get them excited to hold one.  After filling the bucket with saltwater and throwing a few scallops into it (hopefully a few of them will start to swim around), students then get the chance to hold them. Of course, in the process of opening and closing, scallops usually spit water out—always eliciting a scream or two from some of our more squeamish students.  Additionally, I always warn students that the scallops might “bite”; not intentionally, of course, but still enough to surprise you.

A bunch of scallop friends spending some quality time away from their lantern net home.

Some of the best conversation I’ve had with students has come by way of our scallops.  This past week with Nobleboro Central School, I had a discussion with a student about the difference in perception and consciousness between scallops and humans and how (in my opinion) it’s all but impossible to say which life experience is “better” because they’re so different.  Talking about aquaculture sustainability, specifically how scallops and kelp being grown for eventual harvest still contribute to the local ecosystem, is also great, especially when we can tie it into how other fisheries have collapsed and how well-run the lobster industry is.

Not quite full-grown, this scallop has a few more years in a lantern net before it is of harvestable size. 

All in all, scallop and aquaculture are fun to teach in every way—the coupling of the in-class discussion and lesson with the hands-on scallop experience on the dock is a cohesive experience that really does manage to bring it home for a lot of students.  

Now if only we could eat the scallops.  

Dishes + Dance Party = Building Community

Guest blog post by Science Educator Emily Buckner

Most people don’t particularly enjoy doing the dishes; prune-y fingers, weird smelling sponges, clogged drains, etc. On top of all that, they are one of those tasks that seem like as soon as you have cleaned up one meal’s the next start to accrue! Because of these commonly shared sentiments we understand that students may do this task a bit grudgingly, and yet it is something that everyone who spends time on this island is asked to do. Why? It certainly would be more efficient for several staff members well into the groove of the season to do it consistently, and it would give a little more time for students to participate in other programs, not to mention alleviate an already tired instructor of explaining the suds, rinse, sanitize, and dry system for the 50th time. And yet, we’ve decided it’s worth it.

One group of fun-loving middle schoolers visiting last week from Dorchester, MA proved once again that asking students to participate in such an everyday task should absolutely be a part of our program. While starting off with the usual level of resistance, the Epiphany students quickly figured out how to be having more fun than anyone else on the island, putting on some pop radio and throwing an impromptu dance party and sing-a-long in the dish pit. We had only asked for 5-6 students to do the task but the rest of their classmates joined in the fun, showing their support by keeping the energy upbeat and positive. Their smiles and laughter were infectious and had everyone else on the island (2 other high-school groups and staff) feeling happy and singing along to Justin Bieber. It was the epitome of what building community can look like here on Hurricane: sharing the responsibilities of necessary tasks, working together, supporting one another, and bringing up everyone on the island. So why have students help with the dishes? Because it transforms them from being mere visitors to engaged island community members, learning what it means to be relied on and to be appreciative for the work of others (not to mention a useful life skill!). Plus it might even turn out to be one of the highlights of their experience.

Epiphany students checking out some of our live scallops.

Eight Days of Data, Sun, Hiking, and Fun (but maybe only 4 days of sun)

Twelve students from the Cambridge School of Weston (CSW) recently spent 8 days on Hurricane as an intensive field component to their Marine Biology course. The juniors and seniors in the program all had been studying field methods and reading about intertidal research prior to arriving on Hurricane, so they had a solid foundation to start their independent and small group research projects.

Foggy morning data collection with transects and quadrats.

Within a few hours of their arrival on Hurricane, students were exploring the intertidal zone, examining organisms, and asking questions. The next morning, they were in the field by 6 am, practicing using transects, quadrats, and stadia rods so they would be prepared to start collecting data for their research projects. Their topics ranged from tidepool biodiversity to seaweed fertility to hermit crab habitats to dog whelk shell erosion and more. They diligently collected data each day and thoughtfully considered many factors contributing to their results.

Using calipers and measuring scallops as part of Hurricane's lantern net growth experiment. 

While this group stayed focused and worked very hard, they also took moments to enjoy down time and the natural beauty of Hurricane Island. They continually expressed gratitude and joy as they appreciated meals, foggy views, seal sightings, and hikes. I remember our first perimeter hike on day 2 when a student exclaimed “whoa this is so cool and different” when we entered a wooded section of the trail. This stands out to me because I recall having the same reaction when I first walked that trail three seasons ago.

At the end of a long day in the field, not much beats a colorful sunset like this!

I value the balance of hard work, gratitude, and fun that this group brought to our Hurricane community, and I wish them luck finishing up their project reports for final presentations back at school. They will upload their final project reports to their class website, where they also kept a blog of their time on Hurricane. Check it out here!  

One of the sunny days during this program! Excellent for seaweed data collection.