Island Updates

Rozalia Project: #STEMfortheOcean on Hurricane Island

Guest blog post by Science Education Intern Michelle DesLauriers

Everyone scavenging for even the smallest bits of trash on Greens Island

When talking about sustainability on an island in Maine, it’s hard not to think about the greater context of our surrounding ocean. Before coming to Hurricane Island, I knew much about the pervasiveness of marine debris and the challenges our ocean faces; however, this summer was my first time living in a coastal area and experiencing first-hand the amount of debris that washes up on our granite shores with each incoming tide. Seeing so much trash accumulate on a small island that is inhabited by so few people provided a much more concrete perspective for me to view this issue through. Non-biodegradable debris from ropes, plastic bottles, or even synthetic microfibers are hazardous to marine life as well as the humans and animals who eat those organisms.

Inspired by the very issues plaguing our oceans today, the Rozalia Project was born, whose mission is to support a clean, protected, and thriving ocean. Among other work, they run restoration and cleaning expeditions aboard their green sailing vessel, American Promise. The Rozalia Project’s visit to Hurricane Island was well-timed with our High School Sustainability program this summer, and their crew spent a full day teaching, learning and playing with us as a part of their Expedition STEM for the Ocean (click here for a short video!).

            We spent the morning discussing what marine debris is, and why it’s something we should be concerned about. It’s a problem that stems from so many angles, starting with the systems we have on land as well as our practices in the ocean, and the Rozalia Project recognizes the solutions likewise need multi-angled approaches. One of the first steps is prevention through education, which can enable people to understand the extent of the issue and inspire individuals to take action.

Indeed, rather than leaving our discussion on a note of doom and gloom, we were inspired to get our hands dirty and take action. Recognizing remediation as another part of the solution, the Rozalia Project crew leads beach (and seafloor) cleanups, and encourages individuals to organize their own within their community. They take cleanup one-step further by recording the types and quantities of debris collected in a cleanup. Data collected during a cleanup can be analyzed to better understand the problem and inform solutions and policies on local and global scales.

Students sort all the trash back on Hurricane Island

Using this service model, our group went across the bay with the Rozalia Project crew to clean up a small, privately-owned section of beach on Greens Island. We had no idea what to expect when we began our cleanup, especially since this location is fairly remote and doesn’t receive the traffic of a typical beach. Any hesitation within our group quickly dissipated as we all began a treasure hunt to see how much debris we could collect in the 0.2-mile area before our time ran out. Within a matter of 40 minutes, the amount of trash our team of students and crew members had collected was astounding. We brought ten contractor bags of smelly trash back over to Hurricane Island, where students sorted through the contents to collect some data about our cleanup.

Data about the types and quantity of trash collected on Greens Island

In all, it took twenty people twenty minutes to collect 1,664 pieces of trash from a 0.0013 km2 area of beach on Greens Island. The top five most prevalent types of marine debris we collected were monofilament fibers (>30mm), rope, foam cups/plates, small plastic (5-30 mm), and buoys/floats. Using this data to guide them, students began brainstorming innovative solutions that would prevent these items from polluting our oceans. They worked on developing pitches for their ideas to identify the problem and why it matters. They then had to come up with a solution as to how it works, and what they would need to make it happen. In the evening, they pitched their ideas to the island staff and Rozalia crew.

All of the students came up with realistic and achievable solutions to pitch, whether it was a shift in policy that limited the lifetime of synthetic ropes, changing rope material to a natural fiber like hemp, redesigning buoys and balloons, or creating a device to collect trash in the water. Rachel developed a floating trash collector made out of natural, biodegradable materials. Tiger came up with a simple storm drain design to prevent trash from washing out of the scuppers on boats, and printed a 3D model of his design to show to the audience.

A student pitches their idea for redesigned ropes and buoys made out of natural materials

Seeing so many young leaders develop solutions and pitch their ideas to the staff was exciting and impressive. Our day spent with Rozalia was eye-opening for everyone as we explored Marine Debris from several angles. We ended the day feeling empowered and inspired, realizing that normal people can, and need to, lead the charge on fighting these global problems.

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Field Notes from High School Field Marine Ecology

Guest blog post by Science Educator Robin Chernow

What organisms do barnacles prefer as hosts? Do plankton species change at different times of day? What is the biodiversity of intertidal animals near Two Bush Island compared to the Sandy Beach? 

Intertidal data collection with quadrats

Our High School Field Marine Ecology students asked these questions before designing research projects to investigate. They spent two weeks here on Hurricane Island, deepening their understanding of the scientific process, in addition to learning about the island’s sustainable systems, enjoying waterfront time, and strengthening friendships.

This was the first time the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership offered a two week program, and the time flew by! Week one focused on scientific research processes and developing questions, while week two was dedicated to collecting and analyzing data. By the end of week one, students pitched their project ideas to staff scientists and solicited feedback to improve experimental design. After numerous afternoons of observations and data collection, students analyzed their data and presented their findings to the Hurricane Island community!

Hanging out with our lobster friend

Of course, students did not solely partake in academics and science research. Two weeks on the island would not be complete without rock climbing, sunset hikes, rowing, star gazing, card games, and several nights of s’mores and campfires. Each day, our students took advantage of opportunities to take running jumps off the pier and to take time for reflection. Other highlights include a morning spent naturally dyeing bandanas with Rachel (blueberries make a vibrant purple), and a few hours learning about marine debris with members of the Rozalia Project’s crew. We even went lobstering with Captain Oakley and harvested kelp from our own offshore aquaculture site!

As an instructor, I am thrilled our students had two weeks to both grow as young scientists and to take advantage of all the island has to offer. I am grateful for each student’s curiosity and willingness to take on new experiences. I appreciate the hours spent laughing and chatting, hiking among the natural beauty of the island. And I am proud of the progress our students made in both opening up socially and understanding the scientific process.

What did our scientific process uncover? Our data suggests that barnacles are more abundant on periwinkle snails than on dog whelks or crabs, plankton species do differ from day to night, and even though more species and organisms were counted at Two Bush, biodiversity is higher at the Sandy Beach.

I hope this two-week introduction to scientific research prompts our students to continue to grow as critical thinkers and as both providers and receivers of feedback. I hope students feel confident to pursue science later in high school, in college, and beyond. Most importantly, I hope our students left the island with an increased regard for the natural world and all it has to offer.

Our whole crew of young scientists!

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Marine Ecology

Guest blog post by Science Educator Rachel Kimpton

On July 17th, a group of 11 teens from across New England converged on our island with the desire to expand their practice as young scientists. These individuals left at the end of the week as a group of invigorated environmental stewards and critical thinkers, looking with fresh eyes to challenge standards, ask the tough questions, and solve problems upon their return to the mainland.

At the beginning of the week, I offered the students a surprise opportunity: we would have the chance to hang out and share our work with the Hawaiian Hokule’a crew during their stop on the island that week as part of their 5-year, worldwide voyage to raise awareness about indigenous knowledge and practices. Hokule’a are particularly special because they navigate using an adapted ancient Polynesian star compass… and without GPS! The students were tasked with designing and conducting their own research experiments about the ecology of our not-so-tropical island to exchange island information with the Hawaiian crew.

We made new "fronds" during the kelp harvest!

We spent the first half of our week becoming better acquainted with the island itself and each other through a combination of field ecology and team-building exercises. To build up our skills as naturalists and scientists, we explored the island’s diverse micro- and macro- flora and fauna using transects, plankton tows, microscope observations, an intertidal scavenger hunt, lobstering with Oakley, and many hikes. Silas, one of our facilities staff, shared his skills as a boat craftsman and emerging seafarer by teaching us how to tie knots, which we used to construct our own rafts to “sail” across the ice pond (although somewhat unsuccessfully), as well as some tricks of the boatbuilding trade. We supported, encouraged, and coached each other as we took turns rock climbing our way to the top of the granite facade. Bailey and Jessie, members of our research staff, incorporated us into two of Hurricane’s ongoing research projects about scallops and aquaculture. We counted and measured a bunch of the cutest and tiniest baby scallops, which were extremely mobile as they snapped and swam their way to the surface! Later in the week, we went out on the boat with Oakley and Bailey to harvest kelp from Hurricane’s first aquaculture project and collect data on the fronds we retrieved. Rachael, the sustainability intern, gave us a tour of the island’s water, energy, and composting systems, which prompted us to consider what impacts humans have on the world around us.

After these initial explorations, we discussed our topics of interest and began to develop research questions that would guide our own marine ecological investigations. We bounced ideas off of each other to form strong questions that we could actually test in the field, which included examining the diversity of marine species in the intertidal zones, the presence of edible macro-algae, the population density of hermit crabs in tide pools, and the relationship between lobstering activity and seal populations. The students worked incredibly hard to make these experiments meaningful with such a short turnaround, with several hours spent in the field collecting data, reading and researching in field guides, analyzing our data, and preparing our presentations. Eliza, my intern, gave us a fun break in the form of a nighttime plankton tow so we could check out the bioluminescence of those organisms.

Thursday morning was the final stretch of finishing presentations and taking a relaxing break to row on the ocean with Silas. Once we got our projects to a place we were happy with, we spent Thursday afternoon listening to stories from Hokule’a about growing as an organization since the 1970s and about their most recent leg across the Atlantic from Cape Town, South Africa to the United States. We learned about ancient Polynesian voyages, their traditional double-hulled canoe, and the different ways they use cues from nature to navigate. A few of our students even had the chance to practice using their star charts! After hearing from Hokule’a, we set up our projects and shared our work with the crew and Hurricane Island staff. Our projects prompted so many wonderful conversations about the diversity in critters, systems, ideas, and cultural practices that exist in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Later in the afternoon, Dana, one of the science education interns, shared her own research experience working with the invasive lionfish in the Bahamas and showed us how to dissect (and fillet!) a fish of our own. All of the island visitors and staff came together that night as a big group to enjoy a delicious food at our South End beach cookout, swap stories, and practice navigating with the stars out on the pier.

We spent most of Friday discussing and engaging the urgent problem of marine debris based on our experiments during the week and our conversations with Hokule’a. I introduced the students to some of the ways that scientists, artists, and those in between are currently approaching the problem in inspiring ways through the development of new technology, streamlining waste collection or recycling, and creative ways that raise awareness. We all worked together to clean up almost half of the island’s coast (!) and turned that collected trash into wearable treasures for an Island Runway fashion show for the staff later in the afternoon. Saturday morning was our time to reflect on the week as we silently walked the perimeter trail and practiced our close observation skills as naturalists before coming together for a final, fun lunch.

During our last group conversation on Saturday, I communicated to these students that I did not choose the educator life, but rather that it chose me. Young people like them are the reason I am invigorated in my work as an educator and feel hopeful about our future on this planet. The magic of Hurricane Island certainly worked on this group and brought out their creativity, thoughtfulness, and desire to actively contribute to the greater scientific community. Eliza and I both feel so fortunate to have been able to work, learn, and grow with this group during their time here.

Our final sunset hike to Gibbon's Point

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Energy: Refections on Middle School Island Ecology

Guest blog post from Science Educator Josh Adrian

I'm couple of days out from my Middle School Island Ecology program, and I’m sitting down to reflect a little further on the week.  Immediately after the students departed on Saturday afternoon, we cleaned up and spent some time debriefing the program.  Reflecting on your own takes a little more of a step back though, and I didn’t think I could start much sooner than now.

Trying to sum up my reflections on seven days of glorious weather spent exploring Hurricane Island with nine incredible middle school students is tough.  When thinking of how to draw it all together, one thing comes to mind.  Energy.

No, this is not a post about Hurricane Island’s numerous sustainable systems.  (Shameless plug.  Boom.  Nailed it.)

So much energy circulated the island as the week took shape and played out.  It started the moment the Equinox approached the dock with the students.  I felt it.  I did a little dance on the edge of the dock.  (Phoebe knows.  Ask her about my little dance.)  I couldn’t help myself.  For two weeks I had been pouring over island history, flora and fauna guides, and lesson plans, pulling together the Island Ecology program.  It’s always exciting, but there is a lot of work there, and so the moment where the focal point of the week, the students, actually show up, you remember why you’re so excited.

From there the energy just grew.  As the students stepped off the boat, every one of them brought a massive amount of energy.  Their past experiences and enthusiasm to learn and become part of the island community kickstarted everyone that Sunday.  It was infectious.  By dinner time, staff who could have easily snuck away to their cabins for a quiet evening opted to play cards and games and hang out with the students.  Other visitors chatted with them and shared excitement for the week ahead.  And while arriving on an island knowing no one at the beginning of a seven day visit is daunting, the makings of a group of good friends was already in the works.

A lesson on edible plants, spent together outdoors.

All week we hiked around the island, discovering the various layers of Hurricane’s ecosystem.  From the ocean and granite bedrock, to the trees and creatures living in them, we explored various corners of the island to understand many aspects of the natural community there.  Feeling the energy of the students as they asked questions and expanded their understanding of the space around them was incredible.  They quickly got to know each other and used that interconnectedness to expand their knowledgeand energy further.  At one point, when challenged to build a raft worthy of getting two separate teams across the ice pond, the students were so enthusiastic to work and play we went past our two hour goal by a full hour!  And who am I to put a cap on that energy?

The energy brought by the students was not the only energy present that week though.  All the staff shared incredible passion for the program with the students throughout the week.  You could sense the way the students picked up on how concerned the staff were for their work on the island and respected that energy.  Every single one brought something unique to the table and found a way to share it with the students.  Whether it was Rachael’s passion for sustainable systems on the island, Michelle’s passion for trees, or Silas’s for woodworking, that energy helped them to grow to feel a part of the community and to understand the place they were in.

Using physical energy aboard the rowing gigs!

By the end of the week, we had built a communal energy.  What was once individual, was now shared.  At one point, I stepped out of the lab after dinner to walk towards the galley, and a soccer game had started.  A game that at the beginning of the week only involved a student or two was now the whole Island Ecology group and several staff.  I grinned as I thought that it perfectly summed up the week.  Those soccer players brought energy to the island, and as they shared it, it consumed all of us as it was built into the community.  We all put some energy into it.  Much like the flywheel that maintained the energy for the quarry workers so many years before us, the community we made kept that energy going throughout the week.  I often times think about what I’m doing with my path in life, and find that through all that I’ve done, community has been the constant that has drawn me in.  There is no shortness of that here, on Hurricane Island.  The energy that community provides is contagious.  We all come to the island with lived experiences and all of our individual selves to share, but whether we’re students, teachers, or the casual visitor, we share out that lived experience.  You can feel the energy from all that, and each week, the community feels a little different by the energy that is present.  I seek that in everything I do, and it was apparent the students from Island Ecology felt its strength as well.

We took photos, talked about future visits, and waved goodbye as the Equinox took the students off the island.  By the time they were a hundred feet from the dock you could feel the energy fading.  It was incredible, and invigorating.  That energy won’t ever quite get recreated again, and it is worth documenting and cherishing.  I know the students will hold onto the memory of the energy we all felt while we explored, and learned and grew together.   And I hope they carry that memory forward to seek that energy in all they do.

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Hurricane as a host

High School Marine Ecology students share their research with members of the Hokule'a crew and Hurricane Island staff

Research staff (Director Cait Cleaver, Intern Jessie Batchelder) share their work on scallops with the Vinalhaven Land Trust group

Over the past four days, Hurricane Island hosted almost 300 people! Our guests all came from different group programs, and ethnic backgrounds riding the waves from the east coast, all the way to Polynesia, and some across the pond from Europe. The spirit of Hurricane was shared with the Hawaiian vessel, Hokule'a as one of their educational stops on their east coast leg of a multi-year journey. They stayed with us for a glorious two nights sharing their wisdom of celestial navigation, culture, and some good eats. The Nature Conservancy International Board came onshore for their retreat to make a few connections within their organization and waded into some group problem solving. Today, we are running around with roughly 100 people from the Vinalhaven Land Trust who scurried up our docks for a fun, short day of learning about our trails, off-the-grid energy systems, research, and history. Our research crew was waiting on the docs—spat bags in hand—eager to share their knowledge of scallops and local fisheries. Our guests asked many questions, which not only benefits group and personal knowledge, but also allows us to better understand how the public receives our studies and other work within marine fisheries.

Vinalhaven Land Trust participants touring the facilities with Facilities Manager Oakley Jackson

As fast paced and blurry as these events may come, Hurricane Island has been elated to share the magic we experience each and every day with such bright, friendly faces. Hosting is a big part of the educational elements we standby at the Center for Science and Leadership. In order to lead, one must host. One must make their team feel comfortable and included. In order to do science research, teams much reach out to the public through checking specific regulations, gathering ideas based on what communities find challenging about the experiments, and using these challenges to find the best fitting solutions to these questions and concerns. Our open enrollment programs on island (currently High School Marine Ecology) benefit a great deal from our adult program visitors. Students have the opportunity to mingle over morning coffee and pancakes with professionals in fields they may already be curious about. They are expanding their knowledge through diversity, and becoming educated on skills that they may have not previously been exposed to. Hurricane is one itty-bitty Mecca for collaborative learning and leadership building through experience.

Through all of the set-up-sweat, Hurricane Island staff community members are happy to host visitors and discoverers in hopes that they may teach us, as much as we hope to teach them. Learning is best done through collaborative experience; we plan on continuing to offer these amazing experiences to our students, friends, and visitors as more hosting opportunities continue to arise. 

Hokule'a, a traditional sailing canoe from Hawai'i, paying Hurricane Island a visit on their Worldwide Voyage.

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Middle School Marine Ecology students set the bar high!

Guest blog post from Science Educator Robin Chernow; Intern Dana Colihan

From July 3rd to 9th, the Middle School Marine Ecology program kicked off the open enrollment season as they called Hurricane Island “home.”

Sunday’s night hike set the tone for a great week ahead as the students learned about night vision and eye anatomy, and observed luminescent sparks while munching on wintergreen lifesavers. Shout out to fellow Science Educator Josh for sharing his expertise.

Another inaugural event of the summer was Seaweed Day! On this mid-week day dedicated to our favorite algae, students identified different species and practiced using microscopes to get an up-close look, before boating with Oakley out to Hurricane’s kelp aquaculture for a harvest. In the afternoon, students took on the role of seaweed chefs, joining Eric in the kitchen to pickle some kelp stipes and to prepare dessert for the evening: chocolate sea moss pudding. The pudding recipe came to Hurricane via Educator Intern Dana, who fondly remembers making this sweet seaweed treat with her family. Finally, a seaweed press art project concluded the algae-filled day.

I am impressed and amazed by the staff here on-island. Everyone has pitched in and shared their time, energy, and enthusiasm to make a meaningful and memorable week for our students, not just on Seaweed Day or our first night, but every day and night. Though I was the Science Educator tasked with leading the week and developing programming, we all made the week possible as a team. I love that everyone was eager to be a part of the middle schoolers’ week, sharing something special and building community.  

Marine debris sea star created to raise awareness about ocean pollution

Our students felt that community too. They enjoyed spending free time with different staff members, playing volleyball with Bailey, and cards with Rachael. They loved walking like crabs with Jenn and hearing about Silas’s work with boats. They learned from Sam how to rock climb and belay, and they listened intently to Phoebe’s stories about our starry sky. Each of these experiences strengthened our students’ bonds with each other too, and they became more excited to play games and sing songs as a cohesive group.

By the time Friday rolled around, and it was our students’ chance to share their newfound expertise. They gathered proudly to present their findings from their research project, investigating their question “What animals does seaweed protect?” While initially apprehensive at the prospect of giving presentations, the students’ nerves subsided. As our staff community filed into the presentation room, the students were excited and confident to share what they had discovered.

As I look back on the first week of summer programming, I feel incredibly lucky to be here working with such wonderful students and staff. From Dana, my intern who has been supportive and creative through every moment, to the staff as a whole, stepping in with students and making sure this place runs smoothly, to the kids who came here with open minds and an appetite for fun, Hurricane Island brings people together. Now let’s bring on the rest of the summer!

"Junior High" Marine Ecology students with their educators on the last day.

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Dinner Time

Guest blog by Science Educator Josh Adrian

Not everyone gets to experience food that is shared intentionally during communal meals.  For me, it was essential to my parents that my family sits down to at least one meal together each day.  My mom is a fantastic cook, and the food she put in front of us was just as much an inspiration to join in on meals as the unspoken expectation to be present.  Whether my dad was out because of work, or I had soccer practice, we found a way to eat together.  I was lucky to have that intentionality growing up, and now I see how that carried with me.  Now when I am back home, my family and I plan vacations and other activities around food.  Staying up North?  Meals are planned first, then adventures.  Visiting a new city?  We figure out best places to eat ahead of schedule, and just wander between meals to find things to do.

I continued that sense of intentionality into college.  In the dorms, my friends and I would have “family dinner” when we could go down the hall and get everyone to come with us to the elevator to go eat as a group.  Once I had my own apartment, it felt strange if I couldn’t have a handful of friends over at least once a month for a big meal.

Now, I’m on Hurricane Island, living in an oil lamp-lit cabin with outhouses.  It’s pretty simple here, but one thing that is not paired down is the meals.  Understanding how much I cared about food growing up, you can pretty much surmise my elation at the spread we get here three times a day.  I probably will post again just about the jaw-dropping menu we have, but that’s not what this post is about.  More to the point, we eat together.

There are too many young people in this world of lightning-fast living who don’t experience meals where they can sit with people who love them and talk and share their life with.  To me, the importance of being able to step away from projects and activities, and breathe, eat, and share experiences, is core to us as people.  Here at Hurricane Island, all of the staff and the students sit down together for a beautiful meal three times a day.  Sharing together, like this is huge!  Youth and adults engaging together, sharing knowledge and experiences from the day.  It’s pretty incredible community time.

Last night, the Middle School Marine Ecology students used a seaweed called Irish Moss to make chocolate pudding for everyone.  Watching them present the pudding to the staff and the Waynflete Sustainable Ocean Studies high schoolers was magical.  The high schoolers absolutely inhaled the pudding (of course), and mid-way through bites the middle school students revealed the secret ingredient!  The high schoolers were unfazed, and to the middle school group’s delight continued to demolish bowls of pudding.

These are the best meals to me.  Sitting down in the midst of the students to find out what discoveries they made that day. Laughing and learning from each other, connected by the island and our enthusiasm to learn everything we can while at this place.  Food has always been essential for my community, and I couldn’t be happier that I’ve found that communal value here, at Hurricane Island.

Our giant serving table, ready to be covered in incredible dishes to be shared!

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First Impressions Series: Stefanie Burchill

Plum Tomato First Impressions

A full and happy table for staff orientation

My plum tomato colored face feels pre-leathered from a sunburnt ingrained smile. I have never lived on an island before, and so far I have realized that no matter how many gallons of sunscreen I apply, it will never be enough to protect my marshmallow complexion. Living in a pink hue, and off of the conventional grid is a small price to pay for the magic Hurricane Island has shown me in just a few short weeks. Community means everything to this Island. With out the tight bonds formed by the on-site staff, and board members abroad, the programs, operations, and education would fail almost instantaneously. Each and every day this intentional community bands together washing dishes to bright pop music, stirring compost to help feed each other, and listening closely to every members ideas to gain personal, and organizational growth.

Being a college student, I usually see people around my tiny Maine campus fending for themselves. Pouring large cups of coffee, then going into isolation for a few hours out in the library, they only mingle via social media.  Being on Hurricane, it is near impossible to isolate one’s self for more than a short nap, or walk around the perimeter trail. My original introvert anxiety thought was that this kind of life style would be a little too taxing. However, Hurricane’s communal reliance is not taxing, with everyone working towards the same mission, community becomes the source of the island’s energy (with some help from the solar array). Hurricane Island is a rowing gig. A well-balanced vessel who generates thriving individuals, and a safe space for anyone looking to enjoy a shared ocean breeze.

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