High School Island Ecology

Hurricane Island programs embed students in experiences that leverage the art and practices of science as tools for leadership and social change. Through personal and group explorations, students explore their own strengths as transformative leaders who can address the sustainability challenges facing our world today.

In this program, students entering grades 9-12 use Hurricane Island’s breathtaking coastline, beaches, and trails as their living classroom as they explore how human activity can impact the natural world. From the overflowing gardens to the marine and freshwater systems, students get a holistic understanding of the plants and animals that make the island their home and what makes Hurricane so unique. Students will also explore our sustainable energy, water, food, and waste systems which minimize our impact on the island ecosystem. Guided by our educators, students hone their observation, critical thinking, and communication skills as they design and implement their own research projects focused on invasive species, erosion, changing precipitation patterns, comparing biodiversity on different parts of the island and to other islands, and more. No program would be complete without activities such as rock climbing, rowing, lobstering, and jumping off the dock.

High School Island Ecology activities may include:

• Working with the research team to get hands-on with Hurricane’s scallop aquaculture projects

• Foraging for edible plants and cooking a meal from island ingredients

• Exploring macroinvertebrate life in freshwater ponds

• Using the scientific process to come up with and answer their own questions

• Hauling lobster traps and learning about the biggest economic industry in Maine

• Visiting neighboring islands

• Designing sustainable solutions for ecosystem level challenges