Fun in the intertidal.
Written by one of our island educators, Isabelle Holt.
It was such a pleasure having the Lewiston Middle School after school program out on Hurricane for the day earlier this month. This was Lewiston’s first time coming out to the Island and it was a day packed full of fun and adventure. In a spring marked by so much rain and fog that at times our solar battery bank was running low, Lewiston brought the sunshine in more ways than one.
Exploring two-bush island.
After a raucous ride over on the Equinox with the one and only Captain John Morin we put our boots on and got right out into the intertidal zone for some exploration. In a school system where more than 30 different languages are spoken by its students, translation by students for students was key to student engagement and enthusiasm. Helping someone else understand a new concept is a great way of ensuring that you yourself are comfortable with material and it was so great to see the connections the Lewiston students were making with one another and the place around them while on the island.
Scallop show and tell.
In the afternoon we were able to build on the students pre-existing knowledge about aquaculture from the 4H after school programing that they had been doing. It was great being able to get our hands on our Hurricane grown scallops that are finally getting close to eatable size - due to many years of careful care from our research team! Not only did we get to hold some scallops, students were also able to learn more about what they eat by doing plankton tows and examining what they found under the microscope.
All too soon it was time to take the boat back to Rockland after this short, sweet, and sunny day! On the ride back Captain John remarked that Lewiston was the “happiest group of kids” he’d had on his boat this season. Here’s to many more days of sun and smiles on Hurricane this season!
Scallop show and tell.
