Island Updates

7th Grade Vinalhaven Class Visit

We were pleased to host the 7th grade class from Vinalhaven for their end of year field trip for the second year in a row. The trip started out with a guided history hike around the island, learning about the quarrying community that resided on Hurricane over a century ago. It was fun for the students to learn about the history of an island that is so close to where they call home, and realize how Hurricane’s history has impacted that of Vinalhaven. They also got a chance to try to use old chisels and carving tools.

After snack the students learned more about our sustainable campus and how Hurricane operates completely off the grid. Their night on the island was spent singing campfire songs and roasting s’mores over our new campfire pit.

The next morning we focused on environmental ethics and the 7 Leave No Trace principles. Students got a chance to try out some activities based on each principle, as well as made up their own skits demonstrating 3 of the principles. It wouldn’t be a trip to Hurricane without a hike so before lunch Chloe took the group on a long walk around the perimeter of the island, specifically focusing on the plants that line the trails as well as the birds that live on and around Hurricane. We wrapped up their time on the island with a lively game of Hurricane trivia!

This trip was generously funded by the Vinalhaven Land Trust, we hope to continue to host the 7th grade Vinalhaven class for their end of the year trip for years to come! 

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Waldorf School at Moraine Farm

Low tide on Two Bush Island with Heron's Neck Lighthouse in the background.

We were happy to host students from the Waldorf School at Moraine Farm for their 8th grade graduation trip from June 7-11, 2015. We started the program by exploring the intertidal between Two Bush Island and Hurricane, where we found green crabs, sea urchins, hermit crabs, sea stars, nudibranchs, and tons of periwinkles! We lucked out with some of the best tides of June, so we got to explore further out in the low intertidal than usual and also saw an amazing range of algae and new tide pools. After a snack break we switched gears to take a look at Maine's lobster fishery and see Oakley in action hauling his recreational lobster traps. While we caught a lot of lobsters, only two were legal-sized, so unfortunately we didn't have a lobster dinner that night. 

We spied tons of beautiful songbirds including American Redstarts, Northern Parula, Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Black-Throated Green Warblers!

Another highlight of the program was learning about some of the commonly seen birds on Hurricane and their songs. After a quick summary, we headed out on a birding hike to see what we could spy through our binoculars. The highlight was right at the end, where we saw a flock of cedar waxwings in the apple trees. Cedar waxwings are particularly fond of eating apple petals, so we were able to get really close to observe them without startling them. Some other birds we saw were northern parula, american redstarts, black-throated green warblers, a golden crowned kinglet, and a song sparrow. We also heard the red breasted nuthatch and got more familiar with learning to identify birds through their songs.

We started off with a little rowing, but then the wind picked up for smooth sailing!

The weather had been a bit gray during the program, but on June 10 the sun came out just in time for a beautiful (and windy!) sail out to Bald Island. While we were underway, we continued bird watching and spied bald eagles, osprey, eider ducks, cormorants, and black guillemots. Bald Island was fun to explore with tons of tide pools and bold granite faces. During the quarry era, Bald Island was the source for most of the granite that makes up the Rockland Breakwater, so it has a similar history to Hurricane.

Another big part of this program was rock climbing! Students learned how to safely belay and support each other on the rocks, and we had a chance to climb on a smaller wall and then moved to the main quarry face, which has some challenging and technical climbs! 

Congratulations to the 8th grade class, we hope you enjoy a relaxing summer before your next big adventure in high school! See you back out on Hurricane again soon!

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Wildlife Habitat & Population Measurement UVM

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Post by Science Educator Chloe Tremper

Looking at habitat suitability in the field

Twenty students and two professors from the University of Vermont’s Wildlife Habitat & Population Measurement course spent this past week on Hurricane Island. Professors Allan Strong and Jed Murdoch used Hurricane as a platform to teach field methods for estimating wildlife populations and measuring habitat variables to their students. This course focused on three methods commonly used in the fields of wildlife biology and ecology: mark-recapture, point counts, and habitat suitability index measurements. 

Mark & recapture studies are used to estimate the number of individuals within a species’ population. On Hurricane, the UVM students used this method to estimate the population size of small mammals on the island, as well as determine which species were present.  During their first day on Hurricane, the students broke into four groups and set up grids with 100 traps each on different parts of the island.  The traps were opened early each morning with a sprinkling of oats and some scraps of paper towel placed in each as food and nesting materials.  The traps used were Sherman traps, which are a box-style animal trap designed for live capture of small mammals. When the students checked the traps a few hours later, students recorded whether a trap was open and empty, closed and empty, or closed with a capture inside.  For each individual small mammal that was caught, the students marked a bit of its fur with a marker so that if it was caught again later it could be identified.  As traps were checked, the students were careful to close each so that no animals would be trapped for an extended period of time.

The students also learned how to conduct bird point counts, which are useful for monitoring avian population trends.   Four locations were designated along different trails that students would go to once a day to conduct a count in their smaller groups.  At their first point they did a 30-minute point count.  To do this, the first 10 minutes at the point all birds heard or seen were recorded, the second 10 minutes only new birds that were not noted during the first, and for the third 10 minutes only new birds again were recorded. Over their days there each group did a 30-minute point count at each of the four sites and a few 10-minute point counts at the remaining sites.

On their second to last day on the island, the students went out in the spruce-fir forest of Hurricane to measure multiple habitat variables to determine if the habitat available on Hurricane is suitable for snowshoe hares and downy woodpeckers, neither of which are known to reside on Hurricane.  However, both species habitat preferences were relevant for the purpose of learning how to implement the sampling technique.  Habitat suitability indexes are available for variety species through the USGS National Wetlands Research Center. 

We were sad to see this lively bunch of students leave at the end of the week but enjoyed getting to know them & appreciated the data they provided us!

Students enjoy Sunset Rock

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Planting the Straw Bale Garden

After three very wet and unseasonably cold days on Hurricane I finally was given a sunny day to plant the straw bale garden! Visitors to Hurricane will see that the bales are arranged in a similar pattern and shape as last year. Placing the bales in rows oriented East and West maximizes the sun’s southern exposure and allows for good walking paths.

Last year we planted vegetables that flower and grow above ground in the straw bales, and we are doing the same this year. We planted two long rows of tomatoes, two rows of vining cucumbers, squashes, and zucchinis, one row of broccoli, and another of peppers. The herbs are still growing in the window of the mess hall but I plan to try growing some basil and cilantro in the bales this year too.

Last year the deer broke my heart by eating the entire straw bale garden within two days. We got a few good zucchinis and cucumbers before they feasted, but we didn’t enjoy one tomato. I refuse to go through the same heartache this year, or at least I’ll try like crazy to prevent it. Oakley worked hard with volunteers in May to put up an indestructible garden fence around the meadow garden, and he continued to put his skills to use with the straw bale garden. I’m crossing my fingers that this will be enough to prevent the deer from literally enjoying the fruits of our hard labor.

I mentioned in the garden blog post a few weeks ago that the bales we got this year are different than last. When we bought them they had already started to decompose and break apart easily. A few weeks of conditioning the bales and letting them sit outside in the May rain has helped expedite this process even more, and has made planting the bales very easy. To plant the bales I first took handfuls of potting soil and spread it across the top of the bales. Next I took a small garden trowel and carved away a spot to put the plant and its roots, just like I do in the gardens that grow in the ground. After placing the plant in its spot I cover it with more potting soil and water it in!

One change this year is that I added more flowers to the straw bale garden. I planted nasturtiums (a popular edible flower for kids) and am using the deer fence as a trellis of sorts for climbing Black Eyed Susans. Once more of the flower seedlings are ready to go outside I’ll also plant Sunflowers and Zinnias.

Gardening is a very cathartic activity that helps me clear my mind. After three cold and rainy days of emails and to do lists this day of gardening felt like a breath of fresh air, literally!  

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Nobleboro Middle School

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Students share creative maps they drew showing their journey to Hurricane Island

Students work with Josie to come up with words and attitudes they want to keep on and off Hurricane during their program

From May 27-29 we were joined by 10 enthusiastic middle school students from Nobleboro, ME for a program filled with rock climbing, hiking, exploring the intertidal, and field journaling. Josie and I had a chance to visit students in the classroom before they came out to Hurricane Island. This meant we could answer questions about the trip and work with students to identify ways to make their group experience stronger and how they could positively contribute to Hurricane's community. Finally, we helped students design their own field journals and then went out on the school's beautiful nature trail to make some plant observations and drawings.

Students arrived on Hurricane mid-morning on the 27th, so they had time to move into the bunkhouse and go on a fun island perimeter hike before lunch. After lunch we spent time learning about the sustainable systems that Hurricane uses to operate our campus. Students learned how solar panels work, where our water comes from, and how we use food compost in our island gardens. Finally, we talked about how maps can be a tool to help communicate information and then students got creative and drew maps depicting the trip to Hurricane.

Learning to rock climb and belay requires good communication and trust

On the second day we spent the whole morning rock-climbing! Students learned how to both climb rocks and belay each other, how to tie a figure-eight retrace knot, and how to communicate and climb safely. 

Low tide happened just after lunch, so we explored between Hurricane and Two-Bush Island where we found all sorts of cool and slimy critters. We even helped clean off the mooring balls to find extra long sugar kelp and a spider crab! 

Some other highlights from the trip included learning about Maine's lobster industry and going on a botany hike to learn some of the forest wildflowers and trees that are commonly seen on hikes in Maine. We had a great time adventuring with these students, and we hope to see them out on Hurricane again soon!

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Ashwood Waldorf School

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Looking at lichens in the lab with Alice before the lichen hike

Enjoying the intertidal on Two-Bush Island

The Ashwood Waldorf School from Rockport, Maine joined us on Hurricane for two days of island exploration. For the Botany focus of this program Alice took them on a walk around the island to find and identify the three main categories lichens: crustose, foliose, and fruticose. Another hike focused on the wild edible plants on the island, as well as what plants are flowering out during this stage of spring. Students also got a chance to explore the intertidal area between Hurricane and Two Bush Island. They found lots of fun and interesting intertidal creatures, and learned how kelp survives as a marine plant.

The last day was spent rock climbing. Students learned about different types of climbing gear, how to boulder on granite blocks that were cut from the main face over a century ago, and how to belay and support one another while climbing. Everyone completed their own successful climbs and enjoyed being able to reach the top and enjoy the view out over the open ocean.

One of the best parts of this program was having Ashwood’s program overlap with Nobleboro Middle School. While it can be a dance for us instructors of who is teaching what to who, when and where, it’s great to see us all gathered together at meal times, sharing our island stories from the day!

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Penobscot Bay Stewards

Post by Oakley Jackson

This past Tuesday (May 26, 2015) the Penobscot Bay Stewards joined us for a sunny tour of Hurricane Island. This was the Steward's third annual visit to the island and we were happy to see many new faces along with a few familiar ones. The author of The Town That Disappeared, Eleanor Motley Richardson, accompanied the group and led a highly informative history hike on the granite-quarrying boom that took place on Hurricane between 1875 and 1914.  Although I have read up on Hurricane’s history and often deliver a similar tour to students, I was thrilled to learn several new interesting facts from Eleanor.  I now have several more ghost stories to tell around the campfire, including a tale of two people drowning on the ledge off of the main pier in a thick fog. They could be heard yelling for help, but no one was able to rescue them. 

I also learned that Hurricane and the surrounding islands were part of a microcontinent that collided with the mainland during the Paleozoic era. This fact adds to the unique lure of the islands and the drifting continent is made more mystical by the fact that it was named Avalonia. The Stewards were all intrigued to learn about the island’s colorful history as well as our current use of Hurricane as the setting for bringing together vibrant communities of teachers and learners. We look forward to welcoming back the Stewards next year and are hopeful that some of them will visit before then.  

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Cambridge School of Weston 2015

After towing around a fine-mesh net to collect plankton, students spent time looking into their microscopes trying to identify the critters wiggling around in their petri dishes. 

Learning about what it takes to be a lobsterman from Jason Day

Marilyn works with students in the intertidal between Hurricane and Two Bush Island to make sure their methods are supporting their driving question

For the second year in a row (read about last year's program here), the Cambridge School of Weston came out to Hurricane Island during the lowest tide cycle of May. Seven students and two staff joined the Hurricane community, conducting independent intertidal projects as well as two group projects focused on the quarry and on identifying marine zooplankton.

Students arrived on the island with lots of ideas for their independent projects, and after the first few days exploring Hurricane's rocky intertidal environment, they worked to modify their ideas into testable questions. 

Their projects ranged from observing parental care of dog whelks over their egg patches, to determining whether different species of hermit crabs preferred to be more or less roomy in their shell, to quantifying the range of shell colors in smooth periwinkles and whether that impacted the type of brown algae they were most often associated with. 

Low tide doesn't always wait for breakfast, so students had a few early days, heading out to their study sites by 6:30am! Doing field work in the intertidal can also be challenging because there is just about an hour-long window of time to gain access to your study site before the next low-tide cycle. This meant students had to have all of their scientific gear organized, and a clear plan for their sampling strategy in order to collect the data they needed each day.

Another goal of this program was for students to learn about some of the fisheries that are core to Maine's identity. We travelled out on Vinalhaven fisherman Jason Day's lobster boat to see him haul his traps, learn about the regulations in the industry, and get a sense of the ratio of lobsters that are thrown back to 'keepers.' We also spent time talking about Maine's scallop fishery with Cait Cleaver, our director of science and research. Cait shared about the research she is coordinating to look at the effectiveness of small-scale closures in managing the scallop fishery. After learning about her project, we all helped her build spat bags, which she will deploy in the fall to collect larval scallops. If larval scallops are found in or around the closed area, these data can help Cait get a sense of whether new scallops are settling in the area.

It was a pleasuring hosting this group and I am always impressed by the observations and creative questions that students generate when they have a chance to be immersed in field work! We look forward to seeing the finished reports of the projects, and for next year's group to build on the great ideas and questions from this program!

Be sure to check out the CSW blog about their experience for more photos!

Students enjoy a great view of the sun setting across the bay

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