Middle School Marine 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, we introduce rising 7th and 8th grade students to Maine’s coastal ecosystems using our island as an outdoor classroom for discovery. The group will explore Hurricane Island’s coasts and trails, learn how to collect research data for practicing scientists, and become familiar with the sustainable systems that help run our community. All of the experiences are designed to help our students make observations about the natural world, generate questions, and think critically. Adventurous team building activities such as rock climbing, rowing, lobstering, and pier jumping help to round out the week on Hurricane. As students learn to live together in this dynamic environment, each member of the group will have opportunities to explore their own role as a leader and celebrate their achievements with each other. 

Middle School Marine Ecology activities may include:

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

• Exploring the intertidal zone for shoreline invertebrates like sea stars, larval lobsters, nudibranchs, sea urchins, periwinkles, green crabs, and sea cucumbers

• Gathering and cooking with seaweed to make amazing chocolate pudding

• Using the scientific process to come up with and investigate research questions

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

• Cleaning up marine debris from the coastline and brainstorming solutions to produce less waste