Science Students Make the Ocean Their Classroom

The group dove deeper into their marine studies at the environmental education organization on Friday, September 18. There, they spent the day engaged in a variety of hands-on learning experiences, including seining in the intertidal zone, collecting plankton, and setting sail aboard an 80’ schooner to get up close to local marine life. Onboard the floating classroom, students performed water quality tests and gained a better understanding of how recent rains have changed the nutrient levels of the area. They also trawled for organisms on the bottom of the sound and were able to hold and examine live horseshoe crabs, squid and flounder.

Devan Patel ’27, who is taking AP Environmental Science, enjoyed collecting data, researching marine life and monitoring the water. He particularly appreciated “all the hands-on interactions, especially seining on the beach and bringing marine life onto the boat for observation.” 

Marine Biology student Lena Paull ’27 echoed Patel’s sentiment about the hands-on nature of the trip. Perhaps the most interesting new information she learned was “how many different types of plankton are in the Sound, and that murkier and 'dirtier' water supports marine life much better than the picturesque water that is seen closer to the Caribbean.” 

Science Department Chair Dana McNamee, who planned the trip with fellow science teachers Lucas Mount-Finette and Andrew Young, reflected on the educational impact: “I always love how students can bring concepts to life through the experiences they have at SoundWaters. Talking about the nitrogen and phosphorus cycle in class has much more meaning when they’ve seen how these things impact the Sound and the organisms that live within it. This year, students performed water quality testing and, through doing so, now have a much deeper understanding of how these different systems interact.”