Home Sweet Home

Welcome Home!

As we wake up to our first day back in the United States, we would like to begin our blog with a poem that was read to us while we were at the Island School. It serves as a reminder to seize the day, to appreciate everything we are given, and to cherish each moment.

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.

What would you do?

Draw out every cent, of course.

Each of us has such a bank.

Its name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back.

There is no drawing against the "tomorrow". You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success.

The clock is running.
Make the most of today.

-Marc Levy
As we read this poem, we are reminded of the amazing opportunities that were provided to us while in Eleuthera. Although we faced some difficulties such as navy showers, lack of wi-fi, and early wake-up calls, we realize that these inconveniences are minuscule when compared to the big picture of our experience. We were able to go on once in a lifetime adventures including swimming with sharks, scuba diving, jumping into blue holes, and many others.

As we return to Cleveland and begin adjusting into our daily schedules again, we are astounded at just how different are lives are here than they were while we were in Eleuthera. For example, taking a 10 minute shower seems like the most amazing luxury, looking down at your wrist to see the time has become habit, and flushing the toilet seems very unnecessary- although our families have been quick to tell us otherwise.

We would like to thank everybody who made this trip possible, especially our teachers, Mr. Daly and Ms. Post. Throughout this intensive, our class became something of a family with Mr. Daly and Ms. Post being our parents. They provided us with support and encouragement during our time at the Island School and we are certain that that relationship with be maintained into the coming months. Thank you so much to everybody who influenced us throughout our adventure at the Island School – we learned unforgettable lessons about the ocean and its mysteries, about living in a sustainable way, and, most importantly, about making the most of each day and each opportunity that we are given.

-Emily & Chapin

Heading Home

We rolled out of bed earlier than usual this morning at 4:45 feeling bittersweet. While everyone is excited to reunite with family and friends, we are sad to say goodbye to what we have called home for the past two weeks. Before we talk about our day of traveling we would like to remember some of our favorite moments in Eleuthera. While doing our daily "happys and crappies" last night, a few memories stood out to us. One of the most amazing things that we witnessed on the trip was a meteorite shooting through the sky, a rare occurrence in Eleuthera. Another highlight was a trip to a blue hole during our "down island trip." Most of us took a 25ft plunge into the mysterious dark blue water. To finish our trip, we traveled north to lighthouse beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world in an isolated area of cape Eleuthera. We hiked for 50 minutes and we were then surrounded by pink sand, bright blue water and huge cliffs. While we are unhappy to leave the beauty and warmth of Eleuthera, we will always remember the amazing experiences during the trip.

Back to our day of traveling: we finished our packing and made a final sweep around the dorms before eating a quick breakfast of cereal and yogurt. We packed into the vans and began our journey home.

As we drove to Rock sound airport we watched the beautiful sunrise for the last time. When we arrived to the airport we said our goodbyes to our amazing leaders Liz, Pat, and Stan. We walked through the minimal amount of security and boarded our 20 minute flight to Nassau.

As we landed we noticed a not so lucky Bahamas air flight tipped on its side at the edge of the runway. Luckily for us, we landed safely and made our way to the international terminal. With 5 hours to kill, everyone explored the terminal filling their stomachs with Dunkin Donuts, pizza, and conch salad for Max. After buying some last minute souvenirs for our families and friends, we boarded the two hour flight to Atlanta. Many of us spent this flight sleeping, watching movies, or reading.

When we arrived in Atlanta we all took advantage of the American food industry as we ate Freshens crepes and Five Guys burgers. Finally we boarded our last flight to Cleveland, excited to see everyone but sad to leave the Island School.

-Susie & Josh

The Last Eleutheran Day

The morning was bittersweet as we woke up to our last day in Eleuthera to one of the most beautiful sunrises that we have had during our stay at the Island School. We decided as a class that yoga would be the best way to start our morning exercise as we wanted to spend our last day feeling refreshed and energized.

After yoga, we were greeted by a delicious breakfast prepared by Mooch that consisted of eggs, corned beef hash, and English muffins. We then prepared ourselves for our Fish ID Extravaganza where we went back to the first reef we snorkeled, Fourth Hole, and had a friendly competition to see which pair could identify the most fishes and invertebrate species. We biked to Fourth Hole and then spent about an hour and a half snorkeling the reef. This snorkel was monumental for many of us as we realized the amount of knowledge that we have gained over the past two weeks – many of us were able to identify at least 50 species of fishes and invertebrates!

A scrawled cowfish!

Following our snorkel, we returned to campus to eat lunch and then observe and assist on a shark dissection. The shark that we dissected was a Big-Eyed 6 Gill; this type of shark lives at about 600 meters in the ocean. We began by cutting the fish open and examining its liver which consists of about 1/3 of the shark’s body weight. We also got to examine the contents of the shark’s stomach which contained a Yellow Stingray and a Bonita Fish. During the dissection, numerous students got to assist by cutting various parts of the shark and taking samples of muscle tissues. It was amazing to see the intricacy of the shark’s body and how its anatomy has adapted to its deep-water environment.

After our shark experience, we had a meeting with Chris Maxey who is the founder of the Island School and also led our run-swim. He gave us insight into his reasoning for starting the Island School and what his goal is for the school and the students. Following our conversation with Chris Maxey, we began our Deep Clean where we packed up all our belongings and extensively cleaned our dorms.

Our final dinner circle consisted of sharing our best moments throughout our trip which led to many realizations of the great times we have had during the past two weeks. We then entered our final dish crew, which involved tons of singing and dancing, and then proceeded to have an amazing dinner of Salisbury steak and potatoes. We then went back to the dorms to present our secret Santa gifts, which spread the holiday cheer. It was fun to see the creativity in each handmade gift and was a kind reminder of the true friendships that have formed throughout this trip.

Next we went down to the beach to have our last campfire; we all sat in a circle and sang campfire songs while roasting marshmallows. It was great to have one final moment together to reflect on our incredible experience at the Island School. As a last moment on our trip, we all piled into the Pres Room to watch a video put together by Ms. Post that included many fantastic pictures of our journey on Eleuthera.

We would like to thank the amazing teachers and staff that taught us so much during these few weeks, and we will never forget the fantastic place that is the Island School and the breathtaking island of Eleuthera. See you tomorrow!

Evan and Emily

The Most Beautiful Beach

Hello again everybody! Today was a very eventful day for us at the Island School. In the morning, we woke up bright and early with a short cycle to High Rock, with the name being somewhat deceiving because it was only about 10 feet to the water. Despite its name, we began to jump, one by one, into the water below us. While it was very cold in the air, the water was surprisingly warm, and some of the warmest we had been in yet.

Everyone was hoping for a great breakfast on the ride back, preferably French Toast, and luckily enough we were treated to exactly that, as well as some bacon. After breakfast we began to pack for our trip to the world-famous Lighthouse Beach, which was about 35 minutes away from the school. When we got there, everyone was excited to see the beautiful beach, but there was one obstacle in our way. That was the “30 minute walk”(closer to 50) that stood between us and the beach. Eventually we found our way to one of the most spectacular sights we had seen throughout the whole trip at Lighthouse Bay/Beach. There was pink sand and rocky cliffs overlooking clear skies and blue water, and all of us were left awestruck.

We were really allowed to do anything we wanted at the beach, which included laying on our towels, reading, and even games of beach soccer and football were organized with almost everyone getting involved, which was a lot of people’s favorite part. After some time we were brought back in for a “solo,” where we were given 30 minutes of alone time on the beach to get lost in our thoughts, though many people decided to use it as nap-time. During the solo, we were each given the task of finding one object in our given area that could represent something we had learned in the past 2 weeks. Many people picked up pieces of trash from their area to demonstrate their newfound understanding of sustainability and our effect on the earth. Soon after this discussion, it was time to pack up and head back to the vans, with everybody tired from the day’s activities.

Almost as soon as we got back and cleaned ourselves up it was time to head out to Sheryl’s Restaurant in Deep Creek, the next town over, for a meal in which many of us did not know what to expect. Fortunately, we were all treated to a meal that was easily one of the best of the trip, with a buffet of ribs, fried chicken, lionfish, and many others. We all filled up very quickly and cleaned every dish, and were soon ready to return back to the dorm. Overall, it was a very exciting day for all of us, and we are all being hit with the realization that our time here is almost over. See you very soon!

-Jessica and Ethan

Farming & Sharks, Again!

Today we started the day off with a much-needed sleep-in day. It is rare that we get the opportunity to sleep in until 7am, as opposed to our routine AMX (morning exercise). After a breakfast of muffins and cereal, we headed to the aquaponics lab and permaculture farm. Aquaponics is a combination of hydroponics and aquaculture; moreover, it is a circuit of growing plants like basil, lettuce, and mint from fish waste provided by Nile Tilapia farming. We helped them by weighing their fish to calculate their growth. 

In Permaculture with Rachel, a CEI researcher, we learned about sustainability on a farm and how the Island School maintains this practice. We helped Rachel by taking the weeds from her garden beds over to her trees to enrich the soil and to clear her garden beds. We learned that when these weeds decompose, they act as nutrient mulch. We were able to explore the farm with Rachel a little bit too.

After lunch, we went back out to the Saddle to look for the sharks with Brendan and Mackey (two shark researchers). Some of the first people in the water raced to see the shark, but those few people were the only students to get to see it at first. It returned at the end to many students’ delight!

Subsequently, we went to Brendan’s cage in the deep ocean to finish up our research from yesterday with the Cuban dogfish that we caught. We found that the shark had escaped from the cage, most likely meaning s/he survived which was the focus of Brendan’s study. The students on Brendan’s boat discussed abiotic factors in his research such as salinity, temperature, pressure, etc. that would affect the shark’s survival rate. We were amazed to learn about how little society knows about the deep ocean.

When we returned to the Island School, we all piled in vans to go challenge the locals in a game of basketball. All the students who participate in the Intramural Basketball League regularly at Hawken were very excited to get back onto the court. Though we have many athletic and talented players in our class, we were no match for the size, speed, and skill of the local Bahamian ballers. The game ended with smiles as we all got delicious Passion Fruit ice cups from a local vendor as we headed back to campus for dinner.

Post dinner, we met on the roof of the dining hall to reflect on our trip and the experiences we had while here in the Bahamas for 2 weeks. This discussion comprised of thoughts on making new friends, stepping out of your comfort zone, and experiencing things outside of the classroom and seeing our textbook broadcasted live in the ocean. We all began to realize how lucky we were to be placed in this class and cannot thank the members of the Island School staff, our teachers, Hawken, and our students for the experience.

We ended the night with stargazing, our daily quiz, and a nice, uplifting Chanukah ceremony. We look forward to making the most out of our last two days here on Eleuthera.

We look forward to seeing you. Peace out!
- Evan and Liz

Duh-nuh, Duh-nuh, Duh-nuh!

Today was the day that we all got to experience the long anticipated run-swim lead by the Island School founder, Chris Maxey. Numerous sources had warned us that this exercise would be very difficult but a large portion of the group ended up really enjoying themselves. We all felt a sense of accomplishment as we tagged the flagpole coming in from our last leg of our run-swim route. 

After a filling meal of delicious breakfast-pizza, the class was ready to split off into two groups to begin our work with the shark team. One of the teams started out by placing the long-line into the water, which would hopefully be able to catch a deep-ocean shark. The other team released a group of lemon sharks back into the ocean that had provided the shark team with some data in their research. We finished all of this work with a much needed lunch break. Once lunch was over, we were ready to get started on our next activity: snorkeling at the aquaculture cage. This seemed to be a group favorite as there were many big fish to see and there was the challenge of seeing who could dive down far enough to touch the cage.

After we had explored the cage, some of us went back to check the long-line to see if we had caught a shark. We checked the line and to our delight we had caught a mature, female Cuban Dogfish Shark. This was very exciting because this was the first shark we had seen from that depth. The group worked hard to get this shark into a cage so that Brendan, one of the shark researchers, could continue his work with studying the survivorship of rereleased sharks.

At around 4:30 we all began our daily exploration time, where we are free to explore Cape Eleuthera. Some went down to the marina to pick up a snack but a few students lucked out and got the chance to swim with 24 reef sharks. Though this might sound scary, we heard nothing but words of excitement from these students because they got to have a very rare experience.

We concluded the evening with a night wade on the beach right outside of our dorm. Though the water was quite cold, we began to see a number of nocturnal critters that helped us take our mind off of the cold water. For example, we found some fish called silver sides, which have translucent sides that they use to appear less visible to predators at night. We all had tons of fun today and we are all looking forward to the day to come!

-Tyler & Isabella

Discovery SCUBA!

Starting out the day bright and early, we headed over to the Bahama sand bars to snorkel around and check out the special sand called ooids. Even though we were all super cold we learned a lot and had an awesome time. While we were there we found sand dollars, sea biscuits, and live queen conch. After heading back on the boat we were disappointed when we thought we saw some dolphins, but the morning was spectacular enough. 

Once we were back at the school we had breakfast and then looked over our data from the conch surveys. We found that in most areas there was much less conch then the previous year. The class discussed various ways of protecting the conch including MPA’s (marine protected areas) and educating the fisherman about sustainable fishing. After this we headed over to the boathouse where we learned the basics of scuba diving before we headed out to the beach. We talked about important hand signals, do’s and don’ts, and skills. Once we understood the basics we were fitted with our gear and then packed up everything and headed over to the saddle at sunset beach.

Once we were there we broke up into groups with a certified dive instructor and began practicing safety techniques in shallow water. After we mastered this, we headed out to a small drop off of thirty feet. Here we dove around the area and saw things like squirrel fish, Nassau groupers, sting rays, spiny urchins and one group even saw a reef shark! This was one of the coolest things we have ever done and it is a memory we will never forget.

Everyone got out of the water, extremely excited about our first scuba dive. We all talked about it the entire bike ride home. Once we were there we all helped putting away the scuba gear and settled down for some much needed relaxation time. After dinner we walked over to the presentation room where we learned about Nocturnal Adaptations of Marine Organisms (aka Finding N.A.M.O). These are the various ways marine organisms change to fit their environment to protect themselves from predators and help them hunt. The reason we learned this was to prepare us for our night wade tomorrow. So with that in our minds we headed to bed excited for our next adventure waiting for us!

Olivia & Abel

Ocean Holes & Banyan Trees, We Survived Camping!

After a slightly restless night on the beach we awoke already excited for the journey back to the Island School and the adventures it would hold. While watching the remnants of the sunrise, students packed up their tents and began to prepare a breakfast of cereal. With heavy hearts we left the beautiful beach that had been our home for the evening and started on the road back to south Eleuthera. 

After a short ride, we arrived at our first destination: Preacher’s Cave. We took a short hike to the beach where William Sayle and his adventurers first caught sight of the beautiful Bahamian shore. Luckily for us, we did not have to deal with the “death rock” which surrounded the beach and had marooned the adventurers 330 years ago. After experiencing some nature and history combined, we traveled back to the entrance of the cave where Patrick the Preacher (one of our trusty instructors) gave his sermon. After a historical and enlightening sermon, we headed back to the vans to go on our next journey.

We packed back into the vans, the anticipation mounting as we awaited the next stop. The drive was quicker than expected as before we knew it the vans had come to a stop and Liz began to prepare us for a “20 minute hike”. Everyone groaned, tired from the long drive, and dreading a long walk through the woods. Therefore we were excited to learn that Liz had been joking when minutes later a gaping blue hole appeared before us and we learned we would have the chance to jump the 25 feet into the deep crevice below. Some students immediately took the plunge, while others hovered anxiously above, slowly building the courage to jump and then snorkel in the unique space. Though the plummet was frightening, and the rock climb out challenging, everyone left with a feeling of accomplishment.

Exchanging our wet clothes for dry ones, we all packed back into the vans for a 40 minute drive filled with summer hits of the 90’s.

Along the way, we paused our jam session for a short look off the so called “glass bridge” that Stan (our third instructor, native Bahamian) claimed was made of all glass windows. Fortunately for us, it was a bit sturdier than that, so we took the opportunity to get up and look out over both the Atlantic and the Caribbean. After soaking up the views and seeing a sea turtle from above, we loaded back into the vans and headed off to stop by a gift shop located in Gregory Town.

A few minutes later, we arrived at our destination, which claimed to always stay open except during “Sundays and hurricanes”. After cleaning out the store, we all headed back to the vans, hands filled with holiday gifts for everyone back home.

Our stomachs began to growl when we were told the next stop would be a return to the Governor’s Harbor Bakery which we had visited the previous day. Excitedly we ran into the small shop gorging on lemon donuts and coconut Danish pastries. We made a final stop to the grocery store to grab chips and candy to accompany our lunch of peanut butter, jelly, and cassava chips. We sat on a beach in the small town of Governor’s Harbor admiring the pink sand before we headed to our last stop.

We filed out of the vans for one final time to crowd around an enormous banyan tree, which is a tree that overtakes other trees and has incredible roots that shoot from the branches down into the ground. We learned about the history of the 150-year-old tree and watched a gigantic banana spider in awe. After a few photographs we left the sprawling tree, and finally headed for our home at the Island School.

Everyone was jubilant to arrive back at the Island School, finally back to showers and beds. After a short clean-up job, everything was unpacked and we were ready for a dinner of tortellini and corned beef. We finished off the night with a quiz and a relaxed viewing of the fan-favorite Finding Nemo. Only 5 days left in paradise!

Josh & Parker

Caves, Seahorses, and Sleeping on the Beach!

Waking up at 6:30 per usual, everyone was excited to have a somewhat relaxing morning activity: yoga on the roof of the dining hall. As we watched the sunrise on the horizon, we found our inner Zen in crow pose and downward-facing dog.

After finishing yoga, we packed up the vans for a one night “Down Island Trip.” A DIT is a camping trip in northern Eleuthera where we drive for over 3 hours through towns including Deep Creek, Green Castle, and Governor’s Harbor. We made a few stops along the way ending up at the beautiful “Daddy Joe’s Beach”.

Our Journey began with the smell of freshly baked doughnuts and scones from Governor’s Harbor Bakery. Although the goods weren’t pricey, many of us burned a hole in our wallets filling our stomachs with delicious calories. The next destination was a spooky underground cave named Hatchet Bay Cave. We trekked through the rocks as we learned about the formation of stalactites and stalagmites which created awesome rock structures. “The Birthday Cake” is a rock formation created by the mix of stalactites and stalagmites in the cave, which was one of the most scenic parts of the journey.

While we don’t support most vandalism, there was graffiti in the cave that dated back to as early as 1882. When we got to the third and lowest level of the cave, we were walking through waist deep water helping each other avoid rocks through good communication and teamwork. At the end of the cave, we had a “tribal party” covering ourselves in reddish mud from head to toe.

As our hunger started to get the best of us, we made our way out of the cave for peanut butter and jelly on tortilla. Many of us also stuffed our faces with the traditional cassava chips of Eleuthera.

Our next stop was right around the corner: seahorse pond. This body of water was filled with creatures such as bivalve mollusks, nudibranchs, and of course seahorses. While at first they were hard to find, everyone ended up seeing a seahorse through their camouflaged skin mixing in with the algae. Due to the cold water temperature we didn’t last very long in the pond and we quickly made our way back to the vans to change into warmer clothing.

Finally, we arrived at the amazing beach where we spent the night. We filed out of the vans and unpacked the tents, cooking utensils, and personal items. Each group of five people set up their tent with no help from the adults, and everyone, some faster than others, ended up with a pitched tent. The sun was already starting to set so everyone got to work with building the fire and cutting up vegetables for dinner. We all watched the beautiful sunset on the horizon and some of us decided it was a perfect Instagram opportunity or as many of you may call it a “Kodak moment.”

With natural light from the fire, we ate vegetable stir-fry over rice for dinner created by head chef Jessica with help from the rest of the gang. After dinner we gathered around the campfire for our daily “happys and crappys.” During this activity we each say our happiest and crappiest moment of the day. Tonight it was particularly special when multiple people said their happiest moment was sitting in the circle right there and then. One of the main principles of the Island School is about living in the present and these “happys” truly embraced the present moment.

The next activity was 10 minutes of alone time lying on the beach and watching the stars; the first minutes alone on the entire trip. We watched for shooting stars and a few minutes in we all saw something amazing. It wasn’t just a shooting star, but a meteorite shooting through the sky. After watching this legendary astronomical moment, we made our way back to the fire for some campfire games including everyone’s favorite: Mafia. By the end of the games, everyone was tired out from the long day of activities so we all headed to bed in our tents covered in sweatshirts and blankets. Looking forward to more surprises the next day, we fell asleep on the somewhat hard sand dreaming of doughnuts and new adventures.

We hope you’re all enjoying the snow,

Susie and Chapin

Kayak Floatilla, and Marine Biology "STEMM"

Although the day started early at 6:00am, our morning exercise was simply preparing the kayaks we would use on our journey down Page Creek. After meeting at the boathouse, we were assigned kayaks, life jackets, and spray skirts that fitted around our waste to keep us dry.

We took a break to enjoy a delicious breakfast of eggs and potatoes, and then returned to our kayaks to continue preparing for our journey. As part of our preparation, we practiced capsizing our kayaks and unhooking our splash skirts from the kayaks while upside-down underwater. After everyone passed the capsize test, we were finally ready to go. Our skills were tested as everyone tried to push off from the beach and into the open water, trying to avoid crashing. With each stroke of the paddle we traveled faster and more smoothly. We gained a new perspective of the ocean as we hovered a few feet above the reefs, fish, and grass we once inspected from a few inches while snorkeling. After about an hour we slid onto white, ‘sugar’ sand on the beach and out of our spray skirts. We unpacked our lunches, everyone grabbing a sandwich, cassava chips, and an orange. We felt content as we ate and admired a beach so picturesque it could have been a computer screensaver. After a group picture, we repacked our kayaks and headed back to the Island School.

On the return trip, the wind and waves began to pick up, but everyone managed to push through by singing songs the entire way back. Upon our return, we disembarked from our kayaks and rinsed each one with fresh water before replacing them under the boathouse. We were then informed that we had 15 minutes to change and get ready for the Cape Eleuthera Institute research symposium.

As we joined the other researches of CEI at the symposium, Cassidy, an intern only one year older than us, began her presentation on her experience researching sea turtles. It was interesting to hear about what she discovered over her four months as an intern when we worked with her on Wednesday and Thursday while ‘turtling.’ Following Cassidy were presentations made by other interns on sharks, conch, and fish such as the Schoolmaster Snapper. Although we were tired from a long day, we found the presentations interesting. After the symposium, we discussed how cool it was to have actually understood the interns’ presentations and their findings after our months of study.

Our hour of relaxation before dinner was welcomed by all, and the dinner of chicken parmesan and macaroni and cheese was one of the best dinners yet. After dinner, we met as a group in the presentation room to learn the details of our upcoming down-island trip. We were given a brief packing list and discussed some of the things we will see such as caves and a part of Eleuthera that is only 25 feet wide. We are all excited for our trip tomorrow, and even more excited to spend tomorrow night camping on a beach.

Talk to you in a few days!

-Hannah and Isaac

Merry Conch-Mas, and a Turtle! (Part 2)

Day five began a little later than usual as we were given a very rare late start to the day, meaning we didn’t have to wake up until 7:45. This granted a lot of necessary rest to all of us extremely tired individuals, including no AMX for the first time since our arrival. Sausage, hard-boiled eggs, and English muffins were served up for breakfast, which was a welcome change from the cereal, granola, and yogurt of past days. 

Soon after breakfast, the two groups, Night Herons and Eagle Rays, split off towards their respective activities for the day. Us Night Herons began to prepare for the Sea Turtle research that was to take place further up the island at Winding Bay, which was very shallow and cold. Even before that, we took a quick detour to the world-famous Rock Sound Ocean Hole, which was over 600 feet deep and 300,000 years old, but we only touched the surface by jumping in off a small cliff.

With the help of our resident turtle expert, Rachael Miller, we were taught the proper technique for corralling sea turtles. We began using our seine nets by bringing one pole into deeper waters and leaving one pole in the shallows to create a wall of net that could be pulled into shore in an attempt to catch a sea turtle.

After one attempt we decided to grab a quick lunch of sandwiches and chips in order to recharge for the next couple hours of research. A further 7 attempts were made after lunch with repeated failures, but with the 8th and final attempt, a catch was made with the help of a change in technique. We had finally caught a Green Sea Turtle that had eluded us for most of the day, and proceeded to give it a little Cleveland flair by naming it Lebron. We took our measurements including carapace length, head width, and many others, and decided to call it a day.

Meanwhile, the Eagle Rays were spending the day furthering the conch research that the Night Herons had performed a day earlier, but at multiple different beaches. Out of many dead Conch shells, 6 juvenile conchs were found, with 5 of them residing at Fourth Hole Beach, the shore of an abandoned golf course. The conditions were very rough from the wind, which made it very hard for those in the water to identify the conch shells that were being covered by the tossed up sediment. It was rough, but nonetheless worth it because it was for the good of the Queen Conch.

After we had a dinner of lentil soup, pita, and hummus, we headed over to the boathouse for some algae research. While our instructor, Liz, taught us about the ecology of oceanic algae, we were given our very own samples to examine from the artificial reefs laid down by the school. Contrary to our early beliefs, there was an unbelievable amount of different phylums and species hidden within the red algae, including crabs, worms, shrimp, and some other unrecognizable organisms.

We are all very tired, so it’s time to say goodnight. Speak to you tomorrow.

Miss you,
Ethan and Katarina

Turtles vs. Conchs, Part 1

Hi Moms and Dads, 

We started off the day bright and early, per usual, at 6:30 for water polo. We were split into two teams and remained in these teams for the whole day: the Night Herons who were with Ms. Post and Liz, and the Spotted Eagle Rays who were with Pat, Stan, and Mr. Daly. Water polo was intense to say the least; it was one of our favorite AMX’s (morning exercises).

After our AMX, we headed in for a breakfast of granola and cereal. When breakfast was over, we split into our two groups. The Night Herons were headed to the beaches around town to survey the conch population, and the Spotted Eagle Rays were headed further down island to survey the turtle population.

The conching team started at the beach outside of our dorms and found over 250 dead conch shells. Abel found the first alive conch!

We cannot end this blogpost without telling you about the phenomenal lunch we had. We had ribs, lasagna, pasta salad, Caprese salad, and fruit. Best part yet: fresh, warm cookies.

With happy stomachs, we then went to two other beaches to collect more data of conch population, named Red Bay and Plum Creek. Red Bay was a bust, but we found 7 alive conch and a couple more dead ones at Plum Creek. Plum Creek was absolutely beautiful.

The Spotted Eagle Rays headed out to do their turtle research with the Cape Eleuthera Institute Researcher, Rachel Miller. They set up nets and tried to bring in the turtles intending to measure their size and the number in the area; unfortunately, they saw a lot but didn’t catch any. After a picnic, they set up two more nets, didn’t catch anything, so they moved to the other side of the beach to give it one more try, and still didn’t catch any. They packed up everything and headed inland to Ocean Hole at Rocksound to test their fortitude. They had many people that were scared but they all ended up jumping off the 15 foot cliff into the 600 foot hole of ocean water. There were millions of different vibrantly colored fishes that they were very excited about. It was an unforgettable experience – the Night Herons get to experience this tomorrow.

For our exploration time, some of our students went to the CEI (Cape Eleuthera Institute) to watch a rare fish dissection of a never-before discovered fish. It was incredible to be here while history was being made.

Post dinner, we ended the night with a documentary about Blue Holes in the Bahamas. We learned that Blue Holes contain the secrets to the past of the Bahamas animal life.

Miss you all,
Liz and Abel

Patch Reefs and Lionfish

Day three followed the awesome experiences built in the first couple days. The day began bright and early with an intense match of beach volleyball right outside the dorms. It couldn’t have been a better way to start the day with a fun physical activity. We were split in half, and as we played we started to understand the importance of communication. After the games we replenished our energy with a great breakfast of grits and poached eggs. 

Our first activity was a brief recap of corals and an introduction to near-shore ecology succession. We then took two boats to a near-shore reef to see the change in vegetation within different depths. It was an incredible experience for everyone. For most it was their best snorkeling experience yet, because they got to see new fishes and sponges they hadn’t seen. We were also able to identity fishes better after yesterday’s fish ID presentation.

After the snorkeling we moved back into the presentation room and had a sustainable fisheries presentation to improve our understandings of the fisheries in the Bahamas. Following the lecture, we recalled the information by having a jeopardy-like game. We then developed a better understanding of the invasive lion fish by finally dissecting one, which was an unforgettable moment. The whole class was timid when they first saw the lion fish, but after fighting off fears we were able to really enjoy the process.

Today was our first exploration time where we were able to go to the store at the marina. Many of us bought snacks that we miss very much since our arrival at the Island School, like candy bars and ice cream. While indulging in our treats, we were lucky enough to see multiple sharks swim up towards the marina. For many it was the first time seeing this predator in its natural environment.

Our evening activity was group games with Trinity, the other school on campus. We played some communication and team building games together at the boathouse. It was a fun and easy way to wind down the day. As we get ready for bed, there is excitement in the air knowing that tomorrow is filled with sea turtle tagging and conch surveying.

- Max & Jessica

Double Snorkel

Day two at the Island School was AWESOME! The day began at 6:00am as usual with a bike tour around the island. The group saw things like the beach where we will scuba dive next week, the path to the marina, and the rising sun over the trees along our path. We went on to breakfast next and enjoyed a few bowls of cereal or granola. After getting some energy we went out to the first of TWO snorkels for the day. Liz, our fabulous instructor down here at the Island school, gave us a lesson on how reefs work. 

Our first destination was called Fourth Hole and we spent about 45 minutes exploring the fish and coral living in the reef. A lot of the members of the group described this event as one of their “happy moments” for the day. After adjusting to the cold water, we saw hundreds of wildlife such as Christmas tree worms, hexacoral, barracuda, and firecoral. After brushing off the excitement of seeing all of the fish, we headed back to school for lunch. And being Sunday funday, we had leftovers from the whole week. Yum!

Then right after lunch, the group headed to the presentation room to learn about all of the different types of fish that live in our surrounding waters. We put our swimsuits and rash guards right back on, still wet from our morning adventures, and headed back out to the ocean to look at another reef. This reef was quite a bit deeper, meaning warmer water, giving everyone a chance to practice their duck dives while snorkeling. At this reef we NATURE all around us! We saw a majority of the fish we had talked about in class earlier, which was exciting because we got to make connections between the classroom and the real world.

We came back from this to a delicious dinner followed by an extremely interesting talk about sea turtles. After this talk everyone is really looking forward to our turtle research on Tuesday and Wednesday of this coming week.

- Isabella & Matt

Mangrove Madness

Today we got out of bed before the sun came up and were abruptly awoken by a cold plunge into the Caribbean Sea. After making sure that everyone in our group could swim, we began our first snorkeling lesson. We learned how to breathe through our snorkels without swallowing water, to equalize or ears, and to dive to the bottom. During the brief lesson we saw jellies, shells, and a variety of fish. There was even a lemon shark washed up on the beach. After a hearty breakfast of French toast and bacon we headed out to tour the Island School. We split up into 2 teams (the bananas and the strawberries) and headed out for the Cape Eleuthera Institute. We walked over rumber bridges and walkways and tried some delicious (passion fruit) and not-so-delicious (nonni) fruit. The beautiful campus is ecologically sustainable in every aspect.

Mooch (the chef) then cooked the group a delicious lunch that gave us the energy to head back to sea. The class took a quick bike ride to the coast where we explored a mangrove forest and the ecosystem around it. We trekked against the current of a mangrove creek and since luckily it was low tide, the lemon juvenile lemon sharks which usually live there were nowhere to be found. When the creek became too shallow to swim in, we turned back, and rode the current back to the ocean. We took advantage of our snorkel gear and observed the fish that inhabited the mangroves. Many of the fish of the fish were quite friendly but the elusive schoolmaster snapper kept darting away whenever we got close.

When we reached the sandbar we gathered together and played barracuda: a game similar to sharks and minnows. It was all fun and games until a few of us fell onto the mangrove sediment.

We ended the day by biking to the marina, relaxing on the beach, or taking our minute long showers. Overall, our first full day in the Bahamas was a great success and we are very excited for the weeks to come.

Eliza & Patrick