Island School 2017 - Day 6

Today in particular was a very special day. It was our wondrous chaperone, Ms. Goodale's, birthday! Nonetheless, the day started in its usual fashion with us waking up bright and early at 6:15. We then biked out to High Rock and jumped into the water below for some early morning snorkeling. After a quick breakfast, we boarded a motorboat and set off to a sandbar just a little off the coast. There we learned about how the sandbar itself was formed and what exactly it was made of. This sandbar was also special because it was a perfect habitat for stingrays and barracuda, both of which we saw. The sea floor was also coated in shells of all shapes and sizes of which we brought home many. Wasting no time after we arrived back to the dock, we rushed to get bagged lunches and immediately got into the van and drove to a mangrove in Half Sound. Now, what makes this particular mangrove so special is that it is a very important spot for juvenile green sea turtles. With the help of an expert research team, we managed to far surpass our initial goal of catching 3 to 4 and brought in a whopping 15 sea turtles. We then helped the team collect data and tag them before releasing them. What a great birthday present for our dear Ms. Goodale who, like all of us, loves sea turtles. And to end the day we all went to a beach and watched the sun set and ate birthday cake. We are all excited to return tomorrow, although we do have to wake up awfully early to do so. As we all packed up our things we gave a heartfelt farewell to one of our instructors, Casey, and thanked her for the week that we will all remember for a very long time. 

                                                                                                            - Jake Lockwood