Monthly Archives: July 2011

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Cacique Update: July 26th

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The following is a Cacique update written by Arielle and Julian for Tuesday, July 26th. 

Tuesday started out bright and early as both students and families ran, biked, walked, and in some cases drove, to High Rock. Not all our guest were thrilled with the early wake up but were exited to go any way. Many took this as chance to show off in front of their families and quickly completed the two-mile run. Almost everyone took the plunge off High Rock to cool off and relax in its clear blue waters, before heading back to campus to prepare for the day.

Island School students spent their last few minutes preparing for their Human Ecology presentations. The food pamphlet group scrambled to print out brochures and finished with a few seconds to spare. After an awards ceremony congratulating many returning alumni and faculty that made summer term possible, each group did their best to show what they had done and learned in the last week. After the last presentation on Boy’s Dorm Beach and several days of hard and occasionally stressful work, Human Ecology was finally over. Not just Human Ecology, our classes were finally over. Of course we still had to write a student letter and make a portfolio but it felt like we were done.

After eating lunch and finishing our portfolios everyone had a chance to sign out for the last time. A few used their time biking around the loop, exploring No Name, and relaxing at Sunset beach. Other students went out with their families to hang out inside the marina or go SCUBA diving. However it was spent, everyone made the most out of his or her final free time

The Perez and Erdman families had arranged to try SCUBA diving for the first time. David Miller had given the families a crash course and the basics to a successful first dive. After setting up gear we were briefed on the boat ride to Sunset Beach.  Emotions were flying as the new divers were asked to back roll of the side of the boat in full gear.  The families we confident enough to trust the two very experienced dive instructors David Miller, Peter Zdrojewski, Malcolm who was a very helpful hand, and Julian acting as a “dive master” helping out his family underwater. The dive and the instructions were in very shallow water and lasted about 45 minutes.

After free time everyone got back together for dinner and the parents, faculty, and alumni were invited to the Maxey house at the marina. The students spent the rest of the night finishing up their last few assignments, portfolios, and a summer term program evaluation. Study hours ended half an hour early so we could all get extra sleep for the final morning exercise, the triathlon, which we’ve been training for the past five weeks.

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Cacique Update: July 20th

Editor’s note:  Please enjoy this vintage blog post!  It was lost in the depths of the server.

The following is a Cacique update written by Joe and Sam for Wednesday, July 20th. 

“Butter is good on a roll, but alone it is not,” as a studious, fellow Island School student once told me, was the quote we chose today. Although the saying at first may not seem as serious as it sounds, the meaning stretched much deeper to us, especially today. Bright and early around 6 A.M., many of us took an optional dive opportunity to check out the stunning Hole in the Wall reef about 60 feet down. We were able to see the distinct “drop-off”, which was breathtaking, as we toured the reef. After we got back in the morning, we split as some of us began the physical work behind our human ecology projects, while others worked with the South Eleuthera Kids Camp on plant identification walk around the old resort. The quote specially made sense to the students working with the campers because as a summer term community we work well, but we need the other members of the community as far as they stretch to the campers, interns, kitchen staff, etc… to make this experience great. We switched in the afternoon as the other sides got to experience this unity as well. As our semester begins to wind down with parent’s weekend approaching, I think we are beginning to finally see, as Peter told us in the beginning of these five weeks, the bigger picture of things and how all of the systems in our community combine complexly to form something so amazing, yet so simple. We continue to work on our human ecology projects, each with a set goal of leaving a legacy on this campus or at least fixing a problem we see within a system, whether it is in our community at the Island School or the local community throughout Eleuthera.

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Cacique Update: The Culmination of Research Projects

[slideshow]The following update was written by caciques Olivia and Maggie from Monday, July 25th. 

Excitement filled the air as a couple families joined our 6:30 morning circle and prepared to participate in morning exercise with the students. Grouped in buddies and truddies (three-person buddy groups), we students headed down to the Marina with fresh energy, and introduced our guests to the world of run-swims. The water was refreshing, and some students even saw some rays swimming along with us—a great way to start the day.

After breakfast, students broke off into either their research groups; or had some free time to work on assignments, snorkel with family and friends, or just chill out. Parents joined research class and got the opportunity to see exactly what their children have been doing for the past month.

The aquaculture team got to share an amazing experience with their families. They harvested cobia that was later shared in a community meal for dinner. Students and their families got involved right away to help catch the cobia from the tank. A couple of splashes and laughs later, families jumped right into filleting the cobia. With blood stains and hungry stomachs, they hurried to lunch for a delicious meal.

The sharks team shared an exciting day with parents as well. The team and their families took a boat out to Broad Creek where they experienced field research. After setting up and waiting a while, a lemon shark approached and bit the line. Parents’ excitement shined through their smiling faces when they got to take a picture with the shark.

After lunch, students participated in individual conferences with their parents and their advisors to get feedback on their entire summer term. After those conferences the students quickly prepared for their final research presentations later in the night.

Arriving at the Rock Sound Mission, the students quickly set up their posters and prepared to answer questions. Guests started arriving and immediately everyone became immersed in the amazing presentations that the research groups put together. The presentations were phenomenal and the questions were even better. After a few rotations of intense conversations, everyone gathered to have a tasty local meal including Island School born and raised pork, Bahamian mac n’cheese, fried cobia fingers, sautéed tilapia and baked treats, just to name a few of the delicious featured foods.

Alumni Spotlight

Alumni Spotlight: Carter Brown

Carter Houston Brown returned to Cape Eleuthera this summer to work as an intern in CEI’s flats program after graduating high school. He attended The Island School in Spring of 2009 and came back because he “really fell in love with this place.” Originally from Bryn Mawr, PA, Carter will be attending Hobart-William Smith College in Geneva, NY where he hopes to study environmental sciences this fall.

As a student at The Island School Carter’s research was archaeology , so this time back he was eager to do anything in the water, and the flats program sees that he gets his wish. Working alongside Justin and Luke, he spends much of his day walking the creeks catching and tagging bonefish. Although the days are long he doesn’t seem to mind the work, as long as it’s in the field. “Cubicles are scary” says Carter, adding “the idea of a desk job is just not appealing to me.”

This time around Carter has enjoyed seeing the other side of campus—the research side. He’s also impressed with the amount of building that has gone on here in the short time he’s been away from campus, with additions like the bike shed, the resource area, and the new construction at Hallig Hall.

Carter encourages alumni and friends and anyone else reading to do two things: jump at an opportunity to come back to the Cape, and SEND MAIL! Apparently mail can really make interns’ days, so if you’ve got something to say to Carter or any of the interns or alumni down here, why not write it down and put it in the mailbox.

Carter can be reached at:

℅ Twin Air Calypso
750 SW 34th St
Suite 111B
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
33315

Apprentice Programme

Apprentice Profile: Serrano Gibson

Serrano Gibson of Wemyss Bight joins us at on campus as part of the  apprentice programme this summer, working under Marco. Below are some of his thoughts on working here:

As a summer employee at The Island School, I am working with an intelligent hard working young man name Marco. I’m helping him with making bio-diesel fuel out of used cooking oil, which is used in vehicles instead of diesel purchased at a service station. I am also cleaning the diesel tanks so that the new fuel can be clean and just right. The bio-diesel is inexpensive, reliable and eco friendly to our environment.

We are also on the road a vast amount of time making stops at different restaurants on the island picking up bottles of cooking oil that the restaurants no longer need to make the bio diesel and replacing the empty bottles with new ones to refill. It’s a long days work. We sometime end up in Harbor Island. This is a great experience for me.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture Research Class

[slideshow]Digging my fingers into the dog food like fish meal, I grabbed a handful and tossed it into the large tank filled with ravenous cobia. This is one moment that we experienced during our introductory day to the world of aquaculture. Many people don’t fully understand how aquaculture works or even simply what it is. Aquaculture, otherwise known as fish farming, is the cultivation of aquatic plants and animals, and is often perceived as a sustainable practice. However, people do not realize the negative repercussions that it has. To sustain the farmed carnivorous fish, smaller pelagic fish must be harvested to create fish meal. Our goal through this project is to determine if we can use a smaller percent of fish meal in the feed and still produce an equal amount of growth.

Last semester a group students compared the growth of fish using 40% fish meal feed and 80% fish meal feed and found that there was no difference in the rate of growth. This summer we are comparing the growth of fish using 25% fish meal to 40% fish meal. We are predicting that the fish fed 25% fish meal and the fish fed 40% fish meal will grow at the same rate. If our data supports our hypothesis, then aquaculture can become a more sustainable industry. Currently we are testing 3 tanks filled with cobia, 2 of which are fed 40% fish meal and the other 25% fish meal. One problem we face with the cobia in close proximity is the transmission of parasites.

One method used to remove parasites is formalin, a chemical that can cause excessive damage to not only ourselves but the environment around us. A new method that has been recently proposed is the use of gobies, which are cleaner fish. Another thing we would like to study in this term is the use of formalin compared to the use of gobies to remove parasites. We hypothesized that sadly the formalin will be a more effective parasite removal method. This is because the gobies have too many variables that we are unable to control, such as the cobia may eat them.

We have already learned much about the sustainability and misconceptions of fish farming. We hope that we can find ways to make aquaculture a more sustainable industry for the future! Working in the lab is always a fun and interesting part of our day and we cannot wait for the results of our experiment.

Cacique Update

Cacique Update: Friday July 22nd

[slideshow]The following update was written by Denali and Arielle for Friday, July 22nd.

Waking up this morning was, as always, a struggle. However, within fifteen minutes students were shocked into an alert state as they jumped into the cool and refreshing water for a morning swim. Feeling the stress of the looming triathlon, everyone was pushing themselves in order to prepare for the half-mile swim portion.

On returning to the boathouse Matt led us in 7-minute abs, further defining our glorious six-packs. After that we witnessed something truly moving and powerful—the pig slaughter for the research symposium’s local food sampler. A mix of excited and wary students walked up to the small pigpen in the midst of the orchard. With a shotgun the pig was killed, short and sweet. One may think, how horrible, what kind of school allows students to watch the slaughter of an animal? Actually, this is the one of the most humane situations for a pig slaughter to be performed. In human ecology we learned of the commercial food industry and the brutal and, frankly, inhumane techniques used. After the initial killing students were allowed to partake in the cleaning and de-furring of the pig. The experience to see where food comes from, farm to plate, is a powerful thing. The communal effort helped strengthen our community.

These final days of tying together the loose ends have been a hectic whirlwind of emotions. From sad reminiscing to joyful thoughts of home; everyone has been jumping from one extreme to the other. The thought of the end has been a heavy weight on the hearts of students; however, the friendships forged will not be in vein. Plans for reunions and visits circulate as the end draws near. If one thing is for sure, The Island School’s effect on each student is profound and the experiences will not be forgotten.

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Cacique Update: Thursday July 21st

The following update was written by Courtney and Molly for Thursday, July 21st. 

We began our day by seeing how far we’ve come athletically since the beginning of the program. We all ran our hardest to high rock. Everyone was able to run the whole two miles there, which was a huge improvement from the first time. At high rock, many of us enjoyed an exciting jump into the cool water below. After a filling breakfast of delicious golden-brown French toast we broke of into our human ecology groups to continue working on our respective projects. Some groups went into the settlements to discover some local bakeries and shops. Other groups stayed on campus and did a variety of things including building furniture. Lunch was amazing cheese and bean quesadillas, a surprising treat. During research time we got to know the south Eleutheran kids camps better by teaching them about our respective research projects. The shark group even hilariously acted out a tag and capture of a juvenile lemon shark! The community all came back together at dinner circle, where we even met some new members from Earthwatch.

Cacique Update

Cacique Update: Human Eco Planning and Research Poster Revisions

The following blog entry was written by Clayton and Hope for Monday, July 18th. 

“It’s where you go and what you do that makes you who you are.”

This morning started with a extremely intense student-led physco, which was conduct by Clayton and Kate. We paired up with a buddy and were forced to push one another through an intense piggyback relay, daunting sand hill sprints and intimidating rock lifts. Giving it our all we sprinted through The Island School campus and side-by-side with our buddies, every student touched the flagpole finish. Everyone was energized by the twist to the morning and eagerly, we split up for chores. After completing a variety of campus chores and rushing to take navy showers, we met up at the dining hall for breakfast. Students were excited to see a tall mountain of pancakes waiting for them. The morning Human Ecology class was dedicated to spending time planning and starting the projects which we recently created. The presentation room became a place of new ideas and hopes for ways in which we are going to improve our home here at the Island School and Cape Eleuthera. Each group chose a topic based on something they feel needs to more sustainable or simply a problem that needs a solution. The work ahead of us will push our creative thinking and allow us to find ways to use the resources in our area.  Some groups plan to use the invasive species, Casuarina trees, while others are going to use recycled bottles or old tires found in resources. This afternoon each research group spent time discussing the results as well as developing an outline for the final poster. We began making graphs, determining if our data was significant, and tweaking our previously written intros. After a long academic and physical day, many of the kids decided to explore the inner loop, by running or biking, rather than indulge themselves at the marina store.  Finally at dinner circle, we were joined by our research advisors who briefed us on our adventurous day tomorrow. We were also joined by the new faces of the South Eleuthera Kids Camp.  The night concluded as mentors and students alike congregated in John and David’s apartment, where we took turns giving kudos to one another on the progress we have made this term.

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Cacique Update: July 19th Research Extravaganza!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4JQShOFw7k

The following Cacique update was written by Hana and Arie about Tuesday, July 19th. 

Today began with an unusual start.  Depending on our research groups we split up with morning starts as early as 4 am. With the sharks team leaving the earliest, and the lionfish and conch teams leaving next at 5, the aquaculture and flats team attempted to sleep in until 8am despite the constant bustling in the dorms.  Walking to the dining hall we smelled the aroma of a delicious breakfast consitsting of eggs and grits, after which the aquaculture and flats teams departed.

The flats team went on a down island trip stopping at Savannah Sound where we met with an interesting man who was a bonefish guide.  We proceeded to the sound where we seined and flyfished for juvenile bonefish.  After being hit with a downpour, we continued our trip to a reserve where we toured the trails filled with assorted types of bush medicine.  As a reward for maintaining smiles through one of the worst mosquito swarms we had experienced thus far, we stopped for an ice cream treat in Governor’s Harbor before returning to campus for dinner.

The aquaculture team began to cook a delightful meal of farmed cobia. The cobia was filleted and then sautéed in a butter sauce with peppers, onions, and garlic. The cobia was also cut into little strips, dipped in lime juice, and coated in coconut and flour, then fried in butter. The cobia was taken around Eleuthera and people were surveyed about what knowledge they had about aquaculture. Then they were offered cobia to try and rated it on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the best; luckily aquaculture mostly received 1s and 2s!

After everyone had returned to campus from their fulfilling days with their research groups, we had a cozy campfire with the South Eleuthera Kids Camp. First we played a game called Peeper and after that a fun and tiring game of Blob Tag. A warm and inviting campfire called all of us over for a quick game of Mafia. No campfire is complete without marshmallows roasted on a stick, and of course we all got a sweet treat to end the day. With gooey mouths and sweet thoughts, we all returned to our dorms for a solid nights sleep.