The campus has been a lot quieter with half the students gone. Lunch goes by quickly, and we now start cleaning the dishes even before seconds have been called. While K3 and K4 are camping on beaches or kayaking down the Sound, the remainder of the student body has been continuing with academics. It is a little different then the normal schedule, we have fewer classes but for longer periods of time.

Last night, we also went on a night dive. I was really excited to see the coral reefs at different time of day. My group prepared our tanks, jumped on the Cobia, and then headed to our dive sight. Something thing we were told to for was the coral reef nematocysts. Corals get 90% of their energy from photosynthesis from zooxanthellae (algae) that live inside of it. They get the other 10% from nematocysts or tentacle feeding, which paralyze small fish or invertebrate for them to eat. At night, when they can’t photosynthesize, many get energy from this other method. During the dive I saw some Lionfish, Surgeonfish, a School Master Snapper, and a Squirrel Fish. However, I thought one of the coolest parts of the night was ascending from the dive. As we bobbed there in the dark ocean, we looked up and saw the night sky filled with twinkling stars.

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Yesterday in Human Ecology, the class was broken up into three sections and taken around campus. My group was with Josh who works with permaculture and aquaponics. He showed us some of the cool things that they are doing in the orchard to keep it sustainable. A couple weeks ago a group of students helped Joseph collect seaweed washed on the beach. We learned that they are using this dried seaweed as mulch. It is protecting the soil from from drying out as well as from heavy rain. The rain then drips through the seaweed, so the soil gets the water and the nutrients are trapped inside for longer.

In Art, we have been starting our transformation projects. Through any media, we are supposed to communicate a complex idea which we have learned since we have been at The Island School. My art piece is about shattering of perspectives. Before I came to The Island School, I thought I was worldly. I lived in New York, a diverse city. I had been to the different parts of the world, like Europe and the Middle East. But coming here I realized that I had never met anyone certain parts of the United States. I didn’t have any friends in Montana or Nevada. At home, everyone I am surrounded by typically has the same opinions about the world as I do. However here during discussions, my classmates challenge me to think about the world in ways I have never thought about it before. I really enjoy taking film photography, so for my art project I am creating two film cameras out of cardboard. One to signify my views on the world before I came to The Island School, the second to signify has my views have changed. The second camera’s lens is shattered, to symbolize the broadening of my worldview.