Yearly Archives: 2012

Eleutheros

Eleutheros

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The Human Ecology, Histories, and Literature Departments have collaborated on a series ongoing personal reflective essays called Eleutheros. Each week students are asked to write a reflective essay that demonstrates their understanding of the themes from their coursework and effectively links these themes to their unique thoughts and experiences.  Enjoy reading these two articulate examples of how our students have deeply and personally engage with essential questions, important to their course of study at The Island School…

Prompt:

1.  What does it mean to “marry your heart to your right hand?” (Omeros 72). Who lives this way? Do you? Should you?

Abby Anderson:

When I talk to my grandmother, she often tells me about weaving. She has been weaving for most of her life, was the President of the New Hampshire Weavers’ Guild, and goes to weaving conferences around the country where she shows her work and sees others’ work. In her little two-bedroom house, she dedicated an entire room to weaving, filling it with her loom and supplies. When my grandmother talks about weaving, I notice an important quality in her voice that perpetuates her love of weaving: passion. To find one’s passion and to be passionate are two goals that many people strive for throughout their lives. This passion makes up the essence of what it means to “marry your heart to your right hand,” (Omeros, 72). Continue reading →

Cape Eleuthera Institute, CEI

Dartmouth PhD Student Studying Bahamian Lizards at CEI

A PhD student from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, Mike Logan, will be on the Island School campus until May 31st collecting data for his research on thermal adaptation in lizards. Mike’s PhD focuses on the response to climate change in lizards, and in the Bahamas he is conducting transplant experiments to examine how traits like the thermal sensitivity of running speed might evolve in response to environmental warming. This May, Mike is capturing roughly 100 individual Anolis sagrei (Bahamian brown anoles) from a shady habitat on the interior of the island, measuring their running speeds as a function of body temperature in the lab, and then releasing them onto a sun-baked peninsula. Each lizard will be individually marked, so that when Mike returns in late August he can recapture all the survivors from the sunny habitat and figure out which lizards were “selected for.”

His hypothesis is that the lizards with the highest thermal tolerance (highest ‘optimal temperature for running’) Continue reading →

Daily Update

Daily Update, May 7, 2012

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On Saturday night kayak rotations officially ended. Kayak groups 1, 2, and 3 were returning from watching the sunset as K4 emerged from the Boathouse. They had just finished the long process of cleaning their gear. It was hard to recognize them because they had just come off their solo; meaning they all were extremely tan. K4 talked about how it rained for the first three days of their trip, but they continued pushing through it and ended up having a great time. To celebrate everyone back on campus, we watched a movie and devoured ice cream and brownies during intermission.

Students continue to tell stories to each other of their solo. The highlights include: Felipe Gomez slept on his pool toy mattress (his personal item), Sterling Wright made a rope swing and bracelets, Annie Obrecht sang Adele to herself, Kyle Titsworth built a shelter out of trees and palm fronds, and Taylor Lundeen tried to sleep for 48 straight hours. Overall everyone enjoyed the experience and had some time to reflect on ourselves, our experience so far, and what time we have left.

Cape Eleuthera Institute

Pete Muñoz of Natural Systems International Visits the Cape

Earlier this April, CEI was fortunate enough to have a visit from Pete Muñoz of Natural Systems International, which specializes in ecological engineering and biotechnology. Pete’s background includes extensive work on water systems, ranging from storm water run off to catchment methods to waste water treatment; in many respects he is at the forefront of his field in the world. Through working with CEI’s Josh Shultz, Sam Kenworthy, and Geoff Walton, Pete was able to gain a deep understanding for how CEI and Island School collect, use, and treat their water, and how we could improve our current practices. Specifically, Pete and his team at Natural Systems are going to help us to create a new, innovative method to deal with all of CEI’s waste water, as well as adjust our wetland system (“poopoo garden”) at IS to maximize productivity and potential energy generation. Treating our water properly could allow for more food production, fewer energy inputs, and less waste generation. A win on all fronts. Pete and Natural Systems work all over the U.S. and the rest of the world. Chances are they have worked on projects close to you. If you’d like to learn more about what Natural Systems does, check out their website: http://www.natsys-inc.com/
Cape Eleuthera Institute, News

CEI’s Kristal Ambrose Sets Sail

Over the course of three days in early February, 5 Gyres scientist Marcus Ericksen hosted a conference at the Cape Eleuthera Institute for educators on the impact of marine plastic pollution. Eriksen gave presentations detailing voyages to these gyres to study their makeup and movement. His passion inspired CEI’s Kristal Ambrose to action. Motivated by the dilemma of plastic marine debris in the local waters of the Exuma sound and oceans around the world, Kristal pursued an opportunity of a lifetime.

The CEI aquaponics intern decided she wanted to accompany him on one of his voyages. Following a series of fortunate events Ambrose got her chance. Thanks to efforts on her part to secure funding and support from Chris and Pam Maxey, Christian Henry, Josh Shultz , Annabelle Brooks, The Nature Conservancy, and Bobbie Hallig, she will be headed to the Marshall Islands to begin her Journey. Then, from May 1-23, Kristal will be joining Marcus Eriksen and his team on a research expedition to sail across the pacific ocean from Majuro, Marshall Islands to Tokyo, Japan to study the Japan Tsunami Debris.

Organized by the 5 Gyres Institute, Algalita Marine Research Foundation, and Pangea Exploration, the expedition seeks to answer questions that explore what happens Continue reading →

Cape Eleuthera Institute, Events

Lionfish Collecting and Handling Workshop at CEI

The next “Lionfish Collecting and Handling” Workshop organized by REEF in collaboration with the SPAW RAC will take place on May 15-18, 2012 at the Cape Eleuthera Institue. The workshop is a 2-day workshop focusing on hands-on collecting/handling and monitoring for key resource managers or their official designee. This workshop is the second of 3 workshops that will be held in the region and  funded in part by a NFWF (National Fish and Wildlife Foundation) grant. This workshop is by invite only. Please contact Skylar Miller at skylarmiller@islandschool.org for more information.

Alumni

Alumni Advisory Board Annual On-Island Meeting

Chris Maxey, Ted Griffith (S02), Mike Cortina (F02), Horatio Smith (F02), Kate Parizeau (F03), John Head (F99), Nick DelVecchio (F02), Cam Powel (F04)

This past weekend, 6 members from The Island School’s Alumni Advisory Board (AAB) made the trek to South Eleuthera for their annual on-island board meeting. During their few days at The Island School, they had the opportunity to connect with Spring 2012 students, as well as hear about everything that’s happening on the Cape, making sure that their alumni perspective is being heard both by staff and The Island School Board of Directors. All 6 attendees left the island with lots of energy to go home and spread the word of all the things they heard and learned this weekend.

The AAB was created in 2008 to reengage Island School alumni and add structure to the Island School alumni community that has spread from Eleuthera across the globe. The AAB promotes effective global citizenship by supporting connectivity and collaboration among the alumni community and through preservation of the mission and vision of the Island School for future students. Every student’s Island School experience is different, and with an ever-changing campus landscape and research scope many returning alumni are often confronted with a different school than they remember.  The AAB works to ensure that all alumni feel connected to The Island School, regardless of miles traveled or time passed.

If you have any questions about the Alumni Advisory Board or alumni support, please feel free to contact alumni@islandschool.org.

Cape Eleuthera Institute, research

Bonefish Flats Group Research Update

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A couple weeks ago the Bonefish Flats group took a trip to Page Creek in order to gather information about the habitat that Bonefish live in.

The flat that we went to was surrounded by the ocean and land.  In the beginning of it the depth ranged from 0-3 feet, deeper into the flat it was only a foot deep.  Some fish populations included yellowtail snapper, schoolmaster fish.  There were also red mangroves all over.  Flats are generally shallow areas.  They are an abundance of mangroves and small fish that use the mangroves for protection.  Present in the mangroves are species such as small fish, echinoderms, Cassiopeia, etc.  In the flat that we went to the water varied from 0-3 feet.  The beginning of the flat was deepest, and then it got shallower.  In the flat we found yellow tail snapper, schoolmaster fish, blue crabs, etc.  There was sand and turtle grass on the floor.  When we went there it was low tide and the sun was high in the sky.  This caused for the water to be much warmer than if the sun was not out and it was high tide because the more water there is the more energy it takes to heat it up.  It was important for us to take a trip to the flat and observe it because this is the habitat for Bonefish.

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We went into the flats to have hands on experience with our studies. We went into the field to collect, observe, and tag Bonefish to have a better idea of where we should take out studies. Continue reading →

Cape Eleuthera Institute, Events, News

Hallig House Grand Opening!

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The Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) welcomed government officials, Bahamian dignitaries and esteemed guests to the grand opening of its Hallig House. The event was celebrated within the context of the One Eleuthera Foundation’s Earth Day Weekend, as a symbol of how community partnerships with shared vision can support a future of sustainable development in The Bahamas.

Chris Maxey, co-founder of the Cape Eleuthera Island School, encouraged event guests to envision the impact of innovative green design technologies: “Imagine building systems that are a net exporter of energy and water, that use the sun to heat water and to cool living spaces, that process waste in a responsible way that helps restore ecosystems and beautify the seascape.”

Hallig House was designed as an educational model for island nations. Led by Warren Wagner of W3 Architects and designed by a team of conservation systems specialists, the building features innovative elements, which solve specific regional issues. The building’s structure and shape, construction materials, and renewable energy and waste management systems all demonstrate how local and national development can maximize locally available resources while minimizing impact on local environments.

The opening marked the first time that the Cape Eleuthera Island School has been honored by the presence of His Excellency Sir Arthur Foulkes Governor-General to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. He gave the keynote address at the event, seen in the video below.  Continue reading →