For the Island School summer term, six students had the opportunity to work with Dr. Jocelyn Curtis-Quick researching invasive lionfish. In one day, the students became professionals at cast netting, dissecting lionfish, conducting behavior observations, and data analysis. They dissected fourteen lionfish, with body fat ranging from% 0.58- %2.1 and the discovered of various prey items in the stomach including crabs, grunts, and blue headed wrasse. Shockingly, there were twelve fish in one stomach; proving the voracious eating habits of the lionfish. The students are now knowledgeable invasive lionfish researchers. Of course, the students love to eat lionfish and recommend everyone do their part to stop the invasion by eating them.
Students help conduct lab observational experiments.Summer term Island School students dissect lionfish.
Peter Wege, former Chairman of Steelcase Furniture from West Michigan, was pushing the world to go green long before ideas about sustainability had gone mainstream. Peter believed strongly that economic development linked to ecological awareness was the path to a more livable future. His book entitled Economicology outlines a philosophy that mandates the need to think about how we treat our environment in everything that we do.
Cape Eleuthera Institute research team gathers at the Wege Center for Sustainable Fisheries to celebrate the life of Peter Wege and give thanks for his generous support.
Our Cape Eleuthera Foundation Grand Rapids board members led by Dan Devos, David Green and Dr. David Verdier helped make the introduction to Peter early on in the development of The Island School. Chris Maxey remembers that first opportunity to meet Mr. Wege. “He listened to me talk about our need to model smart, ecologically sound systems so that young people could learn through living in a place that was committed to respecting our environment; suddenly he pounded the table with his fist and he said, ‘This is what we need!’”
Peter Wege and Dan DeVos at a gathering of our board in Grand Rapids.
In those critical early years, Peter Wege through the Wege Foundation provided generous leadership gifts of over $1 MM that helped us invest in renewable energy and build the first solar powered hatchery and wet lab in the world. Through Steelcase Mr. Wege gifted green, recycled-material furniture that remains in use at Cape Eleuthera Institute.
Although Mr. Wege never visited our campus, we were honored to be able to participate in the annual Econimocology Conference at Aquinas College. It was good to be able to present our work along side the big universities and know that Mr. Wege was proud to be able to help us model a more sustainable way of living.
“Every time I look across our seascape and see the wind generator spinning above the casuarinas I think of Mr. Wege and his leadership and his generosity. He will never be forgotten at Cape Eleuthera.” -Chris Maxey
After almost a week long without everyone at the Island School, the Flying Gurnards group was finally able to join the rest of the school and enjoy the much needed day-off. The group had just returned from their 24-hour solo in which they were spread out along the beach and had no interaction with other humans for an entire day. I spent my day reflecting on my down island experience as well as singing, building sandcastles, attempting to make a shelter, and napping in the soft sand. It was an amazing experience until the skies opened up and everyone got drenched. Although people woke up with soggy sleeping bags, after the solo experience we all shared a laugh as stories were exchanged about everyones adventures and activities during the 24 hours.
The second day-off of the summer term proved to be a great day to get out and explore. Groups of students could have been found all over the cape seeing what this place has to offer. The activities included, cave exploration at High Rock, free diving at the Saddle, soccer games at boys dorm beach and much more. A group headed out to find the fabled Banyan Tree and discovered it deep in the inner-loop. After a morning shower, people went swimming and relaxed on the beach. The day was enjoyable as it was nice to catch up with the people who had been gone all week and hear stories of solos and the trip.
With only 14 days left of the summer term, students are looking to accomplish all they can in the closing two weeks. Tomorrow brings the start of a new rotation of classes and even more experiences are yet to come.
Yesterday we woke up to a special occasion, swim class and campus sprints! As the days go by and we continue to get stronger, the morning work-outs continue to get harder in preparation for the monster run-swim. After a tiring work out we all went to chores, and then to breakfast. The dining hall was filled with talk of the departure of sixteen students about to embark on their much anticipated solo experience. Once the students left to be alone for twenty-four hours the campus became much more quiet.
The students of marine ecology and food systems remained on campus to attend their last class of the first academic week, although we were sad to already have finished our first rotation we are extremely excited for the next two weeks to come.
To finish off the day, we used up all of our energy in extreme excitement for a late night. The evening activity? A bonfire and wading for bio-luminescents! The night began at eight thirty when the students gathered around the flagpole to head to boys dorm beach. Loth and Abraham first showed all of us who sat around the fire how to make a fire, and then the scary stories started. After a quick game of “tiger uppercut” in the water, we all headed in out of exhaustion. As always, the late night was a wonderful bonding experience and a great way to end the long day.
At the start of the second day during our first academic week, the students ran to a beach location called The Saddle. From there, they swam parallel to the shoreline all the way to Sunset Beach and finished the morning exercise with the typical run-swim through the cuts. Though the run-swim was a bit more difficult this time around, it has only gotten easier as the days go by that the students train for the semester’s monster run swim at the beginning of parent’s weekend.
The dining hall seemed strangely empty as Tourism and Development had left the day before for their four day Down Island Trip to the northern tip of Eleuthera. The Marine Ecology group began their individual research in their own personal patch reefs, studying fishes and coral in their isolated communities. As these activities were happening, Food Systems was touring the school’s own personal farm, learning about a few plants and animals seen along the way.
The night was topped off with a great presentation from a woman named Mackey who works at the Cape Eleuthera Institute next door. The students sat entranced as they learned more about the deep sea and what they might be able to learn in their time here. After this quick presentation, it was off to study hours and preparation for the day to come!
Yesterday we woke up early to the rising sun and a 6:30 breakfast. We had to push off early for deep sea research, which was about a 35 minute boat ride to get to. Deep Ocean isn’t exactly right off the shore, so we had to go through a rough and rainy boat ride to arrive to our destination. Upon our arrival, we spent two and a half hours pulling up two ropes from about 5,000 feet underwater. Although tired and feeling slightly sea sick, a few members of the crew finally reeled in about 40 isopods (picture a 2 foot underwater pill bug). It was so fascinating holding critters from 5,000 feet under the water in our hands. While on the boat, we also got to free dive the 90 foot wall and the deep, vast, blue ocean. The contrast between free diving in those two settings was unbelievable, and each one was moving in a different way. It was definitely worth waking up early for.
For Marine Ecology, yesterday was a wonderful yet semi-tragic day. We were disheartened to realize that this would be the last time we would view our little patch reefs that we spent all week studying. I had become so attached to mine I even named it (Patchy if you’re wondering.) However, as we had studied different fish species and their biology we were eager to test out our knowledge in the field. Scuba diving has always been an awesome activity for the students here and we thoroughly enjoyed our final dive. Some of us were delighted to realize that the fish ID’s, that we had struggled so much with the night before, were allowing us to correctly identify the denizens of our reefs. Waving a fond farewell to our clumps of coral and sponges we ascended with plenty of information to write our Field Notes. These are basically a way to put down what we learned from our reefs into writing that are enjoyable to read. Upon our arrival at the Boathouse, we were delighted to find that our buddies from Tourism and Development had all returned. Hugs were exchanged and we all realized how much we really missed each other. During advisory time, spirits were higher than ever since the whole campus was finally reunited (even if only for a few days.) However, today these students leave us once again to embark on their solo experience and we wish them the best of luck.
Splash! The water felt warm, as it does everyday, when we jumped off the boat at 6:30 this morning. A small group of us had chosen to embark on an early free dive trip to a site called Cathedral. We laughed and snorkeled in the calm water and some students even made it all the way to the fifty-foot bottom. Just above the ocean floor, we watched as our instructors swam with the fish through a forty-foot tunnel. This is the first of many more free dives that we hope to take in our time here. On the boat ride back, George, a researcher at Cape Eleuthera Institute, even taught those who wanted to learn how to drive the boat. Owen Finnegan helped guide us back into the school’s dock, all before 8:30 am.
A student waves hello before she descends on a dive!
Walking back onto campus, the decks and our community circle seemed much quieter than usual. With this week’s commencement of the academic rotation, a third of our friends are on a four-day camping trip down the island of Eleuthera. We have missed them all so much, but they will be back tomorrow in time for dinner! In the meantime, we have been busy identifying fish, crustaceans and coral on the Marine Ecology dives. Not only have we learned how to put on all of our gear on a rocky boat, we have also taken a close look at how all parts of a coral reef work together and depend on one another. Those of us in the Food Systems group have been designing theoretical gardens around campus. In just a couple of days, these groups will rotate, and we will each take on a new topic of study.
As we approach the beginning of our third week here at the Island School, we are anxious to see all the new experiences that still await us. From searching for hours for the legendary Banyan Tree to our early morning runs, we are being challenged to stretch ourselves both physically and mentally. Tonight, we will check into our dorms exhausted but excited for the adventure that tomorrow holds.
Yesterday marked the first day of the academic rotation. Campus said au revoir to the Tourism and Development group as they embarked on their four-day trip down island, then again waved goodbye to the marine ecology students as they dipped into the water for their first experience with an underwater classroom. The food systems group took to the road to visit Apple Hole Farm in Rock Sound. Apple Hole is run by Edrin, a local Eleutheran, who has been successfully farming his land for the past twenty-nine years. His farm is 300-acres and is primarily geared towards raising livestock and growing citrus fruits. Edrin’s main farming practice is known as propagation, which is the process of attaching a bud from one plant on to the root of a previously grown plant. Before going to visit his livestock, Edrin showed us the propagation process by attaching the bud of an orange tree to the base root of a saw orange tree. Edrin supplies The Island School and Rock Sound Market with all sorts of meat and citrus fruits. On our way back to campus, just before lunch, we were lucky enough to taste some of the mangoes, oranges, and tangerines off of Edrin’s farm. We can both attest to the fact that his fruit is delicious!
After lunch, we went to visit another local farm that grows more vegetables and fruits, and utilizes an entirely different technique of farming known as slash and burn. Both farms that we visited employ practices of permaculture, a way of farming that encourages a sustainable ecosystem and benefits human ecosystems. Using practices of permaculture, both farms are able to successfully function in the harsh climate and difficult soil of South Eleuthera.
Following the day we had a delicious dinner at school where the marine ecology and food systems groups were able to catch up and share their experiences. All students attended a talk by CEI deepwater researcher, Mackey. She has been doing research at CEI for over a year now and recently found a new species of isopod. Mackey emphasized how little of the deep sea is known to researchers and inspired us students to learn more about it’s ecosystem. She brought with her two preserved isopods and a preserved eel, which is actually a parasite that attacks a shark’s heart. After the talk, it was off to study hours and then back to the dorms to check in and catch up on some much needed sleep to fuel us for the busy day that followed!
As orientation week came to a close, we enjoyed a much needed day off to celebrate our accomplishments of the week! It was a quiet day on campus as most of us were out exploring the breath taking island of Eleuthera. Days off at the Island School hold endless adventures. One of the highlights was an all student soccer game. What started out as a friendly, casual game of soccer quickly turned into a heated match of shirts verses skins, with skins taking home the gold. In addition to soccer, many students chose to explore the vast hidden caves found over by High Rock. Those who were mentally preparing for the next few weeks to come chose to relax and get some sun on sunset beach.
The sun may have set, but the day only got brighter from there as the community came back together for dinner where everyone shared their adventurous tales of the day. To conclude the night, we all got together to play a rousing game of tiger uppercut where the students challenge each other to a scream off. The lone survivor was the tiger uppercut master, Margo. Needless to say, nothing brings a community of tired students together like shouting in each other’s faces for as long as your lungs can hold out. Realizing how fast week one has past makes us want to make good use of our limited time here. -Meredith and Owen
Students end the day with a friendly shouting competition.
The students enjoy their first fully certified dive!
Donning running shoes, water bottles, and optimistic outlooks, students and faculty rose at 6:30 am for our first 4-mile run to High Rock and back. We ran the two miles down Cape Eleuthera Blvd. to the cliff, taking a few minutes of silence to reflect while listening to the waves crash against the rocks before jumping into the ocean below, and heading back to campus.
With a new sense of accomplishment, students split up into their K groups to continue with the activities planned for the last day of orientation week. K1 avoided a few thunderstorms while learning kayaking skills and braving the occasional rain showers. K2 packed into a van for their South Eleuthera Road Trip, visiting historical sites and stocking up on goodies from the marketplace. K3 and K4 jumped into their SCUBA gear to complete their final day of diving, and joined the rest of campus by becoming officially SCUBA certified! Now that orientation weeks has ended, students will split up into their three academic groups to rotate through classes for the remainder of the semester. With the end of orientation, students have started to fall into the routine of IS, and are looking forward to the next few weeks.
As a celebration of completing the first week at IS, the students gathered in the presentation room at 9:30 pm for the first ‘late night’. We played a human bingo bonding game where students had to complete a table of facts about other students, and ended the night with a dance party. Although only one week has past, the summer term students have already begun to understand the importance of the connections between each other, and the new home that we will never forget.
