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The First Days

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Over the next couple of days we will be featuring short narratives written by each of our forty-nine new students in the spring 2012 class. Enjoy these personal, inspirational, exciting, and sometimes surprising glimpses into what its like to be an Island School student, week 1.

Amelia Patsalos-Fox: Originally preparing to come to the island school, I was under the impression that giving up my cell phone, Facebook, and all other plugged in devices would be extremely challenging for me. In fact, though I still find myself out of habit, reaching for my telephone, this part of the experience has been the most fulfilling yet. As my Human Ecology class sat up on the deck tonight, examining the beautiful Caribbean stars, someone pointed out that the simple difference between a star and a planet is that stars twinkle and planets do not. The utter amazement in the faces of all my peers caught my attention. I started to think about why each and every person was able to take that simple fact and truly absorb and recognize the value of it. The conclusion I came to was that we were each able to do this because not one person had their cell phone out, checking Facebook. Not one person needed to communicate with a friend to talk about a spot to meet, or the latest piece of gossip. There was no materialism attached to our session on the roof and without the plug in and utter distraction of the plugged in Internet and outside world, each of us was able to appreciate and ponder the tiniest fact, which we will continue to do as we proceed through the next three months.

Felipe Gomez: When I heard I was in the dish crew, I was very disappointed. Continue reading →

Deep Creek Middle School

Mrs. Carnetta Ferguston Returns to Visit the Cape

On February 17, Mrs. Carnetta Ferguson from the newly launched National Parenting Center of the Ministry of Education visited Cape Eleuthera today, where Jennie Freeman was hosting the Deep Creek Middle School advisory board meetings underway. Mrs. Ferguson was an early supporter of The Island School, having been instrumental in bringing UNESCO to Cape Eleuthera in 2001. Her support of the Deep Creek Middle School includes her popular “Fly Like an Eagle” speech from the DCMS 5th year anniversary celebration in 2006. Welcome back!

Deep Creek Middle School

Vote for DCMS Students’ Youth Activism Projects

For several weeks, the DCMS grade 9 students have been studying youth activism. Our class brings students, teachers, and community members together to create a vision for a more positive world. In the first two weeks, we learned about young activists all over the world and throughout history, brainstormed social and environmental issues in The Bahamas that we want to solve, and went out into our community and interviewed leaders. Then, each of us chose an issue that matters to us. We all made surveys, gathering information for our research. After collecting data, we wrote letters to the editors of different Bahamian newspapers! Now, we’re writing up our project proposals on Facebook. Please read about them and then VOTE for the projects  you want to see happen!
By Kenya Polidor – grade 9
Cape Eleuthera Institute

Introducing CEI Research Assistants Jason Selwyn and Mike Piersiak!

My name is Jason and last semester I came to CEI as an intern with the Lionfish program. While working here I got to work on things ranging from catching deepwater sharks to installing new netting on the aquaculture cage to performing monthly surveys looking at the impact of lionfish on reef fish populations. I also got the chance to act as a teaching assistant for the lionfish research class at The Island School and teach students the scientific method and how to investigate ecological questions.

After my internship I decided to take the opportunity to come back to CEI as a research assistant. I still do some of the same things (data collection in the field), but I also gained many new responsibilities. I moved from a teaching assistant to a full-blown co-teacher for the lionfish research class. I am also conducting an independent project on the topic of my choosing to investigate something about the marine world that surrounds us here at CEI.

My name is Mike Piersiak and I came to CEI last semester as an intern with the Shark Research and Conservation Program. My main focus was to gain as much knowledge as I could regarding not only my specific area of interest (sharks), but also knowledge about the other research projects taking place here. Continue reading →

Cape Eleuthera Institute

Lionfish Research at CEI Adjusts Its Focus

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The Lionfish Research and Education Program (LREP) at CEI has already had an exciting start to 2012! Last year, research efforts were focused on a lionfish removal study to document changes in native species at reefs where lionfish densities were regularly controlled. This year officially marks the end of that study…now it’s time to answer new questions! LREP research will focus on addressing questions associated with lionfish recolonization. Understanding rates as well as biological and physical factors that influence where lionfish recolonize can help support best management strategies for the Bahamas and the surround invaded region. Continue reading →

Deep Creek Middle School, Uncategorized

DCMS Grade 8 School Without Walls

DCMS students are currently studying in their School Without Walls unit. Grade 8 is looking at the effect of plastics on the environment, ocean and human health. They are conducting sand samples at local beaches, trawling for plastic in the Exuma Sound gyre and will be writing speeches that encourage individuals to make a change to tackle the pervasiveness of plastic. At the end of their unit, they will conduct a youth conference to share their knowledge with other young people in Eleuthera.

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Cape Eleuthera Institute, CEI

Update from CEI’s Flats Ecology Research

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So everyone has heard of climate change/global warming- increased anthropogenic CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere shifts annual global climate, which then leads to other catastrophic events within the Earth’s ecosphere. An increase in oceanic temperature and acidity is among the most pressing and readily apparent effects of climate change. Past research has shown fish of tropical reefs to be particularly sensitive to changes in ocean temperature and pH. In the flats department, we aim to determine whether common teleost occupants of tropical mangroves exhibit a similar sensitivity to such changes. Using bonefish (Albula spp.), checkered puffers (Sphoeroides tetudineus), juvenile yellowfin mojarra (Gerres cinereus), and juvenile yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus), we aim to determine the Critical maximum and minimum temperature and pH at which each species looses equilibrium (“goes belly up”). Continue reading →

Aquaculture, Cape Eleuthera Institute

The Fish Have Arrived!

I repeat…THE FISH HAVE ARRIVED!

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After much anticipation, we got the call! The cobia fingerlings had a long journey from The University of Miami’s experimental fish hatchery at RSMAS to the Cape Eleuthera Institute. We spent the day preparing the tanks for the fingerlings…scrub, rinse, soak, drain, scrub, rinse, fill! Marie and Josh took the truck to pick up the 13 boxes from the Rock Sound Airport Friday afternoon. It was like Christmas morning when the truck finally pulled up. We put the bags in the tank to acclimate the cobia to their new home. After, we opened each bag and carefully let them free! The fingerlings will be used in an upcoming feed trial. Continue reading →

Deep Creek Middle School

DCMS Grade 7 School Without Walls

DCMS students are currently studying in their School Without Walls unit. Grade 7 is conducting an eco-system study of Jack’s Bay and comparing it to other marine environments like the reef at Fourth Hole. Next weekend they will travel to the Exuma Land and Sea Park for an overnight camping and snorkeling trip.  Student Zachary Carey took these photos of their snorkeling trip last week.

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