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Cacique Update

Cacique Update October 6, 2010

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“Two Classes in the Day of an Island School Student”

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

By Caciques Heather Seeley and CJ Easton

Today at the Island School my Marine Ecology class performed our Naturalist dive at tunnel rock.  The reason it is a naturalist dive is because this is one of the roles one must fulfill to be granted advanced open water scuba diving certification.  So for our naturalist dive my marine ecology class went to Deal’s Point.  I was boat captain of the boat the Mary Alice, which means that I was in charge of operating the boat and maintaining safety of the passengers throughout our journey.  The the passengers of the Mary Alice were Continue reading →

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Lemon Shark Research Update

[slideshow]

For the past month we have been catching juvenile lemon sharks in specific mangrove creeks around South Eleuthera. We do this to determine the relative abundance of sharks in each creek and gather data that will help raise awareness of the current threatening situation these sharks face today.  In many islands of the Bahamas, mangrove creeks have been dredged during coastal development for things like sandy beaches and seaside resorts. It is our hope that by collecting data Continue reading →

Cacique Update

Cacique Update October 5, 2010

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“Finally, the Sun”

October 5, 2010

By Caciques Brigid Carr and Charlie Fichtner

            Today we were finally able to see the sun after three days of rain. As the weather got better so did everyone’s mood. We were able to enjoy a very productive community meeting in which we split into four pods and discussed the state of our campus community. There were many constructive plans made that are going to help the community. We discussed improving time management to help deal with homework stress. There was also a discussion of our strengths, of which we decided our extensive student and faculty support system was a key one. Boys’ dorm also got to enjoy our new pet, Continue reading →

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Lecture on Lionfish with Lad and Stephanie

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Last night our community had the opportunity to attend a lionfish presentation from REEF’s (Reef Environmental Education Foundation) Director of Operations Lad Akins and lionfish researcher from Simon Fraser University, Stephanie Green. Their presentation gave students, interns, and staff an update on the lionfish invasion in the Caribbean. Atkins presented research on the breadth of the invasion as well as reasons why lionfish have gained such a strong foothold outside their native Indo-Pacific range. Green then spoke to students about the implications of the invasion on native fisheries in the Caribbean, as well as what is being done to curb the advance.

In addition to lionfish education and training people in the invaded areas, REEF has planned Continue reading →

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Acult Team Goby Force

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Nate and Catherine with a successful goby capture!

by: Team Acult Research: Lea Luniewicz, Nate Smith-Ide, Gian Paul Graziosi, Catharine Pirie and Augi Cummings

Yet another gripping scuba dive, but this time it took us into uncharted waters. This place was straight out of a dream, a reef full of undefined beauty, elegant in its voluptuous ways. As we sunk into the deep mystic realm full of our petite gobies, our eyes were drowning in magnificence. Immediately, the hunt was on. As we applied our war paint, preparing for battle, we spotted a little bugga amongst us. With a blind eye, he reached down and captured the beast its self. This brave warrior was named Augie. Gian Paul, his companion in crime, swam near, and found his own arduous battle. Their sidekicks, Lea, Cathy, and Nate were also successful in the goby hunt. They all arrived at the surface with a whopping FIVE GOBIES. Leaving Poseidon’s Chamber, smiles filled the damp boat. Gleaming with joy we debriefed as proud soldiers, just another day on the job. Now with 13 gobies in the wetlab we expect them to begin pairing soon.

With love, Acult Team Goby Force.

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Turn Concerns into Action

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I was complaining again to Pam about how airlines do not recycle anything and she said — why don’t you do something about it. I am asking everyone to think about joining me and writing companies anytime you see waste that does not have to happen — maybe through the blog we can share these stories and leverage our collective interest in effecting change — please feel free to join me and send a message to Mr. Parker
Mr. Douglas Parker
CEO
US Airways
douglas.parker@usairways.com

Dear Mr. Parker,

I just had the opportunity to fly with your company to a conference up at Middlebury College focused on sustainability. I had a nice conversation with one of your flight attendants who agreed with me. She really did not have any idea why the company was not at least recycling aluminum cans. My idea is that you should go all the way and serve in corn starch cups and use recycled napkins — go all the way and then you can tout yourself as the first really green airline because nobody is recycling that I know of. I do know that I and many others would be happy to pay more to fly green knowing that you US Air people were invested in the future.

I also recommend that you read a great book by Ray Anderson. Like you he was once the CEO of a massive company that really did not think green at all. His book called Midcourse Corrections could be a book about you and US Airways — that would be great!!!.

I hope that you think about this advice and if there is anything that I can do to help, please let me know. We
have an army of young people out there that want to see a different kind of world.

Thanks my friend,

Chris Maxey

Cacique Update

Cacique Update October 4, 2010

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October 4, 2010

By Caciques Chamon McIntosh and Ashlie Thompson

“This Overcast Will Never Last”

But it did.  We woke up to gray skies and heavy showers.   First thing in the morning we did a run-swim exercise in the rain.  It didn’t matter, we were getting wet anyway. Inch after inch the sky cried upon our day. Normally, you would stay inside for this type of weather, but not at The Island School.  We, as you may say, “toughed it out.”  

We had classes all morning, followed by a great lunch prepared by our cooks, and the rain did not let up once. Due to our highly anticipated weekend of homestay we had to hurriedly finish off the remainder of our homework for the next day, which left many students disoriented and stressed.   Community Outreach was all afternoon and getting to hang out with our DCMS buddies helped to boost our moral; however this rain had its say.  Luckily our group of geriatric leaders (a joke around campus, since students are “young leaders”) had another plan in store for us. During advisory time most of the advisories watched movies and took shelter during this perpetual storm Continue reading →

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Cacique Update October 3, 2010

“Our New Families in The Bahamas”

October 3, 2010

By Caciques Taylor Schendel and Will Overman

            This weekend the entire student body spent their time off campus living with their homestay parents. For the majority of us, this was a new experience, and leading up to Friday afternoon there was some serious trepidation. Taylor and I spent our time in Deep Creek with veteran homestay parents. Taylor stayed with Nehemiah and I stayed with Donnalee. The weekend was full of authentic Bahamian cuisine consisting of succulent lobster, sweet conch, and yellow snapper that would rival that of the gods. Continue reading →

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A Bonefish Expedition

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[slideshow]

By C.J., Noah, Hannah, Ellen, Heather, and Chris D.

The Flats Research team recently traveled by boat to Kemp’s Creek to catch bonefish. Our research group is studying bonefish, among other species, because there have been very few studies on them.  This is surprising, considering the important ecological role played by bonefish, as well as their appeal for sport fishing in the Bahamas. Bonefish are mainly found in shallow flats ecosystems, since this is where they hunt for prey. At low tide, however, bonefish tend to swim into open ocean. Recognizing that bonefish would be making this transition during the change in tides, we headed to Kemp Creek to collect some for our research.

The process by which we caught the bonefish was a method known as seining.  This method involves setting up a large net that covers the opening where the creek meets the ocean.  Many fish enter tidal creeks during high tide to forage for food.  We purposefully set the net during a time when the tide was leaving the creek, because the bonefish would be following the tide and retreating into deeper waters at this time. Continue reading →