Apprentice Programme

Apprentice Profile: Serrano Gibson

Serrano Gibson of Wemyss Bight joins us at on campus as part of the  apprentice programme this summer, working under Marco. Below are some of his thoughts on working here:

As a summer employee at The Island School, I am working with an intelligent hard working young man name Marco. I’m helping him with making bio-diesel fuel out of used cooking oil, which is used in vehicles instead of diesel purchased at a service station. I am also cleaning the diesel tanks so that the new fuel can be clean and just right. The bio-diesel is inexpensive, reliable and eco friendly to our environment.

We are also on the road a vast amount of time making stops at different restaurants on the island picking up bottles of cooking oil that the restaurants no longer need to make the bio diesel and replacing the empty bottles with new ones to refill. It’s a long days work. We sometime end up in Harbor Island. This is a great experience for me.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture Research Class

[slideshow]Digging my fingers into the dog food like fish meal, I grabbed a handful and tossed it into the large tank filled with ravenous cobia. This is one moment that we experienced during our introductory day to the world of aquaculture. Many people don’t fully understand how aquaculture works or even simply what it is. Aquaculture, otherwise known as fish farming, is the cultivation of aquatic plants and animals, and is often perceived as a sustainable practice. However, people do not realize the negative repercussions that it has. To sustain the farmed carnivorous fish, smaller pelagic fish must be harvested to create fish meal. Our goal through this project is to determine if we can use a smaller percent of fish meal in the feed and still produce an equal amount of growth.

Last semester a group students compared the growth of fish using 40% fish meal feed and 80% fish meal feed and found that there was no difference in the rate of growth. This summer we are comparing the growth of fish using 25% fish meal to 40% fish meal. We are predicting that the fish fed 25% fish meal and the fish fed 40% fish meal will grow at the same rate. If our data supports our hypothesis, then aquaculture can become a more sustainable industry. Currently we are testing 3 tanks filled with cobia, 2 of which are fed 40% fish meal and the other 25% fish meal. One problem we face with the cobia in close proximity is the transmission of parasites.

One method used to remove parasites is formalin, a chemical that can cause excessive damage to not only ourselves but the environment around us. A new method that has been recently proposed is the use of gobies, which are cleaner fish. Another thing we would like to study in this term is the use of formalin compared to the use of gobies to remove parasites. We hypothesized that sadly the formalin will be a more effective parasite removal method. This is because the gobies have too many variables that we are unable to control, such as the cobia may eat them.

We have already learned much about the sustainability and misconceptions of fish farming. We hope that we can find ways to make aquaculture a more sustainable industry for the future! Working in the lab is always a fun and interesting part of our day and we cannot wait for the results of our experiment.

Cacique Update

Cacique Update: Friday July 22nd

[slideshow]The following update was written by Denali and Arielle for Friday, July 22nd.

Waking up this morning was, as always, a struggle. However, within fifteen minutes students were shocked into an alert state as they jumped into the cool and refreshing water for a morning swim. Feeling the stress of the looming triathlon, everyone was pushing themselves in order to prepare for the half-mile swim portion.

On returning to the boathouse Matt led us in 7-minute abs, further defining our glorious six-packs. After that we witnessed something truly moving and powerful—the pig slaughter for the research symposium’s local food sampler. A mix of excited and wary students walked up to the small pigpen in the midst of the orchard. With a shotgun the pig was killed, short and sweet. One may think, how horrible, what kind of school allows students to watch the slaughter of an animal? Actually, this is the one of the most humane situations for a pig slaughter to be performed. In human ecology we learned of the commercial food industry and the brutal and, frankly, inhumane techniques used. After the initial killing students were allowed to partake in the cleaning and de-furring of the pig. The experience to see where food comes from, farm to plate, is a powerful thing. The communal effort helped strengthen our community.

These final days of tying together the loose ends have been a hectic whirlwind of emotions. From sad reminiscing to joyful thoughts of home; everyone has been jumping from one extreme to the other. The thought of the end has been a heavy weight on the hearts of students; however, the friendships forged will not be in vein. Plans for reunions and visits circulate as the end draws near. If one thing is for sure, The Island School’s effect on each student is profound and the experiences will not be forgotten.

Cacique Update, Uncategorized

Cacique Update: Thursday July 21st

The following update was written by Courtney and Molly for Thursday, July 21st. 

We began our day by seeing how far we’ve come athletically since the beginning of the program. We all ran our hardest to high rock. Everyone was able to run the whole two miles there, which was a huge improvement from the first time. At high rock, many of us enjoyed an exciting jump into the cool water below. After a filling breakfast of delicious golden-brown French toast we broke of into our human ecology groups to continue working on our respective projects. Some groups went into the settlements to discover some local bakeries and shops. Other groups stayed on campus and did a variety of things including building furniture. Lunch was amazing cheese and bean quesadillas, a surprising treat. During research time we got to know the south Eleutheran kids camps better by teaching them about our respective research projects. The shark group even hilariously acted out a tag and capture of a juvenile lemon shark! The community all came back together at dinner circle, where we even met some new members from Earthwatch.

Cacique Update

Cacique Update: Human Eco Planning and Research Poster Revisions

The following blog entry was written by Clayton and Hope for Monday, July 18th. 

“It’s where you go and what you do that makes you who you are.”

This morning started with a extremely intense student-led physco, which was conduct by Clayton and Kate. We paired up with a buddy and were forced to push one another through an intense piggyback relay, daunting sand hill sprints and intimidating rock lifts. Giving it our all we sprinted through The Island School campus and side-by-side with our buddies, every student touched the flagpole finish. Everyone was energized by the twist to the morning and eagerly, we split up for chores. After completing a variety of campus chores and rushing to take navy showers, we met up at the dining hall for breakfast. Students were excited to see a tall mountain of pancakes waiting for them. The morning Human Ecology class was dedicated to spending time planning and starting the projects which we recently created. The presentation room became a place of new ideas and hopes for ways in which we are going to improve our home here at the Island School and Cape Eleuthera. Each group chose a topic based on something they feel needs to more sustainable or simply a problem that needs a solution. The work ahead of us will push our creative thinking and allow us to find ways to use the resources in our area.  Some groups plan to use the invasive species, Casuarina trees, while others are going to use recycled bottles or old tires found in resources. This afternoon each research group spent time discussing the results as well as developing an outline for the final poster. We began making graphs, determining if our data was significant, and tweaking our previously written intros. After a long academic and physical day, many of the kids decided to explore the inner loop, by running or biking, rather than indulge themselves at the marina store.  Finally at dinner circle, we were joined by our research advisors who briefed us on our adventurous day tomorrow. We were also joined by the new faces of the South Eleuthera Kids Camp.  The night concluded as mentors and students alike congregated in John and David’s apartment, where we took turns giving kudos to one another on the progress we have made this term.

Uncategorized

Cacique Update: July 19th Research Extravaganza!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4JQShOFw7k

The following Cacique update was written by Hana and Arie about Tuesday, July 19th. 

Today began with an unusual start.  Depending on our research groups we split up with morning starts as early as 4 am. With the sharks team leaving the earliest, and the lionfish and conch teams leaving next at 5, the aquaculture and flats team attempted to sleep in until 8am despite the constant bustling in the dorms.  Walking to the dining hall we smelled the aroma of a delicious breakfast consitsting of eggs and grits, after which the aquaculture and flats teams departed.

The flats team went on a down island trip stopping at Savannah Sound where we met with an interesting man who was a bonefish guide.  We proceeded to the sound where we seined and flyfished for juvenile bonefish.  After being hit with a downpour, we continued our trip to a reserve where we toured the trails filled with assorted types of bush medicine.  As a reward for maintaining smiles through one of the worst mosquito swarms we had experienced thus far, we stopped for an ice cream treat in Governor’s Harbor before returning to campus for dinner.

The aquaculture team began to cook a delightful meal of farmed cobia. The cobia was filleted and then sautéed in a butter sauce with peppers, onions, and garlic. The cobia was also cut into little strips, dipped in lime juice, and coated in coconut and flour, then fried in butter. The cobia was taken around Eleuthera and people were surveyed about what knowledge they had about aquaculture. Then they were offered cobia to try and rated it on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the best; luckily aquaculture mostly received 1s and 2s!

After everyone had returned to campus from their fulfilling days with their research groups, we had a cozy campfire with the South Eleuthera Kids Camp. First we played a game called Peeper and after that a fun and tiring game of Blob Tag. A warm and inviting campfire called all of us over for a quick game of Mafia. No campfire is complete without marshmallows roasted on a stick, and of course we all got a sweet treat to end the day. With gooey mouths and sweet thoughts, we all returned to our dorms for a solid nights sleep.

Alumni Spotlight

Alumni On Campus: Hannah Druckenmiller

Hannah Druckenmiller (F07) is back on Eleuthera, this time as an intern at CEI. She joins the aquaculture team this summer in between semesters at The Leland Stanford Junior University, where she is a rising sophomore. There she studies earthsystems, which is an interdisciplinary major encompassing environmental science, economics and politics. Following her semester at The Island School, Hannah knew she wanted to return, and decided on an aquaculture internship after hearing a lecture on the subject.

This is not her first trip back since she was a student, as she was on island for the 10-year reunion. The difference this time is that she’s getting her hands dirty. She’s also gotten close to some sharks since she’s been back, including watching a lemon shark rip a carcass off of a bait cage and spotting a hammerhead.

Her work here gives her a new appreciation for the Cape, and she’s enjoying being down here with the freedom to explore more than she could as a student. In the work she does, she’s also been given quite a bit of freedom to figure things out independently, “I didn’t know the first thing about oxygen generation equipment, but now I’m making recommendations on which systems to buy,” remarked Hannah.

When Hannah leaves in August, she’ll be headed back to California. She is looking forward to a 3-week camping trip to learn about the natural history of Monterey, before going back to class.

Uncategorized

Cacique Update: DIT & Kayak Part 2

The following are two experiences written by Olivia and Julian, describing their experiences down island and kayaking last week, respectively. 

After a tiring but exciting three days of kayaking and road tripping, twenty four students arose from their peaceful sleeps to begin a new adventure for the next three days. After morning circle, each group started preparing for a new adventure.

The DIRT (Down Island Road Trip) Team set out for a vigorous run/swim to energize us for the day. After a nice breakfast, we set out for their adventure. First stopping at Princess Cays and learning about the cruise ship industry, we explored the resort and its beauty. Next up was Governor’s Harbor. There we explored the small shopping center asking locals questions about the food and where it came from. Some students ate some local burgers and conch from a stand on the beach. Piling into the van, we headed for the abandoned US navy base. There, while mesmerized by the crumbling building, we learned about how this base was used during the cold war. We learned that the old naval base church now housed meeting for Haitian voodoo and got to look at some of characters first hand. Extremely sweaty and hot, we changed and headed down to the navy beach where we got our first glimpse of the soft pink sand that we heard so much about. After splashing in the waves for some time, we changed and headed to James Cistern to eat at a local restaurant with great food. Tired and stomachs full we got into the van one last time for the night. After driving for a while we finally arrived at out camp site right outside of Preacher’s Cave. Flashlights in hand, we stepped into the engulfing cave and stared in awe at the structure of the site.  After a long day, we set up our tents and went to sleep, dreaming of the next day’s excitement.

KAYAK 2 woke up Thursday morning we knowing the challenges ahead of us. A three-day trip that would include a long kayak journey, camping on the beach, and the 24-hour solo that we have heard about so much. Packing all personal and group gear we were all on the water. Kayaking long and hard we reached our destination of Red Bay. Here we loaded all gear on the boat and split up in group focusing on certain jobs so our pasta dinner could be successfully made. Pasta on the beach was a success and certain questions and concerns were addressed during our briefing around the bonfire about the solo. Packing or essentials for our time alone was completed and we all headed to bed early enough to get sufficient sleep to wake up at 5:30 and commence our 24 hours. We were all spread across the beach 100 yards away from each other. Theses spots are where we had to stay and spend the night. Everyone’s night was long, rough, hot, buggy, and lonely. These moments were all shared and told when we were back at base camp eating breakfast and preparing for another kayak back to campus.

Cacique Update

Cacique Update: Post-Expeditionary Relaxation

The following blog was written by Caciques Blake and Adam from Sunday, July 17th. 

The sun’s rays beamed onto my body as I stood with my peers together at dinner circle. The circle seemed perfect, reflecting how our student body has grown into an intricate community. While the sky turns orange around us, we await the new, approaching horizon in our 10 days we have left here. Ten days for Human Ecology projects. Ten days to complete our research projects. Ten days to continue the physical journey that will conclude with a challenging triathlon. As the community takes a moment of silence, my mind drifts away into how we spent our Sunday.

Our relaxing day began with some of us trickling through the dining hall for a casual granola and milk breakfast, or exploring the loop and having breakfast at the Marina coffee shop.

Others chose to sleep in and wake up for a special free diving session in the morning with founder Chris Maxey, while a few students ventured off to church in the local settlements. This time, we explored Cathedral, a common dive site reaching fifty feet in some places. The broad range of depths along the reef allowed everyone to have a great time: the more natural snorkelers could attempt to reach the sandy bottom, while others like myself were content exploring the top of the reef at a comfortable fifteen feet. Without our noisy SCUBA regulators and gear, we were able to swim within a few feet of any given fish.

After the noontime circle, we had an exemplary Sunday brunch with a wide array of delicious options such as scrambled eggs, bacon, pizza, toast, and pasta. After a hearty meal, students relaxed at Sunset Beach, discussing their experiences on the Down Island road trip as well as the solo on the Kayak trip. Some students participated in pick up basketball while others decided to get a head start on their “This I Believe” audio essays that expresses a belief that came from observations made during the Down Island trip.

As the moment of silence is suddenly broken, my mind turns back to our circle. All twenty four students and eleven faculty members can see each other, sharing a newly formed bond that has come from our daily challenges as well as relaxation time we all can afford on our Sundays off. As the circle physically breaks for dinner, I can only assume that this circle can never fully break in a place where the sun always seems to shine.