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The 2012 Island School Photo Contest!

Got some great photos from your semester or visit to The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute? Then submit them to The 2012 Island School Photo Contest! The Photo Contest is going on now and ends August 31st, 2012, 9:00am ET. You can enter your own, original photos on The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute Facebook pages, just as long as they are not defamatory, inflammatory or obscene. We’re looking for photos that best exemplify core values of The Island School:

  • Living better in a place
  • Leadership affecting change
  • Sustainability

and the Cape Eleuthera Institute:

  • Research
  • Field courses
  • Conservation

You can read the full set of rules here: The 2012 Island School Photo Contest Rules

Once the contest has closed on August 31, we will announce the 12 contest finalists for The Island School and 12 finalists for Cape Eleuthera Institute. Then, the general public will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite photos on Facebook from September 1-September 15, 2012. The winner will be announced on September 17th, 2012. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners for both The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute will get a copy of their winning photo in a casaurina frame, made by our very own Ashley Mackey. The 9 runner-ups will receive a calendar that includes all 12 of the finalist photos.

Disclaimer: All submissions become the property of the Island School. We reserve the right to reuse all submissions for Marketing & Publicity.

Educational Programs

South Eleuthera Kids Camp

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Summer fun continues with our own local South Eleuthera Kids Camp. This week we had 13 students from Green Castle and Deep Creek join us for five days of fun and adventure. This group dove right in to the marine ecosystems on their first morning exercise exploring the reef inhabitants of our local wreck. Over the course of the week the group challenged themselves and conquered fears as they jumped off the docks, high rock and ocean hole. A highlight for the group was the day they learned about aquaculture and took a trip out to our off-shore Cobia cage.

Over the course of the week the campers not only lived a sustainable lifestyle, but they also Continue reading →

Educational Programs

GWU Online High School Learns Outside of “The Cloud”

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Students from the George Washington University Online High School arrived this past weekend with the goal of experiencing their education firsthand and coming together as a group of individuals who have never met in person before – much like our semester program. They immediately jumped in with CEI’s flats ecology program on Sunday, studying climate change and its effects on a number of species, running salinity and respirometry tests, and beginning to restore a mangrove habitat. Monday found them seining for mojarra in a nearby creek and dissecting bonefish in the wet lab, before learning how to fly fish early Tuesday morning.

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In addition to the plethora of research being undertaken by these seven young scholars, they have also Continue reading →

Cacique Update

Cacique Update July 23, 2012

by Emily Rand

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Only 12 days left! As we start to near the end of our 6-week experience here at the Island School, we are beginning to realize that sadly this will mean leaving each other and the memories we have made here. Yesterday we said goodbye to half of our group as they embarked on their second kayak trip, though slightly longer—a three day journey instead of two. Unfortunately it rained and thundered nearly all day, pausing only for a couple hours, so the 12 of us who stayed back are hoping our fellow kayakers are alive and well. Yesterday, after bidding farewell to the group, the rest of us stayed back and began work on our Legacy project—a tradition of The Island School; essentially a project that we do towards the end of our experience that Continue reading →

Cacique Update

Cacique Update July 22, 2012

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From Caciques Isaac and Tristan

With the conclusion of the final academic week we have begun preparing for the Monster Run-Swim that will take place in a little over a week. Two days ago we were driven out to High Rock where we jumped into the ocean and swam a half mile to a beach where we climbed out and ran to No-Name harbor. We continued running and swimming all the way back to The Island School for a total of about five miles. On Friday night everyone was invited to a party at the Maxeys’ house. We were Continue reading →

CEI

Water Quality Testing and the Biodigestion Process

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Water is the most important resource available to CEI and Island School. We drink it, we bathe in it, we cook with it, and it all comes from the rain. Although we can never know what the weather may bring us, we can always be ready to take advantage of what does come our way as weather patterns shift. To that end, we use solar panels, and wind turbines, but most importantly, we catch rain water. Of late, one of the most important issues we’ve been tackling is how to make our water last and how to maximize it’s potential. If we catch water once, how many times can we use it before it’s gone? Last week we took a significant step towards increasing the usefulness of our water.

This spring CEI and Island School put biodigestion on the map for The Bahamas. We’ve found a way to treat our waste and generate more renewable energy, in addition to getting added utility from our water. The process of biodigestion  Continue reading →

Aquaponics, Cape Eleuthera Institute, CEI

Thousands of Tilapia for Aquaponics Team

The Aquaponics research team at The Cape Eleuthera Institute has successfully hatched nearly two thousand tilapia eggs. Eggs were removed from the mouths of the female brood stock and transferred to a larval rearing device known as a McDonald Jar where they were maintained at a water temperature of 27°C. Tilapia are mouth brooders; upon fertilization of eggs the female scoops all of the eggs into her mouth and incubates them for 3-5 days. After spending four days in the McDonald Jar, the eggs had a near 100% successful hatch rate and transformed into fry. They have officially been introduced into the aquaponics system and are doing FANTASTIC!

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Alumni

Alumni Get-Together in Bay Head, NJ

A group of alumni and their parents got together while Chris Maxey was visiting Bay Head, NJ last week. Rick and Kay Tell (parents of Elizabeth Tell, SP’11) took the crew out on their boat to cruise from Mantoloking to Bay Head. Looks like a boat-load of fun!

From left to right: Kris Lucas (mother of Grace Lucas, SP’08), Elizabeth Tell (SP’11), Julia Rew (F’10), Jane Rew (F’08), Maddie Lucas,  Russ Lucas (father of Grace Lucas, SP’08), Chris Maxey, Pam Rew, Dan Rew

Alumni, Cape Eleuthera Institute, CEI

Summer Shark Intern Blog: Grace Dennis (Su’10)

I’m Grace Dennis, one of the shark interns for the summer. I’m from Houston, TX and study Environmental Biology and Economics at Colgate University. This is my third summer on Eleuthera and I love it here. I first came to the Island School as a student for Summer Term 2010, then again last summer as a shark intern to work on the nurse shark mating project. This summer I’m lucky to be working on all three shark projects, the nurse shark mating project, Ian’s lemon shark predator and prey project, and Edd’s stress physiology project.

Currently shark team is very excited about retrieving a satellite tag, which just spent 8 months on a reef shark. Continue reading →

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Summer Term Week 3 Food Group Presentation

Believe it or not, the third and final academic rotation is nearly complete. Just like the weeks before them, the final food group spent the afternoon on Thursday in the kitchen helping to prepare and cook an entirely local meal. As part of their presentation to the dining hall, Tommy Robertshaw read an original poem he had composed earlier in the day. This final food presentation truly exemplified the goals of this theme, while connecting back to the overarching Summer Term question of “How can we live well in a place?”