Science & Adventure with STS!
Last week, Orion and her crew joined forces with 7th graders from St. Thomas school from Seattle. On the agenda was 5 days of sailing, scientific research projects and island hopping-- what we encounter was a whole lot more!
Students arriving onboard Monday morning in Anacortes.
The week started out with some brisk, salty weather, but that did not deteriorate the attitudes of what came to be known the "Salty Six". These students came for an adventure, with the attitudes and heart to go with it. We set sail onward to our first destination of the week- Spencer Spit on Lopez Island. After camp was set up and dinner was enjoyed, the team headed out to explore the spit. We saw long tailed ducks, played in driftwood forts, climbed rocks and put our toes in the sand.
Grethe on camp setup duty- good work! (Pic by Dave)
The next day we continued on and headed to Jones Island, a favorite amongst the crew. But before we arrived, a lot was to be done-- including our first deployment/test site and more sailing to be learned. As the lead scientist onboard, I was very excited to dive into the research projects, and mostly because the students were so stoked on what they chose to study. Studies included:
*How do Salish Sea currents affect the amount and type of plankton found?
*Does wind speed effect water current?
*What species of birds are found where? (comparing human influence and wild places)
A phytoplankton tow net was used to measure density of plankton found at each test site
The plankton team using lemon juice to speed up the settling of plankton in the graduated cylinder
Bird team counting away!
The projects turned went swimmingly, and I was really impressed with the amount of effort and dedication put into each study. At the end of the trip, each team concluded their findings and presented to the crew their results and shared the things they learned. Quite impressive STS!
We did make it to Jones island and loved it so much we even went back for another night after staying on Stewart the next night. Our evenings included more exploring by boot, intense games of Kubb thanks to Dave, and stories around the campfire. Oh, and one of the best sunsets ever!
Sunset walk along Jones
On Thursday, the Salty Six had one more chance to impress the crew with the skills they learned over the week, this time by proving they could sail the boat-- all on their own with a list of given tasks to be completed without help. And boy, did they ever prove themselves! So much, they even earned the name, the Salty Six. Working together they showed qualities of a well oiled team, with tremendous problem solving skills, communication and team work. Their hard work paid off and again, left Orion's crew impressed and proud.
Way to go STS and the Salty Six!