Today was a big day! It was our last day of class at the Gates Mills campus. Pretty soon we will be boarding the plane and heading off to
the Island School in the Bahamas! This morning we had our last test of the semester. It seems
like just yesterday that we sat down and had our first test on the solar system
and ocean discovery. We have come so far! Today our test was on shark and conch
anatomy along with the crippling disease- the Bends (and using dive tables to prevent it).
After our test, we followed the treacherous yet adventurous journey
of Ernest Shackleton. The emotions ran very high during this movie, Helen even
shed a tear; it gently rolled off her cheek onto the table as the credits
flashed on the wall. Turns out Shackleton decided it was a good idea to be the
first person to trek across Antarctica. Turns out it is easier said than done.
He and his team wound up stranded on the Antarctic ice. Their ship got crushed
by the ice and spent 14 months camping on the ice and waiting for it to melt in
the spring. After the ice started to melt and break, they used the safety boats
to navigate with all 27 men through the icy water. By a stroke of luck they
ended up on Elephant Island off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. However,
the worst was yet to come. Help wasn’t available to them on the island so five
of the men used a small life boat to cross almost 800 miles of the worst waters
in the world to reach a larger island where they could get help. The five men
reached the island safely after 17 days at sea. They survived a hurricane in a
life boat; but when they made it ashore the island they were on the wrong side.
The whaling colony was on the other side of the island. Three of the men in the
party walked by foot across the Antarctic terrain to get help. Shackleton went
back to Elephant Island and rescued the rest of his crew. The unbelievable
story left us all in good spirits and excited to face our own adventures. How bad could they be?!
Ernest and his crew
members (Photo Courtesy of coolantarctic.com)
We also learned about other another adventurer who broke a different
glass ceiling: Sylvia Earle. We watched a NetFlix original movie called Mission Blue that is a biopic of her life. Sylvia is your classic ocean explorer who fell in
love with the ocean and its creatures at a very young age. Living in both New
Jersey and Florida, she experienced drastically different environments. However,
she became more interested in the ocean and all it has to offer. This epiphany
drove her to her first career as an explorer for National Geographic and then the NOAA. She is
also known in the scientific world as the best oceanographer of her time.
Sylvia in her natural
habitat (Photo courtesy of Por El Planeta)
We wrapped the day up with a field trip to an aquaculture fish
farm near downtown Cleveland in the St.Claire-Superior neighborhood. Immediately walking into the warehouse, the smell
of ammonia and fish filled our nostrils. The smell soon subsided after our noses adjusted.
We met a former University School teacher who decided to pursue his interest in
aquaculture. Seeing the large amount of bass in the round tanks was super unique.
We learned that round tanks create an even feeding pattern for the bass. Which
is highly important because it insures uniform size of the fish and makes it easier on the 'farmer.' We also learned about the
fish market and the different facets of it such as foreign competitors and the difference between selling live and dead fish. These
foreign competitors serve as threat because of how convenient they are for
buyers; this small aquaculture business just can’t compete with them. Getting off
the Gates Mills campus and seeing this business was a great way to end our time
in Cleveland. Can’t wait to see the aquaponics system at the Island School next week!
Mr. Mark Lyons showing us his set-up.
Our eager teachers are counting 1-fish-2-fish-red-fish-blue-fish!
MARCH ON, BAHAMALAND!!!!
Maggie and Angelina
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