Living the Chesapeake Bay
watershed, of course we had to spend some time actually studying the bay
itself. Licensed captains took us out in the school's boats to explore
the bay firsthand.
Does it sound odd that a
school over three hours away would still be in the Chesapeake Bay
Watershed? Actually, the watershed extends from Otsego Lake, NY (near
Cooperstown) all the way to Norfolk, VA and beyond. The watershed
reaches 6 states (New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia
and Delaware) as well at the District of Columbia and covers over 64,000
square miles! WOW!
The school's two work boats, Spirit and
Twilight, met us at the dock, ready to take us on a learning adventure
in this natural ecosystem.
How is this ecosystem different from many others,
making it a unique experience? The Chesapeake Bay is a brackish estuary.
(Brackish water is a combination of salt and fresh water.)
Before we could "set sail" all students had put
on their lifejackets- Safety first!
Once on the boats, the students learned about
the life in the bay.
In addition to studying the life in the
bay, the students also traced the the watershed area of the bay and its
contributing bodies of water. They also determined how far inland
the brackish water is located- it's not as close to the bay as you may
think!
Here the instructors show a water sample from
the bay and explain a bit about the surrounding area.
FISH
While on the boats the instructors caught fish
to show the students close-up.
Wow- what a catfish!
"I'll always remember when we pulled up the crab pot but it had a foot long catfish in it!"
One group managed to get an eel that was trapped
in a crab pot that had been abandoned. The eel was badly injured, but of
course that didn't stop the students from getting close! It also
served as a poignant reminder of the dangers of "litter" in the bay.
KISS
A FISH
One of the real highlights of catching the fish
was the "close encounter!" How does it feel to kiss a fish?
These students found out!
"Kissing a fish felt slimy and wet. It took
a lot of courage to do it.
It was fun, but catfish aren't good kissers."
Even some of the counselors got caught in the act!
Back
to the Tribes page
On
to the Swamp Studies page
Back
to the Main page