The Final Day in the Keys

Hi Mom.... The keys have been excellent. We will be home in one day to tell you all the jaw dropping details of the trip. This morning we started off the day with ham and eggs. After breakfast we went out on the boat to Rodriguez key. We started off snorkeling on the south side of the key, where Jessica picked up goniolithon(algae) from the sea floor. When we got back on the boat we got to break it apart and find all of the living organisms within it. We found decorator crabs, mantis shrimp and a hermit crab. After this we came back in for lunch, which consisted of burgers, fries and a volleyball game afterwords (the girls team and stevie ray won that game). On a bumpy ride out to the reef in the afternoon, Stevie finally saw his great barracuda and Nick saw his Nurse Shark. At the next site we went to, the group saw a HUGE brain coral and a GIGANTIC parrotfish. Tonight we are going out on the boat to go stargazing in Largo Sound. This will be our last boat trip in the keys. Cant wait to see everyone back home. 

Nick "The Legend" Gier and Stevie Ray "Master Flex" Foit

A beautiful day in Florida pt 3

Hey all its Ryan and Sean here,
Another beautiful day in the Florida Keys started with a seagrass snorkel in 80 degree water at nine in the morning. Got to watch Stevie climb around the mangroves like a monkey. This only starts a list of events involving a gorgeous Sunday in the Florida Keys.  We headed into a part of the Florida Bay called Bush Point, where we saw a variety of fish and aquatic animals, including Seahorses, seastars, and one encounter with the rarest of all fish, the stevie ray. We even saw some sweet underwater flowers.    Snorkeling in the mangroves was a blast- there were so many cool animals, like a GIANT hermit crab. We were able to collect sea urchins, sea squirts, a lettuce slug and a blue eyed scallop. After a delicious dinner of lasagne and garlic bread, our evening lab activity was an investigation of tiny organisms found in the algae on a rock.  Tomorrow we go back to the coral reef!  Well that's about it............. talk to ya later love Sean and Brinks

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A Glorious Day For A Boat Ride :)

Today was a beautiful, sunny day in the Florida Keys that was full of fun and excitement for the Marine Biology Club members. After a morning of lectures on Fish Identification and Coral Reef Ecology, we began our afternoon journey on a boat named Cassi. Can you tell which picture shows a laterally compressed fish?  On our way to snorkel at the Elbow Reef, the chaperones spotted dolphins in the water. In our excitement to get a better look we almost tipped the boat over. While we were snorkeling we saw a variety of fish and marine organisms including a sea turtle, nurse shark, barracuda, queen angelfish, and huge brain coral (this was especially amazing to see because they only grow 1/4 of an inch every year). After an adventurous day in the crystal blue water we returned to Marine Lab for our afternoon lab on sea turtles. There, Marine Biology Club members had the opportunity to imitate a doctor at the Turtle Hospital here in Florida. To wrap up our eventful day we had a pizza party under the pavilion in the warmth of the Florida night. 

-Chelsea and Shawna

First day of Travels

Airport 5 am . Off to Orlando at 6:45 am, next stop Ft. Lauderdale, then to the Everglades for a hot, humid hike through the trails. We saw an anhinga drying off in the trees, multiple green backed herons, two black vultures, gar fish, red winged black birds, soft shelled turtles, American crow, anole lizard, lubber grasshopper, and TWO ALLIGATORS all in about an hour! We loaded back into the air conditioned van, and crashed right away and then woke up to a beautiful sight of the Atlantic ocean. Within 15 min. we were in Key Largo! When we arrived at the Marine Lab a cool dude named Adam, gave us a tour.  We soon felt at home. We took our swim test and got to take a practice snorkel in the emerald lagoon to see the the underwater hotel and lab. We swam through big bubbles and had flashbacks to "Finding NEMO!!" :) We then took time to write in our journals. After,  Jessica, the head coordinator, lectured us on mangrove ecology,  sea grass, and the coral reef. She showed us how to read key charts showing different depths and locations of important sites of the Florida keys. After, we did a lab on water quality where we learned to use different test kits.   Maria and I got chosen to do the blog because I was almost attacked by a vulture and was overly excited about the alligators!
Thanks everybody for viewing our blog, hope you enjoy our photographs.
Goodnight ! Demi and Maria

Parent Meeting

The Pre-Trip Parent Meeting is set for 7:00 PM, Wednesday, May 19, 2010 in Miss Palmer's room at the High School. Please contact Miss Palmer if you are unable to attend.