2011 Award Trips
This month, four NOSB teams packed up their bags, boarded planes and travelled to faraway destinations to further their understanding of ocean science. These adventures were prizes earned by their exemplary performance earlier this year at the 2011 NOSB Finals Competition in Galveston, Texas. To view more photos of the trips, visit our Facebook page or our Flickr site!
1st Place Award Trip – Puerto Rico (July 17-23)
Students from Marshfield High School in Marshfield, Wisconsin took first place in the 2011 National Ocean Sciences Bowl Finals Competition and were awarded a seven day trip to Puerto Rico. Over the course of a week, the students participated in numerous educational tours and aquatic adventures. Highlights of the trip included two kayaking trips – one during the day in the Piῆones Mangrove Forest and another at night to experience the bioluminescent Laguna Grande –and hiking within the El Yunque National Forest (ending with a well-deserved dip in the La Coca waterfall). The students also participated in water quality monitoring in the San Juan estuary system, as well as the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, where they saw first-hand the difference between heavily impacted and polluted (San Juan) and less impacted (Jobos Bay) systems. The students’ favorite part of the trip included an unexpected late night swim in the bioluminescent waters off Isla Magueyes. Thanks to staff at the University of Puerto Rico’s Department of Marine Science, the students swam among the dinoflagellates, which glow whenever the water is disturbed, leaving a trail of light which sparkles like millions of tiny diamonds in the water.
(Click to enlarge) Marshfield High School Team
2nd Place Award Trip – Southern California (July 17-23)
In recognition as the second place winners of the 2011 National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) national Finals Competition, the team from Lexington High School from Lexington, Massachusetts spent a week exploring the marine science research that takes place in the marine environments of Southern California. This weeklong adventure began in La Jolla at the Birch Aquarium and Scripps Institute of Oceanography. During their time in the San Diego area, the students learned about leopard and basking sharks, spoke with graduate students about their research on ocean imaging, went tide pooling at sunrise, and even learned to surf. After three days in La Jolla, the team headed north to Catalina Island to spend time at the USC Wrigley Center for Environmental Studies. There, the students conducted plankton tows and identified the organisms they found, went on a night snorkeling trip in a marine reserve, and shadowed a grad student studying cholera. The week ended with a fun kayaking trip and a relaxing cookout on the beach.
(Click to enlarge) The Lexington High School Team
3rd Place Award Trip – Southern Florida (July 11-14)
The students from Santa Monica High School placed third in the 2011 National Ocean Science Bowl and were awarded an educational and adventurous trip to southern Florida in July 2011. The week-long trip, hosted by the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, began with a historical boat tour of the Biscayne Bay and swimming among the coral reefs. The students visited the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center and the Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory to learn about a range of scientific research activities from aquaculture to hurricane monitoring. They also got their hands dirty exploring marine life in the seagrass beds at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center. The team spent a full day in a boat baiting hooks and putting out lines to tag and measure sharks five miles off the coast with the University of Miami RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program. Other marine adventures included snorkeling at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and swimming with dolphins at Dolphins Plus in Key Largo.
(Click to enlarge) The Santa Monica High School Team
Policy Briefing Award Trip – Washington State (July 12-15)
Students from Juneau, Alaska were the national winners of the NOSB 2011 Policy Briefing Competition and were awarded a 4-day trip to witness aquaculture policy in action throughout Washington State. The winning team learned about aquaculture farming from three different shellfish companies (Taylor Shellfish, Chelsea Farms, and Little Skookum) who harvest clams, mussels, geoducks, and oysters on the Puget Sound. They witnessed all sides of the farming ─ from growing larvae in hatcheries to planting and harvesting the shellfish. The students also meet with State Representative Kathy Haigh to hear her perspective on implementing marine policy at a state-level and coordinating with local and federal agencies. Representatives from the local Squaxin tribe described the tribe’s long history in the region and their work to harvest the local resources in Puget Sound for the last 3000 years. University of Washington researcher, Brent Vadopalas, gave the students a tour of his research facility, where he is investigating the impact of ocean acidification on harvested marine species like oysters.
(Click to enlarge) The Juneau-Douglas/Thunder Mountain High School Team
