Day 3 - From Fresh to More Saline Marsh.....the Adventure Continues!

Various Molluscs from our collections.

Very proud of this class!  Another productive day.  We entered just north of Crystal Beach to find dense vegetation and lots more fish and crabs.  Our 2012 class was ready to explore these wetlands and collect specimens to identify.  Although we were able take our minnow net and seine up some samples,walking through the "mud/sand mix" made it difficult to walk without sinking.  This experience gave our teachers a glimpse of a field scientist's life.  Fearless and ready to learn, everyone took the initiative  to observe and critically think about their surrounding environment.  In the end, we found many things for our group to document. 

Lush marsh for our exploring!

Other topics throughout the day revolved around presenting lessons and activities on oil in the Gulf, the importance of the Gulf, and how to balance out the ecology and economy.  This was made evident as we entered the Galveston Yacht Basin.  Our teachers were able to see industry , commercial fisheries,  universities, development, marsh areas, and much more coexisting in just a small area.  Tomorrow we hope to dock at Pier 21 and learn more about commercial fisheries and the seafood industry.

Brown Pelicans for our viewing.

More Day 2 Pictures

Seining for treasure.

Learning about different points of pollution and where everything goes.

Chemistry! What's in that water?

Identifying some fresh water plants.

Nelson Pena holds our friendly little frog.  Gators were also seen!

Day 2 - North of Sabine Lake

Riding out to our site.

Exciting and very productive day for everyone.  We explored, identified various flora and fauna, had some insightful discussions about the balancing of ecosystem management, talked to a woman crabber on the water, and even enjoyed some karaoke in the evening to relax!  .  

We collected various samples of vegetation samples as well as shrimp, crabs, and fish.  Fishery issues, the way to categorize wetlands, adaptations of plants and much more were discussed.  We also conducted our water chemistry labs and enviroscape.  We will see what Day 3 will bring.

Day 1 in Louisiana - Exploring the Wetlands..gators, river otters, and fish oh my!

Venturing out into nature!

Teachers use a simple wetland in a pan activity to learn how wetlands act as buffer and protect us from such things as erosion and hurricanes.

Cole Ruckstuhl from Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) boarded the M/V Fling to talk about LA issues including the restoration efforts to save the wetlands.

Ruben (Left) and Carlos (right) get ready for their first kayak trip in the Intracoastal.  Ruben and Carlos join us from the Veracruz Aquarium in Mexico.  We hope they enjoy their time in the states.

After an "exciting" night in the Gulf of Mexico, teachers of the 2012 IWWE Class were extremely happy to enter the calmer waters of the Calcasieu River in Louisiana.  Throughout the day teachers were able to learn about some of the issues facing the ecology and economy of the Gulf and most importantly..how to balance the two.  Special guest from LA gave talks on LA's struggle to keep their wetlands and what is being done to try and save them.  Throughout the day, participants conducted activities on board and took some field excursion via kayaks.  Although an exhausitng day, much was learned.  We all need a good night's rest as tomorrow will bring even bigger adventures!

GMF's Coastal Expedition for Educators Set to Sail Sunday!