Entry 7: Muddy Beach
Today was another interesting and completely new adventure for us. We grabbed buckets and shovels and headed to a muddy beach to explore what lies right under the surface. We found out, quickly, that digging for worms on the ocean floor is quite different than digging for worms to go fishing back home. It turns out that blood worms and clam worms both have special retractable jaws, that have teeth and fangs! In groups of three, we quickly headed out into the bay digging small holes in places where we could see the telltale signs of a worm’s presence…piles of their excrement!
With buckets and shovels in hand, we started the long walk out onto the muddy ocean floor. There were many different spots covered with seaweed, but the further we traveled, the wetter the footing became. As we approached the edge of the water, we started digging and were amazed how plentiful the specimens were. We decided to make the activity interesting by having some contests such as the group with the most worms, the largest worm, the wriggliest worm and even the cutest worm. We explored the muddy beach for over two hours with our shovels and buckets. One could tell when a group found a cool discovery by the shrieks and screams as they pulled the slimy creature from the wet, sandy soil. The contests made the project very interesting, as well, with our very competitive group of students.
Once we returned to the shoreline and counted, measured and judged the worms we took them back out to their ocean homes and gently buried them as the tide rolled in. After a brief hike back to camp and a much needed lunch, we went to the lab to learn about lobsters. We studied their growth cycles, learned about the molting process, and even saw some very detailed pictures of lobsters at their various stages of life. In the aquarium, Huntsman had several specimens representing the different stages of the lobster life cycle from their small beginning as plankton to a very special 25 pound live lobster they had in an aquarium. This lobster was so large and strong, it could break one’s arm with a grasp of its claw.
The lobster lab was engaging and lively. Once we completed that activity, we took a nice hike into the town of St. Andrews on a souvenir and candy shop excursions.
Entry 6: Finally, it’s Friday
Today may have been the highlight of the trip…perhaps one of those rare experiences from which we will all draw upon for the rest of our lives. It rained most of the night as the temperatures dropped into the low 50’s. We had heard that rainy, cloudy days can sometimes be the best for whale watching, but we didn’t really know any different. When Laura, our educator, arrived to walk into town with us, she explained that the whale tour yesterday saw only one whale. Yesterday was a pleasant, sunny day, so we hoped the rainy day theory would hold true.
We bundled in all of the dry clothes we could find, borrowed extra rain coats from the lodge, packed our packs with snacks and plenty of cameras and started our walk in a misty New Brunswick morning. By the time we arrived at the harbor, the rain had stopped and visibility had vastly improved. We boarded our whale watching vessel, a powerful catamaran capable of transporting 40 people, and headed out into the bay at a refreshing 25 knots of speed. Most of us enjoyed the ride from the top deck as we waited in anticipation of what might come. We passed by harbor porpoises and harbor seals resting in some rocks as the rising tide literally caused swirls of current and drifts in the middle of the bay.
After about 30 minutes the boat came to a slow halt. There were a few other boats with spectators in the vicinity. Before long we saw the first spout of water followed by the arched back of a massive beast…a 75 foot Fin Whale! Then two more of the creatures showed their backs and left huge “footprints” in the water as their tails swooped to force them into a deep dive. One after another for about 20 minutes we saw four or five different Fin Whales breaking the surface. After a while we became skilled in deciding the direction of the whales based on the foot prints and the other sea life following their paths (mostly birds looking for leftovers). When the whales disappeared the other boats began to head back to the harbor. However, Captain John had another plan. He was determined to show us the rare Humpback Whales that had been rumored about 20 miles to the south, near Manan Island.
Again, at full throttle, we headed in search of something to see. As we approached what seemed to be the middle of the ocean, it all started again. Spouts of water in the distance became closer and closer. Then, four different Humpback Whales took turns showing their backs and then their large tails, each with its own unique fingerprint or design. These whales, though not as large as the Fin Whales from earlier, came much closer to the boat, perhaps 40 yards in one case. They seemed almost to be playing with us, putting on a special private show like they were glad someone had finally arrived. We watched these whales until far past our planned return time. Eventually, though, the whales disappeared in deep dives and we headed back to the harbor. We enjoyed hot chocolate and salmon pate during the cruise back to St. Andrews. (Yes, that is an interesting combination, but nobody complained since we were more than one hour beyond our normal lunch time.)
Entry #5:
Thursday ended up as our best day yet. The sun was shining most of the day and our activities were interesting and helped to make many connections. After lunch we went back to the lab to learn more about echinoderms (Latin for spiny skin). We looked at sea urchins under special microscopes and did tests to see how their size affects their speed across a Petri dish.
Then, we studied our friends, the starfish, to notice how agile and nimble these seemingly docile creatures can be. We also learned a very interesting fact about the sea urchin’s bathroom habits. You’ll have to ask a participant to learn more.
Our second afternoon activity was a study of whales to prepare us for the whale watching excursion tomorrow. We head out on a morning cruise to see the whales, dolphins and seals of the Atlantic. We heard that the water temperatures are warmer than usual for this time of year and some interesting species of whales have been spotted in the bay. It is supposed to rain some tomorrow, but the boat has an inside viewing area and the whales apparently don’t mind the weather.
Dinner was great, again, as was our game of capture the flag. The skies literally opened up on the kids during the game. But, the competition was so intense that the rain only made matters more interesting. We ended the day with a quick hike to the doughnut shop for a mid-evening snack and returned home to play cards. Mr. Horn was the Texas Hold ‘em champion winning a face-off with Justin in an “all-in” battle royale. Then, we had two different games of spoons going on simultaneously and the cards and utensils were flying all over the room.
Entry #4:
Thursday morning had a much different feel in the air. There was less fog and the sun was contemplating showing its face throughout our time at breakfast. Once our bellies were full of waffles, cereal, and some home-made banana bread (not to mention the hot chocolate), we headed onto a bus for the quick five minute trip to Indian Point. Indian Point is on the edge of the main street in St. Andrews, just past the wharf. As we approached the "point" we could readily see the wet ocean floor left behind as the tide diminished over the last six hours. In fact, as we started walking out onto the exposed ocean floor, we could already see the tide starting to quietly roll back in. We probably walked about 400 metres out into the rock and seaweed ocean basin before we started seeing some signs of life. The first catch of the day was a little crab, hiding under a rock. Then, with a closer look, we saw tiny starfish, sea urchins, barnacles, clams and various little worms and slimy things. Once we had found our ocean legs, all 25 of us we busy exposing the different worlds of sea life under each rock. It seemed that our favorite activity was catching the hundreds of crabs we learned to grab from the back side. Though a few of us found the claws the hard way, we escaped the beach without any permanent scars. Perhaps 90 minutes passed before we realized that it was time to start back to the shoreline. The tide was quickly rushing inward, literally washing the tops of our boots as we walked. Some of use learned and important lesson in ocean study: boots are only waterproof up to the top. Just ask Flippie about his tidal experience!!!
Back onto the bus with our buckets containing specimens and into the laboratory at Huntsman. They have state of the art seawater system that continuously pumps saltwater directly from the bay into several small aquarium tanks. While the tanks were being pumped with water, we took our samples from the beach and sorted them in trays to boast about the various unique finds we enjoyed. Many of us named our new pets before placing them in their temporary Huntsman home for the next two days so that we can come back and enjoy learning more about the lifestyles of the Fundy bay.
Then, it was time for some dry socks, shorts, and lunch as the sun continued to warm the day into a very pleasant 70 degrees.
Entry #3:
We finished Wednesday in great style with a fantastic dinner of spaghetti, garlic bread, and fresh ceasar salad. The kids enjoyed a quiet evening with a movie and some games in order to gear up for a big day at the "beach" tomorrow digging for underground sea life. Since we are going out at low tide, we will be able to literally walk on the ocean floor that was covered by more than 20 feet(6 metres if you want to speak "Canadian") of water depth this overnight.
This afternoon the students learned about plankton through a variety of hands-on activities. In the videos on this page you will see the crawler taking some students out for a planton collection and a scallop drag. The things they found on the bottom of the bay were as amazing as they were curious. Between the two groups, we collected four golf balls--likely errant shots from the signature hole of the Algonquin CC. Some looked like they had been underwater for quite a while as they had colonies of "stuff" growing on them. We also saw plenty of natural life from the ocean's floor.
We are signing out for today and will do our best to keep you informed of the activity tomorrow.
Entry #2:
It’s a foggy, damp Northeastern Wednesday for us. Temps are around 60ish with little sun, but no rain yet, so we have plowed ahead with our plans. The fifth grade spent the morning on the “Fundy Breeze,” a retired lobster crawler, collecting plankton specimens and using a scallop net to gather all sorts of sea life from about 100 feet of depth. They all enjoyed meeting hermit crabs, starfish, sea cucumbers, and sea anemones, to name a few. The sixth grade spent the morning in the lab studying the plankton we collected under microscopes and gaining a greater understanding of the oceanic food chain.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch and then we are quickly turning around to head out again to swap activities.
I am off to join the 5th grade in the lab and then for a tour of the aquarium and the seal feeding and meet some sturgeon with the whole group.
~Kelly Horn
Entry #1:
We have been working hard all week to prepare for our fantastic journey. Today we practiced rolling big suitcases through an obstacle course and talked about the good snacks we hope to bring on the trip. It will come soon enough, with a 6:00 a.m. departure on Tuesday morning.
Stay tuned for the latest and greatest stuff!
~Kelly Horn