Being from Pensacola and going to UWF, I figured that I would just be learning the same things I had in all my other biology classes, but I was very wrong. Each day was packed with activities and well knowledge biologist that gave us tons of information on the ecology of the Pensacola area. Donald Ray joined our group on monday and gave us the low down on stream and river ecology in our area. He knew so much and you could tell he genuinely enjoyed what he was talking about. Tuesday we were with the teaching staff of UWF and went on the pontoon boats in Perdido Bay and also snorkeled at Big Lagoon state park in the sea grasses. Wednesday we explored the barrier island at Santa Rosa State Park which included the Gulf of Mexico and the sound. That night we took light data at sea turtle nests to see how ambient light will effect the turtles when they hatch. At each location we took water samples, water readings such as salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, etc., and also took plankton samples. At a few sites we used a seine net to catch local fish populations in the water way to see what species live where. Thursday and Friday we looked at all the data we collected thought the week and drew conclusions based on what we found!
Besides learning a ton of new information about the area I grew up in, we got to meet a bunch of new people form the other cohort. I was excited to show everyone that wasn't from here what there was to do and the beautiful beaches that we have. After alas on Thursday we went to the Wahoos baseball game, and even though it was raining I had a lot of fun with the new people I met. Friday night was gallery night, which is kind of like an arts festival we have downtown once a month, so it was fun to hang out with everyone outside of class and show them the fun things Pensacola has to offer.
I can't wait to see what adventures St. Pete has in store for us!
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