Final week at UNF!

The last week of our FIO field studies in marine biology has already ended! I felt like it went by way too fast. It seems like just yesterday we were meeting at this same campus to begin our journey. Dr. Hackney told us during our introduction at UNF that we would be exhausted every night of this trip and he was certainly not lying! We worked so hard every day, I never slept so well at night until this trip! But, we got to see so many amazing things and learn so much new information that it was all worth it. I could not have asked for a better experience this summer. I have met so many inspirational people and learned more things than I could have imagined. I am definitely going to miss snorkeling every day in the keys and I might even have a desire to take some water samples next time I go to the beach. The final week at UNF went out with a bang! The first day, we traveled on a boat down the St. John's river to collect water samples at 4 different locations along the river so that we could get a better understanding of estuarine gradients and see how humans have impacted the environment. It was really interesting to see how many ways that people use the St. John's river. We saw fishing boats, boats that were dredging sediment from the bottom of the river, a large amount incoming freight being loaded onto piers, a cruise ship, and all kinds of action gong on that day! We saw how the river narrows as we passed through the city of Jacksonville. We saw tons of dolphins but also tons of trash in the river that day. The next day, we did a 24 hour study at Guana Lake and Guana River that tested us in many ways. It was definitely no easy task taking water samples every hour and pulling seine nets every 3 hours with little sleep, but I definitely feel like I earned a lot of experience learning how to work efficiently with others and how to use new field equipment. After a day of rest, we did a beach walk where we traveled to a few different beaches so that we could learn more about barrier island formation on the east coast and see how various anthropogenic effects, such as the construction of jetties, effects the barrier islands. 

Overall, I really feel like I have had my eyes opened to so many new opportunities to help change the world! I knew that humans had a huge impact on our oceans and waterways, but I did not really consider all the little things that add up and really degrade these areas the most. I was disgusted to see how we use and abuse our environment, but at the same time, I feel excited to start my journey towards reversing this damage. Especially now that I have seen all the ways in which we can help.