Students often ask, what do the instructors do in Miami before the students get there and in between weeks of the High School Marine Biology (HSMB) trip? So in an effort to show you that Domonique and I aren't just sitting around soaking up the Florida sun (although it has been mostly raining here all weekend), we thought we would put together some highlights of what we have be up to since we arrived in town.
After arriving at MIA on an early flight from Chicago, we headed straight to Jones Boat Yard, home of the R/V Coral Reef II. The boat was just arriving back in town from a trip to the Bahamas with Geologists from the University of Miami. Captain John and Chef Matt were here to greet us and welcome us aboard. This will be my fourth time spending part of the summer facilitating the HSMB program, so arriving at Coral Reef II is beginning to feel like coming back home.
Getting the boat ready for HSMB, always takes a lot of hard work and preparation - this year was no exception. We got right to work unpacking the boxes of supplies that we sent down from Chicago, pulling items out of the boat storage containers and putting everything in their place on the boat. We also made the yearly trip to the Target in Coral Gables to purchase a mass of supplies and other items that will help ensure a safe and comfy voyage.
Once we had everything that we needed and the boat was close to ready for student arrival, Domonique and I decided that we would take some of the time that we had left to explore the local sites. So what better to do to get prepared for a weeklong trip of snorkeling and underwater adventure? By going diving of course! After considering our options, we decided on Key Largo and John Pennekamp Park Coral Reef State Park as our destination. We thought this location to be particular fitting, as the park was the United States first Marine Protected Area (MPA).
We woke up bright and early to head down to the keys, as our boat was set to leave the dock at 8:00 am. Normally waking up before 6 in the morning would have me yawning and rubbing my eyes, but there is something about waking up on the boat and preparing for a day of being in the water that gives me a whole new energy. After meeting the crew and going through a few briefings, we set out to our first location. Neither of us really knew what to expect, as we had never dove or snorkeled in this area before. Seconds after hitting the water, we got our first taste of what was to come, as a massive Goliath grouper swam into view and stopped to check us out. This was my first time observing a grouper in the wild and I have to say that it was quite a memorable experience. The sheer size of the fish was impressive to say the least, but watching it as it moved slowly along the reef trying to shake a pesky remora off its belly and stopping to allow cleaner gobies to work on its gills and teeth made the experience even better. Over the course of the rest of the day we would see a wide variety of fish, including angelfish, barracudas, snappers, grunts, pufferfish and many more swimming over beautiful brain, Elkhorn and soft corals.
John Pennekamp Park also has a land portion that displays Florida's native coastal terrestrial habitats. So after a great morning of diving, we decided to spend the afternoon hiking and exploring the rest of the park. Much of this area was dominated by mangroves which you could explore via a raised boardwalk. A trip into the mangroves is always an amazing experience, as the diversity and abundance of life that this ecosystem supports is astonishing. We observed fiddler crabs foraging over the mud in the low tide areas, birds flying in an out of the canopy, lizards scurrying over the path and leaping onto the mangrove roots, and juvenile fish swimming everywhere there was water to utilize the submerged roots for protection. After a full day of diving and hiking, we headed back to the boat exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep.
What is the other thing that two people that work at an aquarium would naturally do with some free time in another city? Head to the nearest zoo or course! So the next day we decided to spend part of the day at Miami Metro Zoo to check in on some of our friends at another institution. In the first exhibit inside the entrance were Caribbean flamingos and we stopped to discuss the importance of the flamingo as a national symbol in the Bahamas. As we walked, we saw many animals in great exhibits from all over the world from elephants and rhinos, to tigers and jaguars and gorillas, gibbons and lemurs, but maybe none sparked more conversation between us than the brown pelicans that we saw on our way out. This species has become the symbol of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico and seeing them only reminded us of some of the images that we have been seeing on the news. With heavy hearts, we discussed the opportunity ahead of us to engage this year's group of HSMB students and you, our online viewers in an dialogue and experience that will hopefully inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. So out of tragedy came triumph for us and as I sit at the computer tonight, anticipating the arrival of the students tomorrow, I am as motivated as ever.
So if I had to answer the question of what do the instructors do in Miami when the students aren't here, I would say that we just keep learning. Get ready for an adventure this week!
-Matt
After arriving at MIA on an early flight from Chicago, we headed straight to Jones Boat Yard, home of the R/V Coral Reef II. The boat was just arriving back in town from a trip to the Bahamas with Geologists from the University of Miami. Captain John and Chef Matt were here to greet us and welcome us aboard. This will be my fourth time spending part of the summer facilitating the HSMB program, so arriving at Coral Reef II is beginning to feel like coming back home.
Getting the boat ready for HSMB, always takes a lot of hard work and preparation - this year was no exception. We got right to work unpacking the boxes of supplies that we sent down from Chicago, pulling items out of the boat storage containers and putting everything in their place on the boat. We also made the yearly trip to the Target in Coral Gables to purchase a mass of supplies and other items that will help ensure a safe and comfy voyage.
Once we had everything that we needed and the boat was close to ready for student arrival, Domonique and I decided that we would take some of the time that we had left to explore the local sites. So what better to do to get prepared for a weeklong trip of snorkeling and underwater adventure? By going diving of course! After considering our options, we decided on Key Largo and John Pennekamp Park Coral Reef State Park as our destination. We thought this location to be particular fitting, as the park was the United States first Marine Protected Area (MPA).
We woke up bright and early to head down to the keys, as our boat was set to leave the dock at 8:00 am. Normally waking up before 6 in the morning would have me yawning and rubbing my eyes, but there is something about waking up on the boat and preparing for a day of being in the water that gives me a whole new energy. After meeting the crew and going through a few briefings, we set out to our first location. Neither of us really knew what to expect, as we had never dove or snorkeled in this area before. Seconds after hitting the water, we got our first taste of what was to come, as a massive Goliath grouper swam into view and stopped to check us out. This was my first time observing a grouper in the wild and I have to say that it was quite a memorable experience. The sheer size of the fish was impressive to say the least, but watching it as it moved slowly along the reef trying to shake a pesky remora off its belly and stopping to allow cleaner gobies to work on its gills and teeth made the experience even better. Over the course of the rest of the day we would see a wide variety of fish, including angelfish, barracudas, snappers, grunts, pufferfish and many more swimming over beautiful brain, Elkhorn and soft corals.
John Pennekamp Park also has a land portion that displays Florida's native coastal terrestrial habitats. So after a great morning of diving, we decided to spend the afternoon hiking and exploring the rest of the park. Much of this area was dominated by mangroves which you could explore via a raised boardwalk. A trip into the mangroves is always an amazing experience, as the diversity and abundance of life that this ecosystem supports is astonishing. We observed fiddler crabs foraging over the mud in the low tide areas, birds flying in an out of the canopy, lizards scurrying over the path and leaping onto the mangrove roots, and juvenile fish swimming everywhere there was water to utilize the submerged roots for protection. After a full day of diving and hiking, we headed back to the boat exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep.
What is the other thing that two people that work at an aquarium would naturally do with some free time in another city? Head to the nearest zoo or course! So the next day we decided to spend part of the day at Miami Metro Zoo to check in on some of our friends at another institution. In the first exhibit inside the entrance were Caribbean flamingos and we stopped to discuss the importance of the flamingo as a national symbol in the Bahamas. As we walked, we saw many animals in great exhibits from all over the world from elephants and rhinos, to tigers and jaguars and gorillas, gibbons and lemurs, but maybe none sparked more conversation between us than the brown pelicans that we saw on our way out. This species has become the symbol of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico and seeing them only reminded us of some of the images that we have been seeing on the news. With heavy hearts, we discussed the opportunity ahead of us to engage this year's group of HSMB students and you, our online viewers in an dialogue and experience that will hopefully inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. So out of tragedy came triumph for us and as I sit at the computer tonight, anticipating the arrival of the students tomorrow, I am as motivated as ever.
So if I had to answer the question of what do the instructors do in Miami when the students aren't here, I would say that we just keep learning. Get ready for an adventure this week!
-Matt
