This March break, 12 students and two faculty members are traveling to the Bahamas to investigate the island’s varied habitats alongside educators and researchers from The Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) while living mindfully of their environmental impact. Please enjoy the blog post below from Luc ’27, Heidi ’28, and Jack ’26 where they share about the group’s first day in the Bahamas, where they explored hydroponics, completed a swim test, snorkeled through mangroves, and learned about sharks and rays, all while making lasting memories:
Today, we had a sleep-in until 7:30 am, feeling well rested and ready to tackle the day. We met the octagon, a common space, and headed to breakfast, excited for adventures and good food. Heidi was delighted by the crispiness of the bacon and the fluffiness of the pancakes. Reagan and Noah washed dishes, embracing the Island School culture of shared responsibility while adopting it as their own.
After breakfast we took a tour of the beautiful Island School campus. Our first task was to learn about hydroponics, a closed system circulating nutrient dense water from tilapia tanks through budding plants that the school will eventually eat. The water eventually becomes purified and returns to the fish tanks. Following, we headed over the mangrove bridge and into the circle, a central part of campus where semester students gather before every meal. We got to check out the farm where they raise fruits, vegetables, and even pigs! It was interesting to hear how the Island School embraces sustainability and strives to lower their impact on the environment by conserving water, electricity and food.
We had a mandatory swim test in a cut of the Cape of Eleuthera, where all of us had to swim 200 yards and tread water for 10 minutes in the open water. We emerged victorious over the ocean, but shivering because, although the temperatures were warm, the winds were high. After returning to the dorms, we gathered before lunch, hanging out our clothes to dry in the sun and preparing for the next task. Lunch was refreshing, consisting of deli sandwiches, pasta salad, and pound cake. Then suddenly, Justin found a shark that everyone rushed to see, but it blended incredibly well. Heidi was feeling extra hungry, along with Luc, and headed into the dining hall for more food, which was happily enjoyed. The afternoon consisted of a quick van ride to Page’s Creek, where the group studied mangroves and snorkeled through the channel to find fish lurking among the roots. There were three types of mangroves that we identified: red, black, and white. Two groups of students had a competition to name said mangroves. For the white mangrove, team Jack said, “The bugs a flight, the salt we fight”. Team Heidi groaned, “White like a baddie, flies’ …… (can’t remember the rest)”. Along the coast, after snorkeling, seeing a baby lemon shark, and invasive pine trees, we arrived back at the vans and headed back to campus. Our first explo time (4pm to 6pm free time) consisted of: Jack and friends biking to the Marina and buying a big bag of Tostitos that he is protecting with his life, Luc and friends walking, also buying food, but only a drink and candy that he ate, and Heidi and friends, who tried, but failed to get a tan on the beach. Then, like at lunch, we met at the Octo and headed to dinner, which was Taco Tuesday. Jack and Cooper manned dish crew, listening to good tunes whilst plowing through their work. Everyone reconvened again in the Octo, for a Shark/Rays information session in preparation for our research tomorrow. Luc’s favorite fact was that sharks are in fact a fish, Jack’s was that sharks have been around for 420 million years, and Heidi liked the idea of sharks laying eggs and giving live birth at the same time. Finally, we headed to our bunks for a good night’s rest, excited for another day of adventuring at the Island School tomorrow!
