The first group of BEA students to make the trip to San Salvador Island is shown above. They are, left to right, Ben Hoerth, Reagan Bromeland, Lizzy Uecker, Leah Becker, Clarine Greer, Kate Armon, Berkley Hagedorn, Ashlyn Klinkner, Madison Dulac, Olivia Dutton, Addison Armstrong, Hailey Becker, Seth Mathews, Gus Chavero, Manav Chaudhari.
Come next summer, Blue Earth Area Earth Science teacher, Julie Ackerman, will be leading her third group of BEA students to San Salvador Island which is located in the Bahamas.
The students travel to the island as part of an ecology field course.
“The majority of the course is done as field experience,” Ackerman says. “San Salvador Island is a small remote island in the Bahamas with no substantial tourism. When we are there, it is mostly just us and the locals who are on the island.”
The island, which was previously known as Watling’s Island, is famed for being the probable location of Christopher Columbus’ first landing of the Americas on Oct. 12, 1492. The size of the island is about 13 miles long and five miles wide. The population of the island was recorded at 970 in 2010.
While it might sound like it might be a nice spot to relax, that is not what is in store for the students who choose to make the trip.
“Because it is not a tourist destination, it is very pristine,” Ackerman comments. “It gives us a great opportunity to explore the reefs. The kids are kept extremely busy during the day and they are very tired by bed time.”
Ackerman first became aware of the opportunity to put together an educational excursion after being one of nine people to receive a scholarship to receive some specialized training from Terra Science and Education, which is a non-profit group.
“I believe that four of the nine people who received a scholarship have taken kids on a trip so far,” Ackerman says. “We had 15 students on our first trip and six students were able to go the second time we went. We have 25 kids signed up to go next summer.”
Ackerman explains that only juniors were eligible to go each of the first two years of the program.
“Now, we have changed things so that sophomores and juniors may go on the trip, but we will only go every other year,” Ackerman shares. “So, some kids will go their sophomore year, while others will make the trip during their junior year. After the trip during the summer of 2025, we will not go again until 2027.”
She begins getting the students ready for the trip by holding meetings during the lunch hour of the fourth quarter of the school year.
“The real purpose of those meetings is to make sure they are prepared and that they know what to expect on the trip,” Ackerman notes. “It helps them if they know what lies ahead and what they need to avoid. It is also a time to remind them to make sure they have their passports.”
According to Ackerman, it is the student’s responsibility to pay for their own trip, but she tries to get community support to help defray some of the expenses associated with the excursion.
“The most expensive part of the trip is the airfare,” she adds. “It takes a total of about five hours to get there. We usually either have to fly to Miami or Nassau in the Bahamas first, and then take another flight to the island.”
While at the island the students will learn many things including how to use identification keys and field guides to identify tropical species. They will also become familiar with the components of a coral reef ecosystem and how they interact. In addition, they will learn to recognize the features of a species that allow it to survive in a particular ecosystem and be able to compare and contrast the traits of species in a variety of ecosystems.
“It also provides them with the opportunity to explore careers in the marine sciences,” Ackerman says. “They also learn to interact effectively as a group and learn to understand and appreciate another culture in an effort to broaden perspectives and connect with others cross-culturally.”
Ackerman shared a number of quotes from students who have previously taken the class and made the trip:
• “For one, it is an amazing experience, just to learn about the ocean and different fish and corals. Two, this trip allows you to explore and be curious about things you’ve never seen before. Three, it allows you to meet new people and learn about new cultures.”
• “I have traveled to many countries outside of the U.S. and this was definitely an experience unlike any of the others.”
• “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that gave me an experience that was very different from learning in the classroom.”
“Students have also talked about how it is a good experience to be unplugged for awhile,” Ackerman says laughing. “Cell phone reception on the island is spotty at best.”
The trip lasts seven days and the students stay at a research center that used to be a Navy base.
“It is a running field station so there are scientists there,” Ackerman remarks. “If they are working, the scientists there are pretty willing to take time to talk to the kids and tell them what they are working on.”
She says that being on the island gives the students a chance to see another way of life.
“They come away impressed by the strong sense of community the people on the island have,” Ackerman comments. “The people work very well together and there is no crime.”
Ackerman shares that if anyone is interested in sponsoring a student or in making a donation towards the program, they can either go to the school’s website and contact her through her email, [email protected] or they can call her at the Blue Earth Area High School.
This post was originally published on here
