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March 31, 2022

Day 4 (3/30) --- By Aiden and Tanvi

This morning started off a tad later than usual meaning that we could sleep in until 7:45 instead of 6:45. However, not everyone took advantage of this luxury – DJ, Gabby, Ezana, Olivia, Jack, Abby, and Bianca went on an early morning run (four miles at a staggering pace). Then, breakfast: superb pancakes on the island. After fueling up for the day, we were onto learning about the robust aquaponics system – a crucial element of an initiative to maintain a sustainable campus.

The aquaponics system grows all the herbs and lettuce used in the kitchen. With this system, they are able to use 100 times less water than traditional agriculture. Here, they grow Tilapia at the school and the waste from the fish is nitrogen-rich, so they cycle that water through grow beds. The lettuce is planted onto rafts so that the roots can float in the nitrogen-rich water.

We had a hands-on lesson on how this whole process works, planting lettuce seeds and harvesting their fully grown counterparts, catching and moving the Tilapia from tank to tank (based on weight), and cleaning the Tilapia tanks in between. In fact, some students became so enthused with catching and moving the fish, a fish net got caught on a pipe which subsequently created a colossal fountain, captivating everyone’s attention and sparking a frenzy to turn the water off. But the shenanigans didn’t stop here as some students formed competitive rivalries around catching the most fish.

After having this experiential lesson on the aquaponics process, eating salad at lunch meant that much more. Replenished from lunch and a small break, Natalia and Silia, the resident expert researchers, shared with us a breakdown of coral reef restoration tactics and let us tour their lab space. We discussed how coral is slow growing and extremely fragile and these are challenges in restoration efforts. Specifically, it was interesting how coral is of economic and cultural importance in the Bahamas, not just ecologically beneficial; yet, the tourism industry limits the potential impact of
these restoration efforts.

In particular, Natalia’s group’s efforts are targeted to the three ways that coral reproduce. We got to see the salt water tanks where they are growing coral larvae and also the outdoor tanks where the microfragmentation experiments were taking place. Microfragmentation is a restoration method that takes advantage of coral’s ability to ‘heal’ or regrow from one coral branch. Using UV light and a yellow filter we were even able to see where coral had implanted on the different substrates they were testing! The third method of restoration are coral nurseries where the team places coral fragments underwater to grow before returning them to the reef. Next week we’ll get to see the lab’s current coral nurseries!

That evening, we ventured into the Bahamian Blackland Coppice (old-growth forest area) to hunt land crabs with Bill Bigelow, resident crab researcher. The previous night we had been “skunked,” i.e. had caught no crabs, so after arriving at High Rock, we enthusiastically set out on foot to search under rocks, in sinkholes, and around trees to find well-hidden crabs. Of the three distinct species of crab – Red Crab (the smallest), Black Crab, and White Crab (the biggest) – we were looking for Black and White crabs. Although rain season has not yet come and so crabbing season has not either, we were lucky enough to catch three Black Crabs! Abby, Mads, and Bill each caught a crab and were rewarded with a chocolate bar from Mr. Joneschild!