Ten students and three chaperones from Lin-wood High in New Hampshire recently visited the Cape Eleuthera Institute for one week of exploration and education with the Educational Program’s team. The “Lin-Wood crew” were happy to escape their wintery weather for some time learning about our local ecosystems, sustainability initiatives and research.
The group, led by Rebecca Steeves, a teacher who worked at DCMS for 5 years, got the opportunity to learn about our vital mangrove swamps, the threat of invasive lionfish on local reef ecosystems and some of our local developmental issues and challenges. We also managed to spend time helping a team of locals from Bannerman town who are converting the old abandoned school building into a public library for the area.
This was Lin-Wood’s first visit to the island and, we hope it won’t be the last. A memorable moment was the magnificent night snorkel where we spotted scrawled cowfish, bioluminescence, sea hares and numerous other magical night creatures. We were also lucky enough to have two delicious dinners at local restaurants and the opportunity to sit in on two scientific presentations by long time collaborators with the institute, Andy Danylchuk and Steve Cooke.
A good time was had by all during Lin-Wood’s stay, and many challenges, both personal and collective, were confronted and conquered. It was such a pleasure to see the growth of the group over their short stay here, and, as always, inspiring to see just how much they had learned (not to mention how much we learned from them).
Tiffany, Matthew and all those involved in the program would like to offer a sincere thanks for being such a great, cooperative, enthusiastic and flexible group. Come back soon Lin-Wood!