An Aquatic Classroom
August-September 2004
This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD
by Barb Roy
|
As a homeschool parent I am often asked how I teach my 17 year old daughter, Tallen, about science, biology and the world we live in. What books do you use? Is there a classroom? What about social behavior?
My answers are simple: I teach the way she likes to learn, by hands-on experience. Our classroom is the world itself, and currently she prefers to socialize with marine critters, rather than the human kind.
At times I wish I could say, “OK Tallen, take out your magic ocean textbook and open it to the San Juan Islands. Now reach in and pull out some bull kelp for today’s assignment!” Instead it sounds more like: “Tallen, don’t forget to turn your scuba tank air on and make sure your dry suit zipper is closed! And try not to get tangled up in the kelp as we descend.”
For several years now, Tallen and I have taken our kayaks, scuba gear and cameras on numerous field trips to enjoy the San Juan archipelago. We can rarely get enough of the beautiful scenery, plentiful wildlife and excellent diving and snorkeling. If we travel by car, I try to plan to visit at least two separate islands for a three-day outing. We will load our two kayaks, mountain bikes and a good pair of hiking boots for each of us.
“I don’t always want to be in the water,” Tallen informs me. “We might want to ride around Shaw or San Juan Island, or hike to the top of Mount Constitution.” At 2,407 feet above sea level, she may be making that mountain journey alone.
|
While we often like to camp and travel with other paddlers, we’ve also found it fun to join our scuba friends on Lu Jac’s Quest, which operates out of Anacortes.
As our friends explore the depths, we jump in for a quick paddle or go snorkeling along the shoreline. This enables us to get closer to wildlife we would not normally be able to study from land. Since the divers typically do two or three dives at different locations, we get the opportunity to check out more sites with our kayaks!
On a recent trip with Lu Jac’s owners, Phil and Judy Jensen, we pulled up in front of the Lime Kiln Lighthouse for the first dive. It was an awesome day with sunshine and calm water. Tallen and I grabbed our snorkeling gear and headed over to the kelp bed as the divers prepared their equipment and entered the water.
Tallen’s assignment was to list as many underwater marine residents as possible. To do this she used a divers’ slate and a pencil. She carefully studied the surface kelp first, writing down northern kelp crabs, moon jellies and amphipods. Taking a breath, we dove down to check out purple, pink and tan colored ochre stars on the rocks between clusters of barnacles. On the next dive she noted white plumose anemones, huge red urchins, California sea cucumbers (looks like a pickle with bumps, she said), a snail on eggs and numerous orange burrowing sea cucumbers. While Tallen was busy at the surface writing down her discoveries, a group of curious paddlers came over for a chat
“I also saw both gum boot and multi-colored lined chitons, hermit crabs, shrimp and brooding anemones!” Tallen exclaimed.
|
“Aren’t you cold?” one of them asked. “How can you stay warm?”
“I’m in a dry suit which has seals to keep out the water,” she replied. “These are warm dry-gloves. I’m not cold at all.”
Enjoying the attention, Tallen proceeded to demonstrate her otter impression, wrapping herself in a few strands of kelp and floating on her back, still describing the ocean realm below. Perhaps I was mistaken about her socializing choices.
Later Phil headed to our next destination, Lawson’s Bluff on the north side of Sucia Island. Traveling down Haro Strait, we marveled at a passing pod of orcas. Although it was a small group (Tallen thought it was ‘J’ or ‘K’ pod), they sure put on a show. Several packed whale-watching boats eagerly watched as the orcas performed.
|
“Granny (J-2) from ‘J’ pod is thought to be around 80 years old,”Tallen announced, taking on her ‘tour guide’ voice. I think she has been leading too many groups at her Vancouver Aquarium volunteer job.
“These are part of the southern residents. Only ‘J’ pod is seen on a year round basis. ‘K’ and ‘L’ pods show up June to
October. What’s really cool is when the pods join together creating a super pod.” I know now my daughter will grow up to be a naturalist or teacher.
Before long we arrived at our next site, and Tallen and I donned our scuba gear for a look at the 20-60 foot depth range. With slate in Tallen’s hand and a camera for me, we descended beside the shore using kelp fronds as a reference. Huge boulders, covered with invertebrate life, make up the terrain down to 30 feet. Tallen quickly spotted a juvenile Puget Sound King Crab, a grunt sculpin and a sunflower star the size of a card-table top. My mask almost flooded from laughing when a startled swimming scallop caught her off guard. She backed up with wide eyes, and then also laughed when she saw what it was. For another 30 minutes she added over 25 more names to her list, including a tiger rockfish, lingcod, painted greenling, clown nudibranch and yellow staghorn bryozoans.
|
This, like many of our other trips to the San Juans, was richly rewarding and educational. I am happy for places like Friday Harbor’s Whale Museum, the American and British Camps and Roche Harbor for their historic value. Big animals like steller sea lions (fall, winter, spring), harbor seals, gray and minke whales help me to instill a positive sense of preservation into Tallen’s overall syllabus.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Washington State Ferries:
San Juan Islands Visitor Information Services: 888-468-3701
The Whale Museum: www.whale-museum.org
Whale Hotline: 800-562-8832
Lu Jac’s Quest Charters: www.lujacsquest.com
© Barb Roy is a freelance writer/photographer living in Surrey, BC and a frequent contributor to this magazine.
This site uses valid HTML, CSS and Flash. All content Copyright © 2010 Wild Coast Publishing. 