CSW Marine Bio Blog

The goal of this class is to give students a field research experience in which they come to understand how to work as a team to conduct experimental studies in marine science. Students will be off-campus at the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership off the coast of Rockland, Maine, where they will be involved in a variety of new and ongoing projects. They will study the structure of intertidal communities, develop research avenues, and then implement an experiment that will provide baseline data for future work in the area.

Students will also study several related marine topics and systems including lobster biology and fishery management, larval settlement in the intertidal of Penobscot Bay, sustainable innovations on Hurricane Island, and the intersections of climate change and biodiversity. 

Hello from Hurricane Island, Maine! 

Thank you for (virtually) joining us on our marine biology adventure. Each day, students are charged with curating this photo blog with snapshots of their day to share with our wider community, family, and friends. Enjoy!

Thursday, 5-16-24 Baaree
Friday, 5-17-24 Finch
Saturday, 5-18-24 Monty
Sunday, 5-19-24 Lia
Monday, 5-20-24 Siqi
Tuesday, 5-21-24 Chengbo
Wednesday, 5-22-24 Alexandra
Thursday, 5-23-23 Sophia & Alicia
Friday, 5-24-24 Alicia
 

May 16, 2024

Baaree '25

On the first day, we took our trip away from home and settled onto Hurricane Island. The island was exciting and beautiful, but the trip featured many interesting encounters such as many buildings and birds, including a seagull that tailed our boat for about 15 minutes.


May 17, 2024

Finch '24

On the second day, we woke to the beautiful scenery of the ocean. Today was our first full day starting with collecting plankton and observing them under a microscope. Then we did a hike to High Cliffs to do some watercolor painting and enjoy the view of the ocean and most of the island. Then we had some free time and lunch. After lunch, we were introduced to the inter-tidal zone and worked on our projects for most of the remaining parts of the day. We ended the day with a little book club and went to bed extremely tired but content!


May 18, 2024

Monty '25

The third day on Hurricane Island was spent out on the water! In the morning, we looked through spat bags for baby scallops (found 23 alive ones), and then dissected older ones (they were about three years old). In the afternoon, we went out lobstering and found one keeper in all five traps, along with two females with eggs! We ended the day with a rousing game of Anomia, and fell asleep to the sounds of rain.


May 19, 2024

Lia '25

Fourth day on Hurricane Island we started off by learning how to tie several knots which we then used for a raft challenge. In the challenge we were given 2 barrels, 2 ropes and 4 pieces of wood to create a floating raft and to have someone cross a pond and back. Later in the afternoon we headed to the Intertidal zone to work on our projects! We ended the day by playing Anomia and heading to bed!



May 20, 2024

Siqi '25

Fifth day on Hurricane Island. We start off by going out for a garden trip, learning about the garden system on Hurricane Island. Then we have a guest speaker who talks about the lobster. After that we go to the ITZ to record more about Tidepool and Barnacle. Soon go back to the classroom, and we worked on the presentation and poster. At Evening after dinner, I play card game with my friends!

May 21, 2024

Chengbo '24

Sixth day on Hurricane Island. We first went on a sustainability hike, learning about the completely independent water system on the island. Hurricane Island is a place where humans take from nature and give something back. We then had a guest speaker, Rick Wahle professor at the University of Maine. The professor talked about how scientists inspect lobsters in the wild. After a delicious lunch, we headed to the ITZ for our daily research. After that, we discussed group poster plans. The CSW crew had a very interesting discussion with the director from Unite People Global.


May 22, 2024

Alexandra P. '25

Seventh day on Hurricane Island. We started our day with rock climbing on the Quarry walls, which was super fun! After lunch, we played Fish Banks where we simulated our own fishing business to see which group could receive the most profit. Congratulations to the winners Siqi, Baaree, and Alexandra (who saved the company from ruin btw). Then we talked with our 2 guest speakers, Yvonne and Ken from The Island Institute about issues faced by island communities. We also went to the intertidal zone for the last time :( to do any final data collection. At night, we did a sunset hike and played games (gambled) on the cliff. We ended the day in our cabins dreaming of green crabs and our posters that were due the next day.




45 Georgian Road | Weston, MA 02493 | 781-642-8600

CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.