Quarterdeck 3.2
by John Pohlman
Above: Artwork depicting the Girl Scouts in the salt marsh was created by Brenda Melgoza for a thank-you card she sent to the OGC.
In early January, several members of the OGC executive board decided that the OGC should become more active among ourselves and in the community. The idea to organize an ocean-oriented activity was eagerly welcomed by the rest of the OGC, and ideas began pouring in. We decided to develop an eco-educational program involving direct cooperation with a local youth group. To interact with tomorrow's leaders would provide a challenge and an opportunity for us to share our knowledge in a way that young people can understand.
Our planning culminated with our departure from the O&M building at 6:00 a.m., Saturday, April 29th. While some slept on the trip to Galveston, others like Roxanne Nikolaus thought about the coming day, trying to remember what they knew as teen-agers so she could address the scouts at their level.
Our fatigue and anxieties were quickly forgotten when we rolled into Galveston Island State Park and were swarmed by a hoard of excited and eager scouts who had camped in the park the previous night. We soon found ourselves side-by-side with Boy and Girl Scouts filling bags with trash that had washed ashore. Graduate student Jan Gundersen was "impressed at how clean volunteer workers keep Galveston Beach," but noted that "we certainly had our work cut out for us."
[60K] Girl Scouts Heather Reece (left), Brenda Melgoza (middle), and Monica Gorman (right) collect and record trash on the beach in Galveston.
[51K] Graduate students Jan Gundersen (far left) and Dan Bean (far right) teach the Boy Scouts about the geological features of Galveston beaches. Visible Boy Scouts include Scott Albrecht (left), Rick Ross (middle front), Duncan Heard (middle rear), and Tyler Hurst (right).
[60K] Boy Scouts, their leader, and oceanography graduate students comb the beach. (Left to right) Tyler Hurst, Jason Clements, Rick Ross, Chuck Clements, Dan Bean, Craig Cooper, and Duncan Heard.
[111K] Boy Scouts Samuel Dyal (left) and Rick Ross (right) display one piece of litter no longer defacing Galveston beaches.
Working together, we filled dozens of bags with trash ranging from cylume light sticks used by offshore fishermen to ropes fallen from shrimp boats to cigarette butts. We recorded the variety and quantity of materials collected on data sheets and sent them to the Center for Marine Conservation to be used in a research project which examines beach litter in Texas.
Jan and another graduate student, Dan Bean, complemented the cleaning efforts by leading discussions about beach and wave processes. "I wanted to point out how tides and waves are responsible for both carrying the trash and shaping the beach," said Dan.
Meanwhile, Sabrina Criscione and Roxanne Nikolaus led field trips through the back beach dunes, explaining their formation and the describing the interactions that regulate the sand dune ecosystems. The "Craig Cooper Lecture Series" also began with an enlightening discussion about chemical pollutants. Craig remarked that "the most lethal problems often are those we cannot see, and those we do see may not necessarily be the problem."
Just as the beach was cleared of trash by afternoon, clouds which had filled the morning sky also disappeared. Energized by the sun's radiance, the Boy and Girl Scouts went their separate ways. While the Girl Scouts attacked the salt marsh, the Boy Scouts boarded the R/V Roamin' Empire for an ecotour of Galveston Bay.
[ 68K] Graduate student Sabrina Criscione supervises as Girl Scouts collect fish and other inhabitants of the salt marsh with a purse-seine net.
[136K] Brenda Melgoza and Heather Reece take temperature readings in the salt marsh.
The Girl Scouts were soon introduced to the salt marsh ecosystem by Sabrina and Roxanne, who sent them into waist-deep water and ankle-deep mud with a purse-seine net and a pat on the back. The scout's enthusiasm was unmistakable after the third tow through the marsh. Heather Reece, a Girl Scout, captured the group sentiment saying, "Taking samples with the purse seine in the salt marsh was FUN!"
[119K] Graduate student Celia Villac hauls in a phytoplankton net on the 89th-Street pier in Galveston. Heather Reece (right) helps while (left to right) Brenda Melgoza, Jessical Raushel, and Brenna Epting look on.
After touring the salt marsh and picking up another dozen bags of trash lying around the parking area, Celia Villac and Grant Highstead showed the Girl Scouts how to use a compound microscope to identify the phytoplankton they collected off the jetties when returning from the marsh. Jessica Raushel, a scout from troop 1352, found the laboratory experience "both educational and entertaining," noting that "for some reason small life forms bring smiles to adolescent faces."
At the same time Dan, Craig and I cruised the bay with the Boy Scouts. As part of our holistic approach to describing the bay, we made several stops to sample the variety of habitats where marine organisms live.
[60K] Graduate student John Pohlman talking with Boy Scout Troop 968 on board the R/V Roamin' Empire.
Our first stop was the yacht basin where we gave a "hands-on" demonstration of Secchi Disc readings and bottom grabs. We wanted to show the scouts that there is more oceanography than beaches and coral reefs. This point certainly hit home when we hauled up a grab full of gooey, anoxic mud that the scouts zealously squeezed through their fingers!
While circling Pelican Island we emphasized man's dramatic influence on the Galveston Bay ecosystem. The scouts marveled at the large tankers passing up the Houston Ship Channel and were amused by the cantankerous bird rookeries on the spoil islands.
After the Saturday activities, the scouts returned to camp while we oceanographers headed to the R/V Gyre and took up quarters for the evening. Before retiring from the day, however, we enjoyed pizza at The Foam Depot and recounted the day's experiences. Sabrina Criscione recalled that the evening was a great opportunity "to step out of my normal social circle and interact with other people in the department I do not typically see."
At 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning, we continued our exploration of the Galveston Bay aboard the Roamin' Empire, introducing the Girl Scouts to more of the ecological diversity of the Texas coast. To the delight of everyone on board, we caught a cornucopia of fish and invertebrates with the otter trawl. Monica Gorman, one of the curious girl scouts, "enjoyed learning about the variety of fish found in the bay." She now "knows how important it is to keep our oceans and estuaries clean."
[68K] Girl Scouts (left to right) Jessica Raushel, Heather Reece, Brenda Melgoza and Monica Gorman examine organisms caught during a trawl on board the R/V Roamin' Empire.
[51K] Graduate student Celia Villac (middle) shows Brenda Melgoza (left) and Monica Gorman (right) how to collect phytoplankton caught using a towed filter.
[68K] Graduate student John Pohlman demonstrates how polychaete worms use lateral appendages for crawling around in the mud.
After completing our activities, we led a discussion with the girl scouts about how the different environments we visited during the weekend are interconnected, and how harming one environment can have negative repercussions on the entire bay system. Celia Villac described what the Girl Scouts gained stating, "The twinkle in their eyes let me know that we changed their perception of the ocean from a part of the world to another world in itself."
The grand finale for the program was a tour of the R/V Gyre. Jeff Morin and Roswald Downer showed off our boat and demonstrated how to operate some of the sampling equipment. Craig concluded his lecture series with a seminar on "How O-18 isotopes are used to infer paleotemp-eratures in the ocean," followed by a short commentary on the carbonate system. Jessica Raushel admitted that this may have been "a little over her head," but she appreciated the effort nonetheless!
The encouragement and support of the troop leaders assured us that our efforts were well-received. Lorraine Reece, a Girl Scout Troop Leader, remarked that "all of the graduate students did an excellent job of conveying the necessity for a comprehensive understanding of man's impact on the marine ecosystem."
The weekend was so successful that we intend to make this program an annual event for the OGC. We all felt rewarded in terms of what we learned, what the scouts learned, how much trash was removed from the beach and salt marsh, and --most importantly-- how much fun everyone had!
The OGC would like to extend a sincere Thank You to everyone who helped make the weekend so exciting. Numerous individuals such as Paula Bontempi, Luis Fernandez, Judy Wern, and Mary Stordall were not able to join us, but without their assistance we never would have made it there. Additionally we would like to thank the friends of the OGC members who helped in Galveston, and all of the scout troop leaders. Next year we hope to see more graduate students and some of the faculty participate. There is a lot of trash to pick up and a lot of eager young scouts are ready to learn!
Oceanography, Texas A&M
University
rshatto@ocean.tamu.edu
URL=http://oceanography.tamu.edu/Quarterdeck/QD3.2/Pohlman/pohlman.html
Updated September 13, 1995
