"I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;"
Two days ago, I did just that -- went down to the sea again, with local high school science students. Every year a group of biology and environmental science students from Plymouth Regional High School go to Odiorne Point State Park (near Portsmouth) for an all-day working field trip. I've helped chaperone this trip for several years while I was librarian at the high school -- there were actually two of us who came out of retirement to help again this year.
Odiorne Point State Park is the last undeveloped section of shoreline in New Hampshire, is the site of the first New Hampshire settlement in 1623, and served an important military role during World War II. The salt marsh area was very important for the early settlers, who harvested the marsh hay every year. And the area was also part of the Portsmouth harbor defense during World War II; the camouflaged concrete gun casements and gun mounts are still visible.
But the varied natural habitats of Odiorne Point were the primary focus of our trip on Monday -- the salt marsh, the estuaries, and the rocky shore. The students recorded water temperatures and water density; they collected and examined organisms with a seine net (and, of course, returned all the organisms to the water).Each group ran a transect line from the top of the rocky beach down to the water edge -- they measured and mapped elevation changes along the line, measured tidal changes as the tide came in, collected plankton samples, recorded organism identification and quantities at measured points along their transect line. All this (and even more) data will be analyzed in the classroom when they get back to school.
The day was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect. Hats off to all the students, who were prepared and worked well together. And hats off to the hard-working teachers and aides who plan and run this valuable hands-on educational experience!!
