2017 in Review: A Year of Sailing, Science and Setting Our Sights on Future Growth
All together now!
This year marked a big milestone for Salish, our 20th year of hands-on learning on the Salish Sea. It was an eventful year, with many eager student scientists conducting research to investigate science questions of their own design.
Salish students completed many interesting marine research projects, which included comparing the presence of plankton with the presence of copper, water pH compared to plankton abundance, and abundance of zooplankton as compared to the abundance of phytoplankton.
Spring was action packed with 65 program days and 500 students participating in our programs, exploring Puget Sound as scientists, captains, navigators and crew. The season concluded with our annual student science symposium, which featured Dr. Thomas Poole as keynote presenter and many stellar student presentations, like this one.
Summer camps on Bainbridge Island brought students to Fort Ward to explore the intertidal zone and collect water data via buoys that campers built and deployed. You can read more about their explorations here.
This fall went by in a flash, and included some fun programs with our “neighborhood” schools such as Chief Kitsap Academy, Odyssey Multi-Age and Woodward Middle School. We also hosted an all-women crew and girls program with the Girl Scouts of Western Washington.
A 3D scan of M/V Elettra
While our SOUND programs have been smooth sailing, we’re also making progress on our new education vessel, the M/V Elettra III. Over the summer, with the support of our partners at Pacific Fishermen Shipyard and Elliott Bay Design Group, we hauled the vessel out to complete a 3D scan and generate a model of the hull. While she was out of the water, all essential valves were checked. This is an exciting step in our refit!
When Elettra returned to the water, we hosted Port of Seattle interns for a day of marine technology and exploration, and a shipyard tour, as part of our partnership with the Youth Maritime Collaborative. We’re eager to move on to the next phase of the refit, and closer to our goal of tripling our number of program days for hands-on learning on the Salish Sea.
All together 2017 was a resounding success, and we look forward to launching another engaging year of marine education in 2018. We still have room for YOUR school to participate. Contact us for available dates before its too late: (206) 780-7848 ext. 2 or email educationdirector@salish.org.
