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These articles were published in the Padilla Bay Newsletter
Back to School Thoughts
By Emily Mendell
Published Fall 2008
It's probably on your mind: In a few days, kids and teachers will be forced from parks, hammocks, and Slip 'n Slides to rooms filled
with metal desks and concrete floors. Even if you're not directly attached to the school calendar, you are probably still aware of the
ensuing event. It is, after all, the best time of year to get a great deal on #2 pencils.
At Padilla Bay, back to school means the return of muddy footprints, excited voices, and exhausted chaperones. Each fall and spring,
we host thousands of students from regional public and private schools who spend the day visiting the interpretive center, learning how
to make "estuary soup," searching for plants and animals at the beach, and viewing life under a microscope.
As we prepare for the upcoming flood, I have taken some time to reflect on my past 10 months here. What can I do better? What will I
change about how I teach? What has this job taught me?
I can't remember a day at Padilla Bay that I didn't learn something from a kid. Sometimes, really important things like, "A starfish's
face is also its butt." And, "Detritus looks weird." I've picked up subtler information from observing how students act and react when
exposed to new things. For example, I've learned that a group of fourth-graders inherently sees more in a mudflat than a group of adults.
Perhaps because they are closer to the ground; perhaps because they aren't afraid to touch, smell, and discover. I've learned that kids
identified in the classroom as 'the trouble makers' are often the most engaged at the beach. And I've learned that a lot of students who
grow up in Western Washington have never had the opportunity to dig up a clam or describe how a sea anemone feels.
Of course, I've also learned from my mistakes: Never ask a preschooler how old he is--unless I have 10 minutes to spare. Telling students
to avoid patches of soft, squishy mud is interpreted as a challenge to seek out the softest, squishiest patch of mud. And if crabs are in
sight, trying to get kids to focus on birds, or tides, or anything else is futile.
In the true spirit of reflection, I have also been thinking about what a kid takes away from our programs. As well intentioned as we are,
we spend less than a day with these groups. When time's up, did we actually make a difference? I think so.
If there is one element prevalent in all effective environmental education, it's experience. In his book The Thunder Tree: Lessons from
an Urban Wildland , Robert Michael Pyle writes, "So it goes, on and on, the extinction of experience sucking the life from the land, the
intimacy from our connections." Pyle argues that kids have fewer and fewer opportunities to wonder about and draw excitement from the natural
world. We have parks and playgrounds, but these public places are intended for picnics and strolls along short gravel trails. Although these are
both good activities, neither encourages intimate connections. They don't (contined from page 7)
necessarily require involvement or discovery. Sometimes, a kid needs to dig a hole, hold a critter, or watch a fish die before
the abstract idea of nature becomes real. There are times when observing PowerPoint presentations, doing Internet research, and
watching nature documentaries are appropriate. But in many cases, these secondhand activities have robbed us of genuine experience.
And lack of experience breeds apathy.
When we take groups of kids to the mudflat, we supply them with shovels, jars, trays, and a very specific job: Find as many
different types of plants and animals as possible. Our goal is not for the students to be able to identify everything they collect
or remember what each animal eats and how long it lives--we could do that in a windowless classroom. While digging through the mud,
we hope they will discover something new and interesting. Something surprising and question-raising. Something that sparks their
curiosity to explore their own backyard or schoolyard or the vacant lot down the street. Students do not comb the beach casually
here; they are encouraged to (literally) dig in. With the tickle of a polychaete worm, the quick encounter with the mud monster,
the sting of salt water in a cut, students are building connections to and finding joy in this place...their place...without being
told by an adult what to think. I'm not sure how long a kid remembers the facts that we spew at them (like "plankton provide 50%
of the oxygen we breath," but I am certain that the experience (and other ones like it) has a long-term impact.
David Sobel, author of Beyond Ecophobia, wrote, "What's important is that children have an opportunity to bond with the natural
world, to learn to love it, before being asked to heal its wounds." An intimate connection to place translates to respect and
appreciation for that place, which will grow to respect and appreciation for all places. Where connections are made, Band-Aids
will follow.
I've learned a lot in the past 10 months. I've learned about tides, and the importance of eelgrass, and the life cycle of a
barnacle. Perhaps most importantly, I've learned that a fieldtrip to Padilla Bay is more than just a day spent digging in the
mudflat. And that working here is more than just putting on a pair of hip boots and a smile. We are training our kids to be
compassionate, responsible citizens. We are helping to build a sense of community and connectedness to the natural world...one
muddy, wet foot at a time.
What Do Seals in Padilla Bay Eat?
By Amy Campbell
Published Winter 2007/08
Harbor seals are a common marine predator here in Puget Sound. In fact, since the passage of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act, harbor seal populations have increased tenfold. This raises concerns about how seals could impact
protected marine environments where prey species are recovering. Declining salmon stocks have been of particular
concern in our region, and often the blame is placed on the seal's appetite for marine fish. Do they eat enough
salmon to account for the declining numbers, or might there be other factors involved? What else do seals eat?
Does their diet have a negative impact on recovery of depleted species? These are a few of the questions that
must be addressed to better understand the harbor seal's influence on marine ecosystems.
Katie Luxa, a graduate student at Western Washington University, is conducting research to help answer
some of these questions. Her Master's thesis project focuses on the diet of Pacific harbor seals in Padilla
Bay. 
Katie Luxa collecting samples at seal haul-out sites via Kayak.
Katie kayaked to seal haul-out sites in Padilla Bay and Drayton Harbor where she collected scat, or fecal
samples. The undigested bones and hard parts of the prey were then removed and identified, providing
information about the variety and quantity of prey eaten by harbor seals.
Katie is also studying other aspects of seal foraging habits, such as seasonal variation in diet and
variations between the soft-bottomed habitats of Padilla Bay and Drayton Harbor and the rocky habitats of
the San Juan Islands.
Sample collection was recently completed and Katie is now working on finishing identification of the
prey species. Some of the prey identified so far from the Padilla Bay seals includes Pacific staghorn
sculpin, gunnels, snake prickleback, shiner perch, and flatfish. Prey found in the Drayton Harbor samples
is similar; however these seals enjoy a greater abundance of Pacific herring and threespine
stickleback. There is more information
about Katie Luxa's research.
Graduate Researcher Studies Effects of Macroalgae on Crabs
by Liz Leavens
Published Summer 2007
Dungeness zoea
Dungeness megalopa
One year old Dungeness
Adult Dungeness, 6 inches
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True crabs, such as Dungeness crabs, go through an intricate life cycle. They molt, or shed
their skin many times as planktonic larvae floating in the water column and undergo a metamorphic molt to what
is called the megalopae stage. To learn more about this, one needs only to sit down with the recipient of a
Padilla Bay NERR Graduate Research Fellowship award, Elizabeth Harvey.
With her Bachelor's in Marine Science from the University of Maine under her belt, Liz is pursuing a
Master's degree in Environmental Science from the Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington
University in Bellingham. With guidance from her graduate advisor, Director of Shannon Point Marine Center,
Dr. Stephen Sulkin, Ms. Harvey has developed a research project addressing the effects that large algae or
"macroalgae" in high densities may have on true crabs.
During the megalopae stage in their life cycle, true crabs settle from the water into a habitat suitable
for juvenile existence. Previous research has shown that megalopae prefer settlement in complex habitats
such as eelgrass, oyster beds, and high-density macroalgae. Yet, certain chemicals, such as dopamine,
associated with the decaying of some macroalgal species are toxic to invertebrates. Along with this,
macroalgae often creates low-oxygen conditions harmful to the aquatic community, including juvenile
crabs. So, researchers question why megalopae settle in a habitat that is potentially detrimental to
their survival.
Liz conducted her research in both the laboratory and the field. Megalopae were collected from
Padilla Bay and the surrounding area and brought back to the lab to observe settling behavior
(macroalgae versus sediment) and dopamine effects. Field studies took place within the Padilla
Bay Reserve. Crabs were collected from high-density macroalgae and the sediment underneath for
comparison. Quantity and size variation of the crabs was recorded.
Preliminary research from the summer of 2006 showed there were more crabs in the macroalgae than
in the sediment beneath. This trend held true for two of the collection days when the macroalgae
was in full bloom. Twelve days later on the third sampling date, there were very few crabs in either
the decaying macroalgae or the sediment. Lab results also show that dopamine had an adverse effect
on the crabs used in the study.
This research indicates that the environment under macroalgae is not suitable for juvenile crabs.
So why do they settle there? We're still wondering. |
Lights, Camera,
Action - starring the March's Point Herons!
Published Spring 2007
In 2006 a group of citizen volunteers with Leadership Skagit teamed up with Skagit Land Trust
and Padilla Bay Research Reserve to install a video camera in the March's Point Heronry. The camera,
secured high up in a tree, is linked remotely to the Padilla Bay Research Reserve, where the public
can view the action. This "Heron Cam" provides virtual access to tell the Great Blue Herons' remarkable
story. As one visitor exclaimed, "You mean it's a live camera? We're really seeing a bird that's there
right now?" The answer is "Yes!" Plans are underway now to send the live images to Padilla Bay's website
where anyone with Internet access can enjoy it.
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The true stars are the herons themselves. The March's Point Heronry sits on
six acres of land owned by several owners, one of which is Skagit Land Trust. With over 550 pairs
of nesting adult Great Blue Herons plus their young, this heronry is believed to be the largest of
its type in all of Puget Sound, and quite
possibly, in all of the Western United States.
You are invited to view the herons and their chicks in "real time" in the main exhibit room at
the Breazeale Interpretive Center anytime from Early March until the babies fledge. You can
also see it on the web. |
Western High Arctic Brant
Published Spring 2007
Western High Arctic "Gray Belly" Brant are a unique stock of brant and one of the
most rare goose populations in the world numbering less than 10,000.
Maynard Axelson. Founder of the Washington Brant Foundation,
has recently been involved in an international effort to monitor the migration of this rare local goose
using radio transmitters and satellite technology. |
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Grey bellies breed in Canada's Parry Islands, migrate
along the coast of Alaska, and winter almost exclusively in Puget Sound. Using satellite telemetry,
scientists can track individual birds along their migration route. A transmitter is surgically implanted
and signals sent to an orbiting satellite and relayed to a data center. Melville Island is the main
breeding area, where the birds spread out widely in very harsh habitat. Reproduction can be very low
in some years due to extreme weather conditions. Recent tracking showed that some of these birds migrate
overland through the Yukon Territory. Because of their later breeding chronology, Western High Arctic
Brant migrate after Black Brant in both spring and fall.
New Facilities Completed
Published Winter 2005/06
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25 Years and a Beautiful New Facility.
The sun shone on an enthusiastic crowd of well-wishers and long-time Padilla Bay supporters for Padilla Bay's Facility Dedication and 25th
Anniversary Open House October 1, 2005. The Reserve was honored by the presence of many supporters, including US Senator Patty Murray, the
director of Department of Ecology, Jay Manning, and Eldon Hout, the director of NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.
At left, Jay Manning, Patty Murray and Terry Stevens, Reserve Manager, cut the eelgrass ribbon with a hefty pair of lopping shears. |
Congress provided the majority of the funding with a $5.47 million appropriation. These funds, administered by NOAA, required
matching funds from non-federal sources at a rate of $1 non-federal funds for every $2.30 of federal funds. The non-profit Padilla
Bay Foundation took the challenge and succeeded in raising $168,000. State funds provided the rest.
With hard work from the Foundation and generous help from many private and corporate donations the Reserve now serves the
community with a new meeting room accommodating up to 100 people, a new research laboratory, a public library focused on estuary
resources, and new office space for staff and volunteers. The Breazeale farmhouse was renovated with new insulation, an energy
efficient furnace, and improved use of space. Visiting research scientists can now stay in the new bunkhouse and the beautiful
barn was reinforced to meet seismic code requirements. The barn interior was also improved and photovoltaic panels were installed
on its south-facing roof to capture solar energy.
Reserve staff members and the Department of Ecology are thankful for this great expression of commitment from the community.
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