Finishing up our final week in Pensacola was a great way to
end the course. Throughout this trip we have boated through salt marshes, snorkeled
in the keys, walked through mangroves, studied on the Weatherbird, and studied
watershed. Each place we visited was so unique and special. I have lived my
entire life in South Florida so when we first arrived in Pensacola, I was amazed
at how it did not look like Florida. The dense trees covering the rolling hills
was something I had never seen in Florida before.
Working with Dr. Caffrey and Barbara was an amazing experience,
they are both extremely knowledgeable about watershed and Pensacola’s environment.
On Monday we explored various creeks, we learned how important these creeks are
for our nearby beaches. I did not know much about this because I have not been
around many river systems. On Tuesday we walked through Tarkiln Bayou where we learned
about longleaf pine trees. I never thought about how long it takes for these
beautiful trees to grow. We could measure the diameter of the tree and enter
the number into an equation, and it would give us an estimate on how old this
longleaf pine is, I thought that was very interesting. I also had no idea how
important fires are for longleaf pines. After walking through Tarkiln Bayou we
went to GUIS and did seagrass monitoring before we were rained out. On Wednesday
we woke up very early and used a drone to look for stingrays. It was interesting
to be able to use a drone and see so clearly what was in the water. After the using
the drone, we drove to a shorebird nesting site and watched black skimmers sit
on their nests. On Thursday we did seagrass surveys and then listened to UWF students
talk about their sea turtle research. Friday, we wrapped up with presentations
on watershed about the places we have visited throughout this course.
I am very happy that I fought my imposters syndrome and
decided to take this course. I learned so much that will help me for years to
come. I have a new family now and I will miss seeing everyone every day.
No comments:
Post a Comment