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  In recent weeks, we’ve turned the focus of our Ecology class from the far of coral reefs of French Polynesia to something a little closer to home – salmon. We talked about the importance of salmon for a healthy ecosystem and their role as a keystone species of the Pacific Northwest. Their journey from streams to the open ocean, and back again, transfers key nutrients to the forests of the region. Over the past hundred and eighty years, white settlers in the region have disrupted salmon in a number of ways. Things like overfishing, the introduction of invasive species, and increased pollution have led to a significant decline in salmon populations, to the point where they are now in danger.   There are multiple groups in the region fighting hard for the protection of the salmon, including a 14 group coalition called the Regional Fisheries Coalition. In this service learning experience, we worked with one of their partners, the Mid-Sound Fisheries Enhancement group. In ...

Throughout the past couple of weeks our class has been learning about salmon and their role as a keystone species in the Pacific Northwest. To augment this learning we participated in a fishing simulation as class, to help further understand the effects of overfishing and the politics surrounding it. To play this game, our class was divided into companies. A company was comprised of two people, and each company began the game with three ships. As the game went on, a company could acquire more boats either by building them or buying them at the auction.  For the first few rounds, there were plenty of fish in both the deep sea and the coastal waters, so most companies bought as many ships as possible and sent them into the more profitable deep sea. As the years went by, the number of fish started decreasing. Suddenly, sending your ships to the deep ocean was a good way to lose money, and soon people began losing money in the coastal waters as well. Companies began desperately tryin...

Monday November 7, 2022 During a class period in early November, we had the privilege of sitting down to talk with Joe Williams, a prominent political figure of the Swinomish Tribe and devoted fisherman. Joe has dedicated his life to fishing and helping to keep the traditional Swinomish practices of living off the land alive. He served on the tribal senate for five years starting in 2016 and continues to be an important figure while also staying heavily involved in the tribe’s projects focused on marine restoration. While talking with him, he told us about the importance of stewardship within his community and how much they depend on salmon and the health of their fisheries. He said that he always tries to stay on the water and is always vocal about restoration.  We talked more about the significance of salmon in his culture and community which helped us further our comprehension of salmon’s ecological importance. The Swinomish people view salmon as relatives, family members, that ...

On November 8th and 9th, we set our alarms extra early and gathered at Helene Madison pool for our fist snorkeling lessons of the year. Doing this work to familiarize ourselves with snorkeling now will help to maximize our time in the water on our trip. As it was many of our first times snorkeling, we learned a few very important things. First, we learned to prevent fogging my spitting in our masks. Once we fitted our masks comfortably, our next task was to practice clearing water out of the mask by simply pushing in the center and exhale sharply through the nose. Perhaps one of the more important lessons we learned on the first day was how to clear water from the air tube. We did this by placing our tongues in the mouthpiece and exhaling sharply through the mouth. After an informative first day working with the masks, our class spent most of our time on the second day learning how to move our bodies through the water using our snorkels and flippers. Kicking from the hip in order to ut...

  After setting our alarms the day prior, our Ecological Studies class arrived at Helene Madison Pool bright and early at 6 am. With varying levels of enthusiasm, we were tasked with 10 minutes of treading water, followed by 8 lengths of the pool (200m) to gauge our comfort in the water. As we splashed into the pool, Mr. Joneschild encouraged us to visualize ourselves in the waters of French Polynesia. Our swim began, and with each passing minute, we celebrated every small victory. Being the last one to finish our 8 lengths, I was met with welcoming applause from my classmates. Our group effort established an encouraging and supportive environment–something very important for our eventual 3-week venture to French Polynesia. After the swim, we gathered for a group breakfast at Lakeside. While we ate, we discussed important considerations for our trip–if you’re a morning person, if you speak any French, or even if you prefer sriracha over tabasco. Hopefully, these conversations and g...

In class today, we came together to share our short presentations on parrotfish. We had previously been working in small groups on researching a specific topic related to parrotfish– allowing us to sharpen our ability to read and understand scientific research papers as well as learn more about parrotfish, which we will see during our trip! Each group came together and combined the information they gained from their individual research to create a short presentation conveying the most important and interesting facts to the rest of the group. Here are some of my favorite things we learned about: Did you know that parrotfish cover themselves in a “sleeping bag” or a mucous envelope each night to protect them from predators? Did you know that parrotfish feed using both grazing and excavation methods? Did you know that parrotfish are able to change sexes throughout their life, which is reflected by their behaviors and appearance (color)? Did you know that parrotfish act as bioeroders, pl...