Pool school

For the better part of the school year, middle schoolers have been learning indoors and out about beach habitats and how to maintain them.

By Nathan Whalen • May 28, 2008 8:53 pm
Seventh-graders Maddy Mosolino and McKenzie Schneider along with parent Paige McGuire study tide pool charts while fighting off a chilly breeze.
Seventh-graders Maddy Mosolino and McKenzie Schneider along with parent Paige McGuire study tide pool charts while fighting off a chilly breeze.

For the better part of the school year, middle schoolers have been learning indoors and out about beach habitats and how to maintain them.

Their project wrapped up Wednesday when students from Oak Harbor Middle School journey outdoors to Rosario Head at Deception Pass State Park to study the environment up close and personal.

Alan Bailey, who teaches life sciences at the school, said students have spent the year learning about the relationship between the Puget Sound beach and the community. Throughout the year, students have learned about the shoreline from the WSU Extension Beach Watchers and participated in a cleanup at Keystone beach, among other activities.

During Wednesday’s field trip, students explored and studied two different beaches, a rocky Rosario beach laced with tide pools and a pebble beach at Quiet Cove. Departing from the theme of the day, they also learned the story of the Maiden of Deception Pass, which is a Samish Indian legend.

The students, armed with booklets and magnifying glasses, clearly enjoyed discovering and learning about the creatures they found in the tide pools.

“I really liked the Christmas anemone. It was bright and colorful,” said seventh-grader Jack Frantz.

Dustin Mirabal was most impressed by the sea cucumber.

“I liked the color and how it was trying to hide from my touch,” Mirabal said.

Molly Murdock also enjoyed viewing the sea cucumber, which she aptly described as “pointy, red and weird looking.” She also learned about the fragile nature of the shoreline and how something as simple as walking can kill the wildlife if one is not careful.

Sammye Kempbell, a volunteer with the Beach Watchers, told the seventh-graders about an incident in 1995 where 1,200 mainland students showed up at the same time and stripped the rocky shoreline of life.

“It was nothing but a moonscape,” Kempbell said.

She outlined the rules the students should follow when examining the tide pools and pointed out the path students should follow. They didn’t leave a trace of their visit, which is how beaches should be treated.