Journal Reflection 1- Summer Bridge
The summer bridge was on one of the greatest experiences I had the honor to participate in. I was able to learn so much about the Chesapeake Bay while on the Hull Springs Farm trip, and bond with my fellow Life STEM peers. One of my favorite experiences would have to be on the boat with Captain Rowe. We were able to learn about the oyster farming industry, and the complex mechanics it takes to raise and grow these oysters. The importance of the oysters to the ecosystem of the bay were also discussed, and we were able to learn more about the state the bay is in currently. With Captain Rowe, we were able to pull aboard crabs and other creatures of the bay onto the boat to get a closer look. What amazed me the most was all the different creatures found in the bay. I had no idea there were flounders in the Chesapeake Bay, yet we pulled quite a few out with the fishing net. While it was fun and interesting to get a closer look at these creatures by pulling them aboard, it also made us aware to the damage of commercial fishing, and how it harms and environment. While we did not intend to harm any fish, the small fishing net we had ended up killing a lot of fish and putting many in shock they could not get out of. We reflected on how the big commercial fishing nets might impact the ocean, since those nets are much larger and are dragged for miles through the ocean, compared to us just dragging a much smaller net for a few minutes. Overall, the experience was very eye opening to the state of the bay and how humans impact the environment there. The picture below was on the boat with Captain Rowe after pulling up all the different fish from the bay. We were all amazed to see flounders were part of the ecosystem in the Chesapeake Bay. It was a big eye opener to the complexity of the ecosystem in the bay, and how we underestimated how large of an ecosystem it is.
