Looking back at Bermuda 2010 ..

Sitting in the airport on our last day of Bermuda there's a bunch of things to look back at and ask yourself, "Wow, did that really happen?” The experience itself is still surreal to me. Previous students who have had the privilege of visiting beautiful Bermuda have all called it a seemingly life-changing experience. For me, when I think "life-changing" it's always big picture; a college decision, a huge scholarship or even death would all fall into that category for me. So, arriving at BIOS I knew only a part of what I was in for. First day off the bus we ate lunch, packed our gear and headed off to Whalebone, a snorkeling area. Little did we know we'd be walking the 2 mile trail to get there then spending two hours in the water searching for whatever interesting creatures we could find. Usually when people think of Bermuda they think of that song you know, "Bermuda, Jamaica, oo I wanna take ya", and it sounds like a very nice, relaxing island where you just lay back and enjoy the beach. That song doesn't mention the amazing things you would see if you didn't sit back, got up and jumped in the water for a while. Now, believe me, I am a firm believer in enjoying pink-sand beaches and only submerging in the water when it's a bit too hot but, my perspective on that has changed a bit, actually a lot. My curiosity has flown off the wall, on the night dive (which I was absolutely petrified of in the beginning) I was one of the people to keep going and push on until I got to see a 4 foot spiny lobster or a camouflaged octopus. Now for those who know me, when I first started working with seahorses I was afraid to pick one up, and those are tiny, super nice creatures! So, this trip has definitely broadened my horizons. I've never been an extremely inquisitive person about the open sea or what might be swimming below me as I enjoyed it but, for some reason, on this trip I found myself diving down 15 feet to follow three beautiful hog fish or to get a better look at some of the amazing colors on a puddingwife. Most of the places we went and the things we saw never would of been believed by my friends and family back home, or even myself for that matter, if I hadn't had the pictures to prove it. I feel as though I am forever indebted to those who made this trip possible and allowed me to finally face my fears of cliff jumping and deep waters, spike my curiosity and provide me with a truly different life-changing experience!

Grand ole memories.

As my time here comes to a close, I begin to ponder what I will take with me from this adventure. The North Rock, The Arches, Whalebone Bay, and Turtle bay were all amazing places to snorkle around and observe the marine life. The aquarium/zoo was a nice way to see these animals up close without having to look over your shoulder for your buddy or something that would take a bite out of you. But once thing I saw really touched me. We were coming back from a day at the Dockyard and we came across a long bridge. In the middle of the bridge there was a small fender-bender. Nothing serious and no one was injured. And just like a normal accident, traffic was at a standstill. But i noticed something peculiar about the stopped cars, no one was honking their horn or shouting or anything of the sort. Everyone was calm and patient about it. This made me realized that people can be kind and curtious to others. After seeing this and realizing the lesson, I told myself that if I can not be calm and serene about things that would normally bother me, I have no place here in Bermuda. And believe me, I want to return to this wonderful island. I wish I could stay longer and experience everything that this little place has to offer. But alas, I must return home. Even with all the fun I have been having with my friends here in Bermuda, I miss my family, friends and girlfriend whom i have left back home.

With serenity, Matthew Butler.

Bermuda Trip 2010!

Hey everyone, It's Ali Garofano. Im sitting here in the airport waiting to go home just reminiscing about my amazing trip to Bermuda. Im so happy I got to expierience this trip. I reccomend it to all the upcoming seniors. Do your work and strive to get good grades because this trip is worth it and without hard work it cant be possible. This trip has so much to offer, it is a great learning expierience. You get to discover a totally different world/enviorment that you never knew could exsist. Theres an opprotunity to meet new people, learn about their daily lives, and even get to see what they expierence everyday of their lives here, like the beaches, the snorkeling, and even the shopping (my personal favorite). The best part of this trip is deffinatly the snorkeling. The night dive was a bit scary, but the coral reefs and the animals that inhabit them are just to beautiful for words. It really makes you want to never swim in long island sound again. There is just no comparison. The fish here have the most gorgeaous bright colors on them, it's breathetaking. I have to say though the best part about looking at the fish is knowing what there names are and their characteristics, john makes sure you know your stuff trust me. To wrap it all up i just want to say that i regret nothing about this trip and that all the people who made this possible for me are amazing. They made my first trip out of the country a fascinating and incredible expierience. I would do it over and over again.

A life changing experience

For their last journal entry, students have been asked to reflect on how the trip has changed their lives.

Fears I've Faced

During my time in Bermuda, I've definitely faced a lot of fears. Everyone has. The fears I've faced have made me a much stronger person. I'm afraid of deep water; I tried swimming at North Rock. I'm afraid of water that I can't see the bottom and the ocean at night; I swam in the cave, and I swam in the night dive as long as I could handle the cold. I'm afraid of heights; I jumped off the cliff into the swimming hole. I'm afraid of getting my face wet; I've been snorkeling all week in BERMUDA! I'm afraid of airplane rides, even though I've been on plenty, and I flew here.
I know many people had similar fears, and we all faced them all. We all adapted and overcame our fears. I'm very proud of myself and everyone else for all the fears we've faced. I think my proudest moment was jumping off the cliff. I felt as I was falling, like I was never going to hit the water, but I finally did. The water was cold, and I lost my bikini bottoms, but it was definitely fun. The adrenaline rush was not worth missing, so I'm glad I did it. We all took a group picture of it at the end.
The night dive is also something I'm very proud of. I was very afraid of going into the ocean at night in the dark, but I have awesome teachers that would not let anything bad happen. When we were in the water, I got really cold; I was shaking, but I wanted to see a spiny lobster, so I stayed in, determined to see the distant cousin of the creatures I take care of at school. We saw a puffer fish, too, and lots of needle fish. I freaked out every time one came near me. When I got out of the water, I was really, really cold, and everyone on the shore was really helpful. It made me really happy to see how much we all want to help each other out when we need it. Even though there is some personal drama, we've all put it aside to enjoy the little amount of time we have here in this beautiful place.

Journal entry day4

Well in all honesty its Bermuda what'd you expect. Well for it to be the greatest trip thus yet, good times with people that you wouldn't normally get to spend time with. I mean 24/7 breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Through the greatest and the sad times of this week. And when the day begins and you hear that magical voice like it was from heaven "Wake up time to get ready" (Ms.Gratz) and our day begins, to some of the most B-E-A-U-TIFUL spots to hangout and snorkel. Seeing some amazing fissh and some outstanding coral reefs. Our stay here will be missed, just like the good food we are feed everyday. I only wish he was for hire because with every meal you become stuff with delicious food. And if that want enough for this trip to be made awesome we have teachers dedicated to make sure we have FUN and weaved in to all this is lectures with a learning experience that i wouldn't pass up for a house in Bermuda for. But if u haven't figured that we sound school students are not having fun your dead wrong its the time of our life and its just one memory after another and that slat water taste will go away soon but i wont forget what i was doing and seeing when i cleared my snorkel an got the saltwater back wash.

Singularly ME

So the first night dive was the 19th and I waited on the shore for those in the water. I was kind of glad that i didn't have to go the first night because I was scared to death of the water at night; I hate not knowing whats going on around me. After watching the first dive I didn't feel any better. It was nice that everyone came back alive and in one piece, but it was not enough to calm my nerves. One thing I really enjoyed about standing watch on the beach was that, without adults, I felt a little bit more of a sense of responsibility. It was really nice to be trusted like that by my teachers as well. I liked the independence overall that i hope we all gained from this trip. There is a different kind of closeness between us all now that not too many other people get to share. Doing the night dive scared me to death and I ended up getting a little sick from how cold i was, but i had a lot of friends that took care of me and got me to feel better. I got to see a spiny lobster, luckily, before I headed in from the dive. I could not believe how huge it was. Also, on our way in, Falon and I saw some kind of eel that looked like a snake and I can honestly say that I have never swam so fast in my life. Although I acted like a chicken and booked it back to shore because of an eel about as big as my arm, I still learned how well adrenaline can work. I am sad that home is closing in, but I'm glad that I will finally be able to sleep in my bed, take a normal shower, and be TOTALLY dry for the first time in a week. There will always be certain aspects of trips that make going home nice, although learning about fish in Bermuda for a week makes it tough to find a downside. It was a ton of work throughout the week, and I would still do it all again in a second.

Excerpts from journal entries

Every night while we're here, students are given a writing prompt. As I have been reading them, I am so impressed with the thoughtful reflections students are making about their experiences. Whether the writing is about what they are learning about the island or about themselves, students are taking the time to think and make meaning from their experience here. It is what education is all about. Here are a few excerpts:

"After a trip to a park we went to Cooper's Island. While there I learned that even tho things may take millenia to evolve to an environment it can all be undone with one seed."

"I feel that the fear I conquered today was letting loose. I am a very shy person so I'm not usually too outgoing. But today I was truly able to let go of myself."

"Was there a fear during our night dive? Nay I say. I reposed enough trust in our leadership to take us to areas which they would go themselves. Thus, they would make sure that we were safe from threats both organic and chemical (temperature)... My only fear was damaging the ecosystem which we were practically hugging at points."

"Fish with many colors, shy fish that swim away, and fish that could be dangerous. But it was only in vain to try and look everywhere at every fish. At the end you're left with memories and the taste of saltwater."

May 22 - Land Day

After four straight days in the water, today we'll spend some time on land. First, we'll visit the Aquarium/Zoo/Natural History Museum where the students will go on a scavenger hunt to learn about the natural and cultural history of Bermuda.

Next we'll travel by public bus and ferry to the Dockyards for lunch and some souvenir shopping. The Dockyards is a old British Fort which has now been redeveloped.

You haven't seen many blogs lately as we've been so busy snorkeling and working on projects. There should be more soon... stay posted.

May 19th

Today was spent at Walsingham Pond and Cooper's Island. Pictures and posts to follow...

Bermuda Day 2

After the first day of Bermuda I was very impressed, but after the second day, I was absolutely blown away. During the course of the day, I learned (hands on) about dozens of different species of fish and other aquatic animals and plants, as well as hundreds of other land organisms. One of my personal favorite things we have done so far is cave-snorkeling. Though we didn't see too many animals or plants, we learned that there are seventy-nine different organisms that live in the caves in Bermuda's cave system, and very few of them are endemic (native to an area, and they are only found there, nowhere else in the world) to Bermuda. Another interesting fact we learned was that the average depth for Bermudas huge cave system is eighteen feet below sea level, and therefore a lot of the caves are filled with water, something which pictures can do no real justice. These caves also collapse due to erosion from water and plants and form small pools all over the island. The caves themselves were formed in layers of sedimentary rock, which is also unfortunately why they collapse. Some of the layers of rock do not bond well with others, and allow water to easily erode the walls and ceiling of the caves. During the second half of the day we helped to get rid of invasive species of plants and replant native species on Coopers Island. My group ripped many Mexican Peppers (known as Brazilian Peppers in the rest of the world) as they are a very invasive species, and are very hard to get rid of. We then planted a Buttonwood tree that we named "Mahogany Johnson". The last part of the day was a free swim where my partner Chris Brennan and I saw many different species of fish and coral; the most interesting of them being a lion fish, a very venomous though non-aggressive fish, in a small underwater crevice. We also saw a lot of different species of Parrot Fish, Angelfish, and many other species. The only part of the day that was troublesome were the quizzes that we endured at the end of the day, proctored by none other than our very own John Roy, Rebecca Gratz, and Jeff Alpert. Needless to say, they were much scarier than any of the insects, fish, or other animals we have seen so far. I can only hope tomorrow will be just as eventful.

Whalebone Bay - Jenna-Rose

Today is Tuesday May 18th 2010,Day 1 in Bermuda. Our first journal entry is about the sights and sounds during our first day at Whalebone. Well before I start the journal entry, I would like to say that being here in Bermuda is like a whole other world, it's amazing. Lets see, where do I begin?
I'll start with the sights. It was a short trip, about a 1 mile walk to Whalebone. Everything is totally different. When we were walking the trail and you can see the ocean view, you can see how the variations of blue contrast together like a big splattered painting. We also had a view of the nature side of Bermuda. The plant life has a major variety. A few plants that I saw on the walk were the Prickly pear, The Wandering Jew and Dill. I'm proud of myself because I recognized The Wandering Jew from working in the Pardee Greenhouse. While in the water, a few of the underwater inhabitants that my group saw were juvenile parrot fish, a barracuda, a hog fish and tons of sea cucumbers. It was an amazing sight especially for me because it was my first time in Bermuda and my first time actually taking the time to gaze upon these interesting creatures I would never think of swimming with. Another interesting sight was seeing what fire coral looked like because I Didn't know how to identify it if I ever came upon it when snorkeling, but now I do. It appears to have either a yellow brown coloring or a brown orange coloring. I think that's enough about the sights. Now for the sounds. You can hear the joy and excitement from the students while walking to Whalebone. You could hear the wind lightly rustling here and there. You could also hear the motion of water as we got closer to to it. When we were in the water beginning our adventure you could hear yourself breathing and the sound of your partner saying look at that.There are many more things to describe, but we will save that for the days to come.

May 18, 2010 5:54 PM

Whalebone Bay Experience !

After arriving in Bermuda and getting settled with some lunch and a quick orientation of the basic rules and regulations of BIOS, we recieved our room assignments and quickly packed our gear and hiked down towards Whalebone Bay. In order to get to the Bay we had to travel along Railway Trail which was filled with beautiful breath taking views of the clear blue water, (yes Connecticut the water is the right color here), we quickly read the EDUCATIONAL signs which explained certain historical event's and research that you would not know about Bermuda as an island. With John and Jeff yelling out the name's of bird's, flower's, and organism's that we saw in the water we were expected to remember this all for the lecture and quiz that would be given out to us after dinner. When we had reached our final destination we rushed into our wetsuit, fin's, mask, and snorkel and tried to run backwards to keep from flopping over our oversized fins into the clear water. We then broke up into 3 groups of 4 pairs making each group 8 kids total, with my swimming buddy by my side I set off to explore the bottom, spending most of my time chasing every cool fish I saw. As I swam I began to feel more and more at home in the water as if I was a fish my self, after pruning my whole body including my lips we were all dragged out of the water to make it home in time for dinner. Luckily we were given time to explore the ground's before we ate, lecture began at 7 where we learned all the scientific names of the fish we would see while here. Now I'm off to bed with an early 6:30 wake up call.
Goodnight from Bermuda !

Sarah !

The place that which is our home for 6 days

The Atlantic Explorer


Miss. Gratz havin a laugh!

Safe and Sound and Snorkeling Already

We arrived at 11am this morning and were in the waters of Whalebone Bay by 2:15. Stay posted to read more from the students!

One last trip to the pool

Yesterday afternoon we had our last swim before Whalebone Bay! Students are in good condition and ready for hours of ocean exploration. The students swam lap after lap, worked in buddies and groups of four, raced, swam underwater, cleared their snorkels, took off and put on fins while in the water... they are ready!

We'll see you at 3am on Tuesday, May 18!

BIOS Here We Come

On May 18th, 2010, 24 students and 3 teachers from the Sound School will board a plane bound for Bermuda for a 6-day stay at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS). During our stay at BIOS, students will study and work with scientists, naturalists, and educators based at the station along with Sound School staff. We will work in the field, in the water, and at local institutions to learn about the native and indigenous flora and fauna of Bermuda. This year, we will work with BIOS staff on a habitat restoration project as well.

Each night, students will participate in a lecture and quizzes to review what they learned each day. Throughout their stay, students will work in small groups to research an area of particular interest to them, create and present a PowerPoint to their peers.

You can follow our trip on this blog!