On Board the OSV BOLD: A Science Lesson, Outside the Classroom
Posted on February 23rd, 2009 - 3:00 PMAbout the author: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division.
February 20, 2009 - 8:20 am (Day 12)
In a previous blog titled “52 Ways to Save the Environment, Part II”, I suggested teachers and educators to take their lesson outside of the classroom to put their students in direct contact with nature. Yesterday, around 550 people, including nearly 30 teachers and many students, from the western side of the island came to have a science lesson outside of the classroom during EPA’s Open Ship event in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
Students learned about the ship’s layout and latest technology, and had the opportunity to ask scientists, EPA personnel from the San Juan Office, and University of Puerto Rico professor’s questions. All of us gladly shared our knowledge and experiences and spoke about life aboard the Bold, as well as many of our every day duties as environmental protection professionals.
I wish I had had the opportunity when I was growing up that these students were given yesterday. Science is fascinating even when taught from a book, but it really comes alive when you can see it in action. In most environmental science careers, people get to bring together science and creativity to work towards a greater good, protecting ecosystems and people’s health.
I hope that many of the students that participated in the Open Ship yesterday get a new perspective on science and with our shared experiences pursue a career in the environmental protection field.
Tags: BOLD Research Vessel, puerto rico, students
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February 25th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Reading all of these adventures on the Bold brings back fond memories of the semester I spent at sea (through SEA Education Association) during my junior year in college. A six week shore component in Woods Hole, MA was followed by six weeks of sailing from Florida, through the Caribbean, up to Bermuda, then Nova Scotia and back to Woods Hole. We collected oceanographic data along the way and had individual research projects in addition to other studies (and learning how to sail!). I knew this type of program was for me because I spent the previous summer studying fish recruitment to artificial reefs on the island of South Caicos in a School for Field Studies program. Many years later my niece studied wildlife management in Kenya through the same school.
So, while not everyone may get a chance to visit the Bold there are programs and opportunities available, even for high school students, to experience oceanography and other types of field work first hand. This is a great way to figure out if you’d like to someday be a scientist on the Bold or elsewhere. Leave the classroom and get into the field - you’ll be happy that you did!
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