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Location: Sandy Spit, Green Cay
I was awoken by the sound of rain and the fresh smell of eggs. Today, I had the role of “skipper of the day,” and I was super excited to drive the boat. We all got into “research mode” while sailing to our first destination, which was about fifteen minutes away. Today, the Preserving Paradise students conducted a seagrass monitoring survey, while the Rebuilding Island Life students headed to a school to paint encouraging messages on their bathroom walls. As the Preserving Paradise students reached their destination, we soon headed into the murky water to start our research. Due to the turbidness of the water, it was pretty difficult to conduct our research and take clear pictures, which was a very important part of the data collection. After a while, we all ate some lunch and decided to snorkel for lionfish on a beautiful coral reef. Lionfish are invasive and harmful to coral reef ecosystems, so part of our research/service day was trying to mark their locations. To finish the day, we went to a relaxing barbecue, hung out with friends, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.