2011

Wow!  The week has flown by faster than I could ever imagine; yet, at the same time, I can't believe how close we've all grown to the young men in the JCP group. We've had a wonderful week filled with classroom discussion, scuba skills practice, Fish/Invert ID practice, practical application of classroom studies in identifying coral reef bleaching and disease,...

Today was the first day of marine biology actually at BVI and I've got only 3 words to say. PAR-A-DISE. Since we arrived so late last night, we could not see the island view, but when i crawled out of bed this morning, I saw a view that I've only seen in National Geographic and hollywood films. Before I...

Today in class we began by finishing up our dogfish shark lab. All that me and Kells had to do was remove the skin on the head of the shark and look at the brain. The cerebellum was about the size of a cashew. Following the clean-up of this lab we began the daily discussion over the two articles....

Today the guys are dissecting two well-known species of fish. Today's dissections have been injected with latex, allowing them detailed investigation of the anatomy of the circulatory systems. The guys are doing a good job staying on task and resisting the temptation of their juvenile instincts to mutilate the fish that were sacrificed for the good of science and...

Today we learned about the different types of invertebrates that are present in the ocean. We learned that sponges are usually immobile and present on the ocean floor. In addition, they are filter feeders and take nutrients in through their side pores and release them through their top pore. Finally, the second half of class we dissected a starfish...

Today marked the beginning of the long awaited marine biology summer course! I have been looking forward to this class because of the trip to the British Virgin Islands ( which I will refer to as BVI) and to use this sweet ipad.. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the internal body systems different organisms hold. I also...

We had a great week with all of the guys from Jesuit.  I think this trip has served everyone involved, myself included, as a wonderful learning opportunity.  It has instilled in the students an appreciation, if not love, for the aquatic environments of our reefs and oceans.  I feel confident that this next generation of responsible, conservation-minded divers will...

Today was a busy day. We started waking the guys around 8am so we could meet our taxi at 8:30. Most cabins were already up and moving; it is hard to sleep too late when the windows are open and sun rises around 4:30am. Although I say that, many guys still managed to need a wake-up...

Today concluded our final day at the BVI. It all started at 8:30 as we boarded Speedy’s one final time. We drove down to the marina and ate some delicious donuts at the VISOR head quarters house. VISOR is responsible for managing emergencies around BVI.  While I was sitting and eating my friends and I saw 3 baby sharks...