On Friday, Sept. 11, Coginchaug’s Oceanography and UConn Oceanography classes boarded the 8:00 a.m. ferry to discover a new perspective of the beaches of Block Island with chaperones Mrs. Susan Michael, Ms. Lorrie Martin, Mrs. Laura Francis, and Ms. Lukenbach.
Senior Brennan Bates thought it was important to go on this trip because it gave him “a real-life application of oceanography instead of a lesson inside the classroom.”
Within the course of their 8-hour trip, the students got the opportunity to learn about the history of 1874 Southeast Lighthouse on the Mohegan Bluffs. “With an irreplaceable French Lens, the lighthouse was moved in 1993 due to unforgiving erosion,” tour guide Lisa Nolman told students.
The students learned how the erosion affected not only the antique lighthouse but also the beaches themselves, such as West Beach. Instructor Judy Gray let the students see the erosion for themselves when she taught them how to “shore profile” using specified meter sticks and shoreline-reading techniques.
The steady diminishing of Block Island beaches is not the only issue that people are pushing to help prevent but also the use of unnatural Diesel energy plants; Bryan Wilson, manager of Deepwater Wind’s Block Island Wind Farm, presented plans to install offshore wind turbines as a source of clean and safe energy.
In addition to listening and learning about discoveries and plans for the future of BI, the students were able to discover a few things themselves at Andy’s Way. Within the tidal flats, the students caught and analyzed a variety of marine creatures such as shrimp, squid, scallops, and horseshoe crabs.
Students grasped a clearer idea of the Oceanography course they enrolled in and why people choose related jobs. Senior Sam Vigue said, “This field trip gave me another reason why I might want to go into Environmental Science as a career.”
