Last weekat the Boothbay Sea and Science Center we focused on marine debris and the technology used to remove it from our oceans. On Monday, we looked at how marine debris ends up in the ocean. Our Stay’s’ls  (ages 9 – 17) built a watershed model and created a story that hypothesized where and if any pollutants would emerge. With the Mizzens (ages 5 – 8) there was story time, a trash hunt relay race, a watershed activity, and trash cleanup of our tidepools. The Mizzens collected 19.7 lbs. of marine debris! 

On Tuesday we focused on marine technology, specifically ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicles). Stay’s’ls and Mizzens got to operateSeaPerch ROVs off our floats - maneuvering them through an obstacle course. Stay’s’ls and Mizzens also got to design their dream ROV and Stay’s’lsmade models out of recycled material. Unfortunately,with weather not on our sidewe relocated to the Boatshed and watched an episode of Blue Planet II that covered many examples of “our mess” including entanglement, overfishing, noise pollution, plastic consumption, and much more.  

On Wednesday, we made our way to the Boothbay Region Transfer Station. We are grateful to Rena who gave us an amazing tour of the Station that included watching an excavator load “trash” into a dumpster. Trivia questions related to the experience brought the learning full circle. During the afternoon the Mizzens explored how seabirds come to ingest plastics via a seagull snack dash. And we created a trash timeline showing how long everyday items stay in the environment and we also played “marine debris” bingo. We ended our day with a journal reflection about what we learned.  

On Thursday we focused on the impact marine debris has on our environment that included challenges such as entanglement and oil spill removal along with a conversation about the recent oil spill in the Kennebec River. As is the tradition every summer we began preparation for the “Trashion” Show. The Stay’s’l campers createdcostumes using only recycled material, duct tape, and string. While the Mizzens made musical instruments out of recycled objects such as bottle cap paper plate tambourines, plastic jug guitars, and water jug drums to name a few. With the weather once again forcing us to take coveran episode of Blue Planet II taught us about coral reef ecosystems and how they’ve been impacted by climate change.  

On Friday the Stay’s’lsput the finishing touches on their“TrashionFashion” and unanimously pledged to reduce marine debris. There was an amazing runway of “Trashion Show” models and hats off to the Stay’s’lsfor their incredible creations. The day ended with the Mizzenscreating signs to demonstrate activism and along with their “trashy musical instruments” marched around the BSSC campus chanting slogans about reducingthe use of plastic like “No Pollution is the Solution”. We had an amazing Week 5 at BSSC! Everyone learned so much about the impact of marine debris and the goal for cleanoceans. 

We had an amazing week of sailing at BSSC!Due to high morning wind, our Mizzens had the opportunity to sail on our fleet of bigger boats that includes 2 Sonars, 2 Precision 15s, and a Rhodes 19 that theytypicallydon’tget to sail in the morning. In addition, they spent plenty of time learning and mastering points of sail, parts of the boat, and proper rowing technique. The Stay’s’ls faced similar conditions, taking our big boats out on long sails that at times found them beyond Spruce Point. Despite weather conditions making it impossible to go out certain days, especially on our smaller Turnabouts, the campers still earned many “beads” for their skill bracelets by demonstrating their mastery of knots, rowing, rigging, and so much more.