Brentwood Takes On Bamfield

19 September 2018Birkley V, Allard ‘19 & Erika C, Hope ‘19

An iconic bus ride along the VERY bumpy roads led the 30+ students of AP Biology 12 and AP Environmental Science to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (BMSC) for a weekend of exploration and learning. Neophytes to the journey ahead of us, we were pleasantly surprised by the accommodations and warm hospitality that Bamfield offered on Vancouver Island’s rugged west coast. Each year, students from Brentwood have the opportunity to embark on a marine sciences adventure and get a taste of the life of a marine biologist. To begin our weekend, the guides lead us on a nature walk through the temperate rainforest, where we observed the interactions between living systems and were introduced to ecology. Shortly after, we were thrown into a wet lab investigating primary productivity of two different species of seaweed, Macro and Ulva. Leaving our seaweed samples to photosynthesize, we moved to the Whale Lab to learn about reproduction and invertebrates. With the assistance of our guide, Algebra (yes her name is really Algebra, and no her brother’s name is not Calculus … but it is Luke Skywalker), we fertilized sand dollar embryos for a first-hand view on the reproductive process. Unfortunately, the rain prevented us from seeing the bioluminescence that night, so we gathered inside for a fierce game of spoons. The next morning we woke up bright and early while everyone back at Brentwood had their Saturday sleep-in. We were served a delicious breakfast before starting our day by designing our own Lab. We were provided with a range of sea creatures such as sea anemones, starfish, swimming scallops, and sea cucumbers, to test their behavioural changes in various conditions. Following our brief session in the classroom, we took to the outdoors to conduct a lab on Brady’s Beach, where we analyzed the organisms living in the intertidal zone. While on the beach, we were greeted by a short thunderstorm. We were, however, fortunate enough to have sunshine for most of the weekend. Making our way back to BMSC, we executed the labs we designed that morning. Our labs helped us better understand the scientific method and taught us a lot about the behaviour of certain marine animals. With this knowledge, we created short presentations to display our results to our peers. To end a day of hard work in the labs, we danced the night away on Pachena Bay Beach and enjoyed a bonfire under a blanket of stars. We were awakened at what felt like the crack of dawn and herded down to the Foreshore, ready for a day on the ocean. In Grappler Inlet, we studied oceanography by testing different variables and collecting plankton samples from various depths. With the samples, we shifted to the lab to take a microscopic look at what we found. To end our marine science expedition, we travelled into open ocean to dredge the ocean floor, gathering the sea creatures living far below the surface. It was a bittersweet ending, as we were sad to leave but excited to get to our comfy beds back in Mill Bay. The hands-on experience taught us more than we could have learned in a classroom, and provided us with great memories that will last a lifetime. It is safe to say that ours eyes were opened to the astonishing nature that lives at Bamfield and we are so thankful for the experience. With our marine-biology-packed weekend wrapping up, we piled back onto the bus with our eyelids feeling heavy and smiles still on our faces. Driving for hours on the bumpy gravel road back to Port Alberni, the Brentwood was the perfect way to end the perfect weekend! We’d like to thank Mr David McCarthy, Mr Adam Rodrigues and Ms Moyra Bell for all of the time, effort and good cheer they gave to our learning experience. Birkley V, Allard ‘19 & Erika C, Hope ‘19

Where Students Choose To Be