Let’s start by explaining what a tide pool is so this will make sense to everyone. Tide pools happen when tides leave small pockets of seawater separated by sand or rocks from the main body of water. These are usually teeming with sealife and make excellent areas for exploration and learning adventures. When the Gap Year students at Forfar Field Station went tidepooling, they found many fascinating marine animals.
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Forfar Field Station is a facility run by the non-profit International Field Studies, Inc. (IFS) to provide education and scientific research. The Gap Year program is a six-week immersive marine biology field study program. One of the activities is exploring the tide pool near the facility at Money Point. The students found plenty of run-of-the-mill sea life, but they also had some interesting finds.
There were some creepie crawlie critters. Yuck!
Some alien-looking brittle stars.
Very adorable teeny-tiny little crustaceans.
In addition to the tide pool finds above, the team of students found cowries, a minnow-sized fish, and sea urchins. The day was a success, and everyone enjoyed the respite from intensive studies.
When they aren’t having fun exploring the tide pool, the Gap Class has a robust curriculum that includes an introduction to Marine Biology, reef fish and identifying invertebrates, scuba diving, sea kayaking, coral reef biology and conservation, and blue hole water chemistry. On land, the students learn about invasive species control, sustainable fishing, Bahamian culture, ecology and geology of the Bahamas, ecotourism, and the care and feeding of mangrove forests.
Students live on the island for the entire training session. It’s an excellent way to see if marine biology fits well for any qualifying student.
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