Ms. Collier
Anacapa Island Volunteer Trip
Marlborough students had the opportunity to work with biologists from the California Institute of Environmental Studies to remove invasive plants (aka weeding) to make room for native plants as part of their current restoration efforts.
We had the opportunity to take a group of students to Anacapa Island (Channel Islands National Park) this weekend. We got to school early, drove in the pouring rain, and had some incredibly rough ocean to cross. Despite it all, our 21 student volunteers (grades 7-12!) showed up and brought much enthusiasm and positivity. They helped pull cheese weed (see photos) from restoration plots and a group took a hike to Inspiration Point. The sun came out the latter half of the day and we were greeted with four California Gray Whales on our very smooth ride back.
It was wonderful to see many girls out of their comfort zones (one afraid of boats!) and really immersing themselves in the day. While they were allowed to have their phones, they were focused on the tasks at hand, and were laughing with each other, interfacing with students they didn’t know, and greatly enjoying the mud squishing beneath their feet. It was a great exercise in enjoying the little things and valuing the sunshine after the rain (quite literally). We ended the day all tuckered out!
Thank you to our amazing chaperones: Jay Buckley, Khanichi Charles, and Nicole Beck who made the day run smoothly and helped travel to and from Channel Islands Harbor. Thank you to Regina and Laura for funding and allowing this experience to run.
(Nicole Collier, Science instructor)