It is hard to believe, but today is even more beautiful than yesterday here at CIMI. We woke to a crystal clear sky and glassy water. After another delicious breakfast of muffins, sausage and fruit, all of our kiddos went on their last snorkel.
This snorkel turned our students into research scientists. In study groups, and then dive buddy pairs, they conducted a controlled fish count. We looked for garibaldi, blacksmith, kelp bass and several other types of fish. Garibaldi and blacksmith were recorded as the two most abundant. This data will travel back to Eastshore with us where our students will compare it to previous years and then analyze changes in populations.
Along with typical fish some of our students saw some more exotic creatures. One group reported seeing a small octopus and another had the thrill of seeing their CIMI instructor catch a shovel nosed shard with his hands. That little guy will live in the petting tank for a while so lots of kids can get a close look.
Examining plankton under microscopes and kayaking north of the bay, all of our kids spent their last afternoon at CIMI engaged in the best kind of learning. The sentiment we keep hearing is, "School should always be like this." Frankly, we agree.
Tonight is a campfire on the beach during which our kids will have the opportunity to perform a skit, sing a song or tell a story- all by choice. To everyone's delight, s'mores will top off the evening. The campfire is a great way for all of us to come together and say good bye to this incredible place.
The story each of you is certain to hear is that of the two bison who spent much of yesterday traveling around camp. It turns out that a new male appeared and he is trying to 'encourage' Mike the Bison (known and admired) to relocate. We didn't see tempers flare, but there was quite a bit of slow pursuit in action. If that is not enough, we also saw a bald eagle eating seaweed on the beach today.
If we are not too busy packing up and getting ready for Avalon, we will try to post one more update tomorrow. Until then....
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