Sailors on the Bay




Seniors Emily Zaluki and Amanda Gates find surprises at the bottom of the Bay.

Photo by J. Ratcliffe

 

The Chesapeake Bay students spent the day canoing, riding on a boat, and fishing with nets at the Arthur Sherwood Study Center at Meredith Creek in Annapolis to learn more about the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation the Chesapeake Bay is 200 miles long and only 12 feet deep.  Its watershed covers 65,000 square miles and includes six states.  Everyone that lives in the watershed affects the bay.

"It was cool to see the different fish we caught, croakers, shrimp and crabs. We all worked together as a class to catch them. It was a really fun day," said senior Paige McGinty.

The girls had a great time canoeing.  They wore hip waders and paddled around Meredith Creek learning about how humans treat the Bay.  Halfway through the canoe ride, students used a seine net to catch shrimp and other small organisms that live in the creek. 

"My hip waders leaked," said senior Kelsey Kirby.

Some of the students went on a boat ride out of the creek and into the open bay.  On the boat the girls tested the water and used a net to catch fish and crabs.

Thanks to chaperones Mrs. Ellen Wilkinson and Mr. Phil O'Brocki for supervising the  field trip.  

B. Desel '12