Each year the AP Environmental Science and AP Biology classes participate in a field experience at Wallops Island Marine Science Consortium in Virginia. (This year the AP Biology classes may be participating as well.) The Consortium is sponsored by and has participating universities from Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. These universities offer both graduate and undergraduate courses at Wallops during the summer and have several resident researchers present all year.
In addition to this there are resident instructors who coordinate and facilitate most of the high school activities. These activities are a five day intensive study of the coastal marine environment. We will compare (and muck around in) the fresh and salt water marshes, observe the differences in high energy and low energy intertidal zones, explore the maritime forest, collect and analyze the physical data of the estuaries and sample the biota of these environs, discuss coastal oceanography and geology, study the fragile nature of a sand dune community, explore the majesty of a cypress swamp, and seek out and identify numerous shore birds and observe them in their natural habitats.
The trip is generally the first or second weekend in April. We will depart at 7:00 a.m. on Friday and return at approximately 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Anyone involved in a spring sport may come down Friday evening with Mr. Dahms and return Tuesday afternoon. This means you will miss only Monday’s athletic activities.
This trip is voluntary and students will not be penalized in anyway for not participating. This trip will be a great culmination to the year’s activities in both Ecology and Environmental and will tie together many of the things we learned throughout the year. Students will be graded on their activities at Wallops and this grade may be used by them in lieu of the final exam.
The cost of this trip this year is approximately $450 (this price is not definite because the number of students affects the price since we must rent vans and pay fees at Wallops for the group). This includes transportation, meals, lodging, equipment and boat usage, and lab fees. Students will need money for snacks and we often go out in the evening for pizza or ice cream. We will also be going out to eat to a nice restaurant on Monday night and although each student will receive some money toward this meal (probably about $15) they may need some more to supplement their costs (obviously depending on their tastes). Entrees generally run from $10 to $25. Students may defray the cost of their trip by participating in any fund-raisers we have throughout the year.
If you have any questions please contact Doug Dahms at school (610-670-0180x5024) (dahdou@wilsonsd.org) or home (610-987-3650). Further information, emergency treatment forms, permission slips, and packing lists will follow as the time approaches. We do, however, need a deposit of $100 by mid-November if you are planning to go since we need to reserve vans and space at Wallops (please make checks payable to: Wilson High School). This deposit is fully refundable up to sixty days before we leave. After that, we will refund you as much as possible, but understand certain expenses cannot be recouped. If you do not pay a deposit, there may still be room for you, but we will not know this until a later date.