Well…that wasn’t that bad. The first week of hydrology was fun, experimenting on density, displacement, and buoyancy of water. Unit conversions weren’t so bad, I really enjoyed doing homework as a group with my fellow students, the mere presence of them alone brought motivation in Brobdingnagian proportion. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks with Professor Ellen Douglas.

As the semester continues, the responsibility of work begins to dawn more and more with each passing day. Students are becoming more involved in their projects as reading becomes more intensive for the dedicated amateur environmentalists. The group’s educational focus right now is hydrology and independent study/capstone. We took a field trip in hydrology this week and got to check out the island, which was stunning as always and next weekend is a field trip to a wildlife preserve- yay! Pooped from capstone reading, so that is all for now folks, tune in next week for some more action packed reviewing of Nantucket’s living lab.

Despite the fact that it is snowing and gusting very hard here, it will be gone in a few days. After Nemo, the snow melted quickly and gave way to warm sunny days and dry, brown grass. While the rest of New England will have to deal with weeks of snow, Nantucket’s sand plain grasslands and scrub oak forests will get the exposure they deserve. It was a walk and a bike ride along Cliff Road past Tupancy Links that inspired me this week. Its only a dog park, but the rolling open space contrasting with the high pressure sky and the ocean in the distance… Makes you realize this island really is as special as people say. Its different, it feels different than a more familiar Cape Cod. The remoteness makes it exotic. Not technically ‘exotic’ as environmental scientists classify things, but exotic nonetheless. Exploring the nature of this island is and will be the most enjoyable and informative aspect of my time here.

My name is Ashley Bulseco-McKim – I am a graduate student and one of the program assistants for the Nantucket Semester. Here are some thoughts I’ve had about the Nantucket LivingLab:

Albert Einstein once said, “The only source of knowledge is experience.”

I will admit that when I was a younger student, this quote didn’t make as much sense to me. I was a book worm, and didn’t necessarily see the value in going out and “getting dirty.” If I understand the concepts theoretically, then of course I can apply it to the real world! Well, that was absolute nonsense. As my training has progressed, I now see how crucial hands-on experience is to a student’s education. Understanding how a barometer works becomes much more useful if you actually make a barometer – the students just finished this last week in Dr. Douglas’ hydrology class. Instead of discussing how scallop fishing is accomplished and what bycatch might result from it, go out on a scallop boat and fish with the people who do it everyday – a couple of the students have already had this honor. This is the ultimate goal of LivingLabs: To teach and learn by doing, and to use these lessons as opportunities to apply solutions to local communities. Why just learn when you can also do? Let’s kill two birds with one stone – forgive the expression – and make a connection between academia and real world problems.

The students so far have been taking this challenge head-on. Each and every one of them have become immersed in not only the educational aspect of the semester, but also the cultural, and have already started to form a concrete connection with the community. I can’t wait to see what knowledge will result from these experiences, and what problems we can begin to solve!

Today a handful of lucky students and the assistant Steve got the opportunity to adventure out to Great Point Light. We left at 8am and got back by 3pm. It was an amazing day. We saw so much in just a few hours. We saw about 300 seals, collected about 25 shells, took probably over a thousand pictures and saw some sights that may not be around in a few years. It was an awesome experience and I cant wait to visit again!

Hello, I’m Timchi and this is my first time experiencing any kind of study abroad let alone any time in Nantucket. So far this experience has been amazing with the first eco-poetics class with Len Germinara really breaking the ice and bringing this group of people together. I feel Len’s class opened us up and made the group more comfortable with communication, I especially like his ‘sitting in a circle’ activity. I also enjoyed the speakers that gave their time, I particularly enjoyed Regie Gibson’s talk. Len’s class also opened up my writing and public speaking skills which will definitely translate into my scientific papers about carrying capacity and sustainability later down the line. As for now I am looking forward to meeting more wonderfully welcoming locals, the next block of hydrology, and everything else this island has to offer.