The end has come. These five weeks went by way too fast, and although I’m so happy to be home with my family, I miss my friends and all the places we got to experience. UWF was a great end to the 5 weeks, and learning about the watersheds that make up that area, it gives a first hand look at just how connected we really are to the waters we rely on. We started at the head waters in the more urban Pensacola area and traveled down to where they empty into Bayou Texar, collecting water samples for chlorophyll a, nitrates, microplastics, and general water quality for the areas. Day two was a visit to the EPA field site where we got to tour their facilities and got to hear about some of the projects and research their doing. I never knew the EPA was involved in so many different areas of marine science until that tour! Another awesome site we visited was Navel Live Oaks on Santa Rosa Sound. The history behind the protected area is amazing, the trees were used to build the USS Constitution. While we were there we also did some sea grass transect surveys, and assisted with a grad students pour survey samples and collected water below the sediment. This sounds easier than it is… Once back at the lab we took all of collected microplastic samples from around the state and began draining them for analyzing. My sample was from Vilano Beach, and was a rather sandy sample. At first glance I was beginning to think I had a sample with no microplastic (which wasn’t a bad thing!), but once I found my first microbead, the count began. I counted approximately 8 microbeads, and a few microfragmented pieces, and microfibers. It was crazy in such a small sample, there could be so many tiny pieces of plastic. Hopefully the more awareness that is brought to this global problem, the more we will begin to tackle it at the source and as a society, break our relationship with single use plastics as a start. This week also meant preparing for our final presentations, and my group was given chlorophyll a and nitrates to present on. We had some great data on chlorophyll a from all around the state, nitrate levels were only examined in Pensacola. A few long nights, and early mornings and we were rushing to the building to present! We made it with minutes to spare, and gave what I would say, was a decent presentation. That was the end of the trip, and afterwards everyone parted ways and went on separate paths.
This trip was eye opening in so many ways. I thought I knew my state and all of its wonders, but I haven’t even scratched surface. But, what stuck out to me the most, was at every place, whether below the waters in a coral reef, or on a mangrove island, a rocky beach inlet, or even just a frequented beach, the human impact was there, not just subtly, but profoundly. The trash was everywhere, and in some cases wasn’t even the worst part. Being able to see how nitrates drain straight into a watershed and accumulate along the way was mind blowing. It only confirmed that I really need to get more involved with my local government and as the saying goes, “think globally, act locally.” Thank you to all of the amazing professors along this journey for your endless wisdom and support, it was invaluable. I hope to apply all this endless knowledge to a future in marine science and change the way we look at our planet. Until next time…
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