South Delta Secondary Goes Intertidal

We were delighted to host South Delta Secondary School on June 11, 2018 for Marine Investigations, our popular intertidal exploration program. 

Sea Stars and Smiles- South Delta Secondary

The students were lucky enough to find a couple of opalescent nudibranchs (sea slugs) as well as a large red rock crab and a lion’s mane jellyfish. We also found several crab moults (their shed skeleton) with gills still intact!

Opalescent Nudibranch. Photo: Dan Hershman, Creative Commons

Opalescent Nudibranch. Photo: Dan Hershman, Creative Commons

 

Crab molt.

Male red rock crab

The students flexed their science skills during an activity where they measured the diversity of marine lifeforms across the inter-tidal zone. Through this activity not only did they discover how one beach contains many different habitats, but they also found great examples of inter-tidal species, from shore crabs to gunnels (a type of inter-tidal fish). And everyone learned how to complete a transect— a great skill for burgeoning scientists.

Delta Secondary School June 2018

Feeling the power of seastar pedicellariae (little scissors)

Like many of our school groups, South Delta Secondary was able to benefit from one of our program bursaries, made possible through the generosity of our donors and volunteers, particularly through our amazing Walkalong for Learning. 

Thank you, South Delta Secondary! We hope to see you again next year. 

Posted in Program Spotlight.

Reed Osler is the Galiano Conservancy Association’s Education Coordinator. She has been sharing her passion for parks and wild places with the public in a professional capacity for over 15 years. She studied herbalism at Pacific Rim College and is a certified Community Herbalist who is especially passionate about native plants, their edibility and their medicinal uses. She also loves music, theatre and art and incorporates these creative pursuits into her programs with children, youth and adults alike.