Swain seventh grade recently spent three days studying marine ecosystems at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station.

Chincoteague Bay Field Station is a non-profit environmental education center located in Wallops Island, Virginia. The field station specializes in marine science education and hands-on environmental learning.

Our 7th-graders were able to observe and explore the intertidal zone, a salt marsh ecosystem, and the open waters of the Chincoteague Bay. Students examined the marine organisms that are essential to this particular coastal habitat, such as plankton, crabs, fish, birds, and wild ponies, in their natural ecosystems.

They enjoyed a calm boat ride in the Chincoteague Bay where they used a fishing net to collect animal specimens to observe and also bring back to the lab to examine and identify. When they were not working hard in the field or lab rooms, they found time to play kickball, frisbee, eat ice cream, and take a trip to the sandy beach.