Posts from the Sea TURTLE teen diving program will continue, but at the same time New England Aquarium staff and volunteers are their regular spring expedition to the Bahamas. This is that team's first post, written by Andrea.

After spending two hours sitting on the plane in Boston before it finally took off, I am happy to report that the Aquarium staff arrived at the Coral Reef ready to start the Spring 2011 Bahamas Collection Trip.

New England Aquarium staffers Deana, Dan, Barbara and Kate getting the rental car after finally arriving in Miami.

Even though we are not setting sail until Friday there is a lot that needs to get done to prepare the boat for the trip. The wells which will house the fish we catch needed to be scrubbed down. The gravel in the filters needed to be dumped and replaced with fresh gravel. We are climbing in tanks and working in the “lazerette”, which is a compartment underneath the front of the boat where the life support system is housed. It is hard, dirty work but no one is complaining because pretty soon we are going to be in the Bahamas collecting beautiful fish. It also doesn’t hurt that it is sunny and 85 degrees out, and we heard it might snow this week in Boston (sorry everybody).



 We even had a visit from a friend. Jacki, who participated in last year’s SEA TURTLE program and who is now going to the University of Miami, stopped by to say hi and help us out. She helped us make catch bag by sewing vinyl bags to the bottom of modified Tupperware sandwich containers. 


We have some interesting neighbors here at Jones Boat Yard. There is a cargo ship loading various items to be sent to Haiti. Our other neighbor is the Iroquois which belongs to Red Sox owner John Henry. The Iroquois is also our neighbor back in Boston too, as it is often berthed at Rowes Wharf just minutes away from the Aquarium during the summer.



Well it’s off to bed to rest up for another day as we continue to get the boat ready.

-Andrea
Read more of Andrea's posts on the Aquarium's penguin blog.

My name is Porshai, and for the past two years I have been a teen intern at the New England Aquarium. After starting the summer of my freshman year, I worked in Visitor Education and swiftly switched departments to work in the West Wing where I take care of many marine animals on exhibit at the Aquarium.






As we pulled up to MIT, we quickly rushed to the rest room to change into our wet suits. After helping one another zip up, we took a giant stride into the pool and began the second pool session.

Tonight, Detective Robert M. Zingg of the Boston Police Department came to talk to us about his work and the kind of opportunities out there after becoming SCUBA certified. Det. Zingg was born and raised in South Boston and started working for Boston in 1983. In 1991 Det. Zingg entered the Boston Police Academy where he underwent intensive training. He told us that it is so hard, that a lot of people drop out.

March 12, 2011

We had our first pool session at MIT!



We got our wetsuits and fins and then learned how to set up our buoyancy control devices and air cylinders. The weight of all the gear surprised me, and I couldn't wait to get into the water.


Senior Aquarist Bill Murphy volunteered his time to help out in the pool while Denise shows off her weight belt!

For almost all of us, this was our first time breathing underwater, and the experience was thrilling. We practiced some of the skills we need for certification, such as breathing with our buddy's regulator and clearing our masks.



After a short lunch break, we were back in the water learning and practicing more new skills.



It was a long and rewarding day.
- Tommy

Hello world, Sea TURTLE II Member: Lee, reporting!

I am a veteran teen intern at the New England Aquarium. I started in October 2008 in the Visitor Education department speaking to visitors and delivering presentations. I transitioned into the Community Programs department to work more closely with tide pool animals and traveling with them to educate children at schools and YMCA's about them. Finally, I landed in the Teen Programs office where I currently assist in filing, data entry, and organizing events for our teen social events. I assist behind the scenes from time to time, too; I get the all around experience!

I am so excited about this entire experience; I apologize for being a little eccentric! I still have a hard time believing that I'm going to be scuba diving in the Bahamas in just a little over a month!

The road to get here has been long and arduous... Group interview (Josh mentioned those group interviews here), individual interview, SWIMMING, pressure, class time, did I mention swimming?


The swim test to ensure our safety and comfort level in the water is a whopping 4 laps and a 10 minute tread. No breaks, no touching the walls in the tread. That's scary.

I'm not the best swimmer in the world. In fact, I only learned how to swim just recently, for the sake of being able to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity. The thought that I am the worst swimmer on the team has constantly plagued me and despite all my practices day in and day out at the pool, I still couldn't find the confidence to believe in myself completely. This is where the TEAM comes in. I love these guys!!! For cheering me on and steering me away from hitting the walls of the pool, supporting me when I needed it most, and most of all believing in me when I didn't believe in
myself.

On the day of the swim test, Michelle and Lulu volunteered to go first. They are amazing swim team swimmers. The bar was high, despite the test not being a race. Watching them made me extremely nervous for my own turn. Who would go next? Jessica volunteered us both because she KNEW I could do it; there was no doubt about it.

I swallowed all my fear and got into the pool. I wasn't sure I would have the stamina for the four continuous laps. When I reached the wall of the deep end for the last time, I couldn't even believe that I was done!

Next was the ten minute water tread. There were a few times I let my fears race for a split second through my head but I was so close to finishing the swim test, I wasn't about to let a little water sink me!

Every once in a while, I would catch a glimpse of Jenna and Sarah telling me I could do it and to keep going. When I heard Michelle and Jessica tugging me to tell me I was done, I couldn't believe it at all!

But I passed the swim test!!! The biggest hurdle for me so far was this swim test that I was preparing over a month for! [Read about other Sea TURTLEs' experiences with the swim tests here.]

And now it's onto the actual scuba stuff, I can't wait to see what else adventures and challenges Sea TURTLE brings me next. With the team and the program, I'm sure everything from here on will be fun and exciting!

-Lee, signing out

Hi! My name is Christian and I am a junior at Newton South High School. I am also an Aquarium guide volunteer as well as a member of the Sea TURTLE 2011 team. Every Sea TURTLE class is always exciting one, and it holds new opportunities to learn from guest speakers to group activities.

Hey everyone,

I'm Tommy, a sophomore at Weston High. I heard about Sea TURTLE from my dad, who is involved with the New England Aquarium and I was thrilled to find out that I got in. I can't wait to go on the trip!



This past Wednesday, at the weekly Sea TURTLE meeting, one of our discussions centered on our Eco-Confessions, things that we do that negatively impact the environment. The confessions varied from using a lot of hot water by taking long showers to driving excessively. Both of these actions have a negative impact on climate change: burning more fossil fuels to run our cars or heat our water releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which traps heat from the sun.

One of the effects of climate change on the Bahamas is coral bleaching.



This is when coral polyps lose zooxanthellae, which are tiny, photosynthetic algae that help make food for the corals from sunlight. Without algae, corals become weakened and appear "bleached."

Ultimately, our bad eco-habits have consequences on the ocean thousands of miles away!

-Tommy

Hi, world!
My name is Michelle and I am a teen intern at the New England Aquarium. I currently work behind the scenes in the Wet Lab and I take care of the Edge of the Sea touch tank. I've been working at the Aquarium for about two and a half years now and it's been amazing. I get to work with animals, divers, aquarists, and amazing teens from all around Boston!


In action at the Edge of the Sea exhibit.


What's even better is being able to become a bigger part of this community. Now, all I can say is WOW! I will be learning how to SCUBA DIVE. Me? Really? I'm a Sea TURTLE? I couldn't believe it but I made it. I don't think I can even tell anybody how many times I've read the acceptance email just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I felt like running down the streets of Boston screaming in joy!

The one person I definitely needed to tell was Jane from last year's Sea TURTLE trip. Jane has been my role model ever since I met her and she's been inspiring me to do great things (like Sea TURTLE!). I wish I went on the trip last year with her so that we could share the amazing experience together but now, it's my turn!


Lee, Michelle and Jess after their successful swim tests!

So far, the girls aced the swim test with flying colors. The test consisted of swimming four laps and treading for 10 minutes without touching the wall. All of that in one go can be pretty tiring and I must say that we all did great! It was fun to cheer everybody on and see the victory in everyone's faces.


Sea TURTLEs!

The swim test gave the team some time to bond and now we must keep one goal in mind: We must not get sick! Eek!

-Michelle

My Name is Libna and I am a Sea TURTLE team member and this is my first blog!



Last week in class, Jenna started us off with a fun group exercise, a way for us all to get close (physically) since we're going to be on a boat together for ten days. I think were going to get along just fine.


All eleven of us had to stand on this small platform at the same time!

Tonight our guest speaker was Dr. John Mandelman.



He has been at the New England Aquarium for ten years as researcher. His specialty is in elasmobranchs (sharks, rays and skates) and how they get stressed out when they are caught by hooks and nets. Animals that are accidently caught when fishing are called bycatch.

One thing Dr. Mandelman told us was that when sharks and other fish feel threatened, they just keep swimming until their bodies shut down or they die. For some reason, they don't realize that they are tired like humans do.

This is a huge problem because sharks are part of healthy oceans. Unfortunately, there are many species of sharks that are threatened or endangered because of bycatch or people catching them for their fins (see this recent post from Fiji on the Global Explorers Blog).


One of the ways that the New England Aquarium helps sharks in the wild is by educating people about them. Make sure to check out The Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank opening this April!

With the Bahamas slowing approaching, excitement is rising; our brains are overflowing with information of diving and information about the Bahamas. Things are going well.

My name is Dina, and I'm currently a teen intern in the Dive Department at the New England Aquarium. I will be heading off to college in the fall to study marine biology and what better way to end my senior year than living on a research vessel and scuba diving in the Bahamas during April vacation?



Although I am already scuba certified, I've only been on a couple dives and I'm excited to review the skills I have learned with the 10 other students.  Words cannot even begin to describe how grateful I am to be apart of the Sea TURTLE II team. I'm positive this is going to be an experience of a lifetime.



Looking down on our own Caribbean coral reef in the Giant Ocean Tank.

This week in class we each discussed our "eco-confessions." Dave had given us the assignment to think of something that we do in our daily lives that isn't healthy for the environment. Some of the topics that came up the most were things like using cars more often than necessary and showering for long periods of time. We also talked about ocean issues that affect the Bahamas, such as ocean acidification, invasive species, overfishing, pollution and habitat loss.



 We are more connected to places like the Bahamas then we think!

After discussing these eco-confessions, it made me realize how influential humans are on the environment. Everyone has a not so environmentally friendly habit that they're guilty of, but if we can at least try to break out of our bad habits it can make all the difference for the environment.


Dina and Porshai testing out some new dive gear!

Our first pool session is next week and I'm really excited to gear up and get in the water. I can't wait to take that giant stride off the side of the pool and get use to the feeling of breathing underwater again!

-Dina

My name is Denise and I got involved with the Sea TURTLE through a program called "Dive Kulture." I met last year's Sea TURTLES while working at the MIT pool distributing scuba gear. I'm honored to be part of this program and working with other people who love the ocean as much as I do. I've met some great instructors and reached a higher potential and a greater sense of the world.

Denise and Josh with their Sea TURTLE game faces on.

Tonight was our first Sea TURTLE class session together as a group! With the help of Sunnye, who organizes the Aquarium Lecture Series, we learned lots about the history, culture and conservation of the Bahamas. I have to admit I learned so much about Bahamas that I wish I would have visited there a long time ago.







The Bahamian flag! Tonight we learned that the black represents the strength of the people, the blue is for the waters of the Caribbean and the yellow is the sandy beaches!

Sunnye made things so much easier to understand by giving us a little head start on what we will be experiencing in Bahamas. We learned that we need to always be respectful when visiting other cultures. One thing that I always found interesting was when Sunnye told us that the first people to live in the Bahamas were called the "Lucayans."  Her lecture really made me realize I got a lot of learning to do.

Another favorite from her slideshow was when she told us about "Junkanoo." 

For those who don't know, Junkanoo is an annual Bahamian celebration involving masks, costumes, cowbells, whistles and drums. It also includes lots of delicious food! I found it pretty interesting that I haven't learned about this culture in school.

Sunnye also talked about plastic pollution in the Bahamas and showed us her "nurdles."

 Nurdles are small beads of plastic that wash up on pretty much every beach in the world or accidentally get eaten by animals.

We really appreciate all the information that we learned in class tonight. Thank you, Sunnye!

-Denise

My name is Josh Sanchez. I live in Dorchester, Boston, and I attend Boston Latin Academy.

 
Josh in the Aquarium’s Wet Lab with one of our horseshoe crabs!

I am currently a teen intern in the Dive department at the New England Aquarium. I help with food prep, cleaning, setting up dive equipment and feeding various surface animals, including Myrtle our green sea turtle that resides in the Giant Ocean Tank!

 
Daily menu for the animals of our Giant Ocean Tank. With four feeding dives a day, there is a lot of food prep and cleaning up to do!

I and 10 other teens are involved in a program called Sea TURTLE. (Learn a little more about this program in this post from the inaugural Sea TURTLE program.)  Our goal is to become dive certified, learn marine biology, and go on an expedition to the Bahamas! This program is a dream opportunity that I am very grateful to take part in and very excited to experience.

It wasn't easy to get this once in a lifetime opportunity and the stakes were high. There was a very long application process that included having to write several essays, get letters of recommendations, fill out various papers, get parental consent and even turn in financial forms for scholarship eligibility. Along with that there were group and individual interviews.



The group interview was very different from anything that I have ever experienced. During the interview we did various group like activities to show if we are able to work as a group and express our confidence.

For the individual interviews we were required to bring an item that was special to us. I brought my Marlins baseball cap and a jar from Puerto Rico. The hat is very important to me because it was the cap I wore for my first baseball game. The jar was from my first trip to the country where I am from. During this interview, I was very nervous. I actually started to sweat!

The day of the decisions, I kept refreshing my email waiting for confirmation. Finally at the end of my school day, there was the email from Jenna! My heart almost stopped! Finally I got my nerves together and I opened it to read this: "Congratulations! You have been accepted into the New England Aquarium’s Sea TURTLE Program!"

I jumped up and the down in the middle of the hallway at school and started yelling, "I'm going to the Bahamas!"

So this is a little about who I am how I came to be a Sea TURTLE!

-Josh

Dave Allen, 2011 Sea TURTLE

When it’s a cold, windy February day on Boston Harbor, it can be a challenge to imagine any connection between the city and the warm, tropical habitat represented in the Giant Ocean Tank, our 200,000 gallon Caribbean Coral Reef exhibit.

Yet for eleven special teens, these connections are very much on their minds. They are part of the Aquarium’s Sea TURTLE (Teen Underwater, Research, Training and Learning Expedition) program (learn about last year’s Sea TURTLE program here).

The R/V Coral Reef II and the Bahamas: Our home and floating classroom for ten days in April!

Our eleven participants were selected from a pool of nineteen talented and ambitious teens through a competitive process that included both group and individual interviews. Needless to say, they have already put in a lot of work to get to this point. And this is just the beginning!

Tonight is Sea TURTLE family orientation and it’s a packed house. Participants and adult instructors are meeting as a team for the first time. Teens have brought along parents, siblings and family friends. There are lots of questions to be answered and lots of paperwork to be filled out. Since this is the second time the Aquarium has run the Sea TURTLE program, families got to meet past participants and their parents. And everyone is very excited!

 
Michelle and her Mom take a break from paperwork to hear what this year’s expedition is all about.

For the next several months, our Sea TURTLE teens have committed themselves to weeknight classes and Saturday pool sessions, all the while working as a team to learn scuba, marine science and conservation. All this is in preparation for a trip to the Bahamas aboard the R/V Coral Reef II over April break! There they will have the opportunity to put these new skills to use in the field.


Teens from last year’s Sea TURTLE program came to share their experiences and answer questions.

Sea TURTLE participants and instructors will be blogging throughout the program. Next week is our first evening class and our first guest lecturer! We invite you to share the journey, so follow along!

-Dave


The Sea TURTLE 2011 team!