What's It All About?
Over the last couple of months, the entire Leader/Morissette/Patton/Corner team has been pouring their time into the Coral Reef Conservation Project. When we were first introduced to this project, I don't think anyone had any idea just how big this project was. It was introduced to us as a coral project, we would be studying corals to monitor how they react to certain environment stressors such as high temperatures and low nitrate levels. The first thing we had to do was build a rack that could handle the weight of a ten gallon tank. We were put into groups where we designed and welded metal tanks. In our four to five person groups, we were assigned a specific stressor. We did tons of deep research into the effects and learned as much information as we could on temperature's effect on coral reefs. "The Coral Reef Conservation Project will assess how a number of common local stressors (e.g., pollution, sedimentation) negatively impact the health of coral. Our measures of health will include early warnings of decline, such as changes in pigmentation and energy storage, rather than late-stage indicators like disease and death. The data we collect will not only illuminate those local stressors that cause the greatest detriment to coral health, but will also help generate “preventative medicine” by highlighting how these animals are impacted by various stressors early on, before conditions become dire. This scientific experiment will provide important information to reef managers and policy makers who make near-constant decisions regarding reef protection, allowing them to better protect these imperiled ecosystems."
We also entered into the QuikScience competition hosted by University of Southern California. Schools from all over the country enter into the competition to exhibit their scientific experiments and projects. In order to enter, we had to type up a scientific research proposal discussing the effects of low temperatures on A. Humilis Coral. Through this I feel that I learned so much both about how our actions affect the world and about coral in general. We also filmed and edited a short two minute video that introduced our group to the judges in Quikscience along with conducting an interview with a PhD scientist in Hawaii. After all this, we began to prepare for our exhibition, which mainly focused on the work we were doing for the Quikscience competition. Everyone perfected the water quality in their tanks so we could put in coral polyps. One group worked on displaying micro sized Remote Operated Vehicles for visitors to try out and purchase while another created many activities for the visitors to participate in while learning. Personally, I was in charge of running a small shop where we sold a class t-shirt designed by a student, along with our class book, "Beyond Storytelling", and other coral reef themed fun stuff. All of the proceeds from the shop are being donated to a coral conservation group in Curacao, home to the world's most bio diverse reef ecosystem.
We also entered into the QuikScience competition hosted by University of Southern California. Schools from all over the country enter into the competition to exhibit their scientific experiments and projects. In order to enter, we had to type up a scientific research proposal discussing the effects of low temperatures on A. Humilis Coral. Through this I feel that I learned so much both about how our actions affect the world and about coral in general. We also filmed and edited a short two minute video that introduced our group to the judges in Quikscience along with conducting an interview with a PhD scientist in Hawaii. After all this, we began to prepare for our exhibition, which mainly focused on the work we were doing for the Quikscience competition. Everyone perfected the water quality in their tanks so we could put in coral polyps. One group worked on displaying micro sized Remote Operated Vehicles for visitors to try out and purchase while another created many activities for the visitors to participate in while learning. Personally, I was in charge of running a small shop where we sold a class t-shirt designed by a student, along with our class book, "Beyond Storytelling", and other coral reef themed fun stuff. All of the proceeds from the shop are being donated to a coral conservation group in Curacao, home to the world's most bio diverse reef ecosystem.
My Group
As I said earlier, our group completed a few different products for Quikscience. I have listed them with a small explanation.
The first product is our research proposal. My group decided to split up the sections of the paper in order to lessen our work load. We each typed up a couple paragraphs and then sent them to the group member in charge of the proposal. He put all of our work together and made it sound smooth.
Next we have our video. This was mainly created by the member in charge of video. He wrote out a script and frame story board. We spent a couple days filming together and then he edited down over seven minutes of footage down to two minutes. If you have ever edited movies, you know what a challenge that is.
Also we had to develop a service plan. Our original plan was to try and start a petition for the US government to pass a bill to implement coral protection policies, but we quickly realize that it helps to be over the age of eighteen. We decided to instead help another group with their service project that I mentioned earlier, the mini ROV's. We also had a lesson that one person created that we will teach to a middle school class. The lesson includes fun activities like coral themed word crosses. At the end of the lesson, we will give our students a short quiz to see just how much they learned.
Lastly, we conducted our interview. We contacted a scientist in Hawaii and attempted to Skype with him. When Skype didn't work, we ended up just interviewing over the phone. He provided us with many helpful tips for our tank project along with telling us about his own labs he conducts in Hawaii with his class. Some of them were very similar to ours.
If you are interested in viewing any of the written documents, I have them below. Unfortunately, the video is too large to add.
The first product is our research proposal. My group decided to split up the sections of the paper in order to lessen our work load. We each typed up a couple paragraphs and then sent them to the group member in charge of the proposal. He put all of our work together and made it sound smooth.
Next we have our video. This was mainly created by the member in charge of video. He wrote out a script and frame story board. We spent a couple days filming together and then he edited down over seven minutes of footage down to two minutes. If you have ever edited movies, you know what a challenge that is.
Also we had to develop a service plan. Our original plan was to try and start a petition for the US government to pass a bill to implement coral protection policies, but we quickly realize that it helps to be over the age of eighteen. We decided to instead help another group with their service project that I mentioned earlier, the mini ROV's. We also had a lesson that one person created that we will teach to a middle school class. The lesson includes fun activities like coral themed word crosses. At the end of the lesson, we will give our students a short quiz to see just how much they learned.
Lastly, we conducted our interview. We contacted a scientist in Hawaii and attempted to Skype with him. When Skype didn't work, we ended up just interviewing over the phone. He provided us with many helpful tips for our tank project along with telling us about his own labs he conducts in Hawaii with his class. Some of them were very similar to ours.
If you are interested in viewing any of the written documents, I have them below. Unfortunately, the video is too large to add.