Bermuda Trip
"The Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences is a world-class research station—very academic, but in a relaxed way. Ph.D candidates intern there. Colleges like Princeton and URI have year-long programs at BIOS. So it's a real campus. We live in the dorms and are integrated into daily life in Bermuda through the guidance of the experienced staff at BIOS. A number of the interns have worked with us as teachers and guides. We have gone out on plankton tows, helped collect and process samples in the lab, and examed slides under the microscopes."
"The first day on the island we meet someone from BIOS and start right out with our snorkels. We typically see angelfish, parrotfish, queenfish and others. We even saw barracuda. One lesson that stuck in virtually everyone's mind was what we learned about parrotfish. They are 'sequential hermaphrodites,' starting life as females and then developing as needed into males."
"To learn about Bermuda’s culture we attend local festivals and visit points of interest. To learn about geography and ecosystems we visit brackish water and mangroves. We go to Nonesuch Island, a wildlife sanctuary that is pretty much a living museum of the way all of Bermuda once was."
"Having received so much from the island and from BIOS, we also do some form community service, for example working with beach cleanup crews, and helping to cull invasive plants. We’ve planted in the invasive plants' stead vegetation that is indigenous to the island but threatened. It is a lot to learn and do all in the warm sunshine and welcoming atmosphere of BIOS and the Island of Bermuda and her residents. "