Flour Bluff ISD wetlands ambassadors to share research with community

Every month, young wetlands ambassadors from Flour Bluff ISD test air and water quality in their community, stopping by Redhead Pond, Packery Flats and Bob Hall Pier.

"It's a really great program," sixth grader Gianna Hines-Calabrese said. "We get out into the community a lot and our main goal is to help the environment and learn while doing it."

Students attended a community meeting Tuesday evening to highlight the program. This weekend, from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, the program is also hosting an event in the Flour Bluff ISD wetlands.

Through the OCEANS Program, sixth and seventh grade students help clean up local wetlands, kayak and fish and participate in activities like Nurdle Patrol, an effort to document plastic pellets on beaches. The students take field trips, learning about oyster shell recycling efforts and the importance of local wetlands for migratory birds.

"I expected it to be more like, 'Uh, I've got to learn,' but it's much more fun," Hines-Calabrese said.

The students collect data on water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrate, wind speed, air temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds and more.

At Redhead Pond, they do native plant surveys. The students say their favorite plant to find are muskmelons.

Students meet with mentors from the community and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi weekly, learning to identify wetland creatures like bloodworms, sea cucumbers and ladyfish larvae.

"I've learned about fish parasites," Hines-Calabrese said.

Sixth-grader DJ Nease said he's also enjoying the program.

"It taught me how to cast a net and what bacteria is and fishing," Nease said.

Compared to typical classroom learning, the OCEANS Program is "more fun and less boring and you get to have fun doing it," Nease said, adding that he'd recommend the program to other students.

Students have the opportunity to take an elective class in fifth grade or sixth grade based on teacher recommendations.

Recommendations aren't based on grades, Doyle said. Teachers look for students that are interested in the outdoors or who are scientifically-minded.

Outside the elective class, wetlands ambassadors meet weekly for additional research and service projects opportunities.

Doyle teaches at Flour Bluff Intermediate School.

"When I first came here six years ago, the fifth and sixth grade was the only OCEANS Program," Doyle said. "Then the program was really successful and they expanded to middle school."

At Flour Bluff Junior High School, teacher Steven Dial continues the program with coastal explorers classes for seventh and eighth graders.

"We tend to focus more on outdoor recreational activities," Dial said. "I teach the kids how to fish, how to throw cast nets, kayaking and things like that... the idea with my class is to get the kids outside."

Students who participate in sixth grade often continue in Dial's classes, but Dial offers bigger class sizes, allowing new students to participate.

Beyond the elective classes offered to fifth through eighth grade students, students across the district have the opportunity to participate in activities.

"All the way from pre-K to high school there are various forms," Doyle said. "Some have an after-school program. Some have an 'OCEANS' week."

Students attended a Flour Bluff Citizens Council meeting Tuesday evening to share their information about their activities with the community.

The Flour Bluff Citizens Council is a grassroots local organization that has been active in environmental clean-ups in Flour Bluff and providing city leaders with input on parks and recreation programs, such as a pedestrian bridge project across Oso Bay to connect Flour Bluff with the Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve.

On Saturday, the OCEANS Program students plans to present their research on local brackish and saltwater ecosystems through games and activities.

The event will take place 9-11 a.m. in the Flour Bluff ISD wetlands pavilion near the corner of Laguna Shores Road and Hustlin Hornet Drive.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Flour Bluff students to share research, activities Saturday