On October 22, Abby Gale, Amy Lines, Barb O’Hare, and Nancy Biegel volunteered with a unique field trip experience called A Day at the Lab. It was the second year that the University of Virginia’s Center for Coastal Research hosted 21 local youth to showcase potential careers in environmental sciences and coastal ecology research. Students had a meaningful opportunity to visit the coastal lab facility in Oyster and learn from emerging scientists.
Graduate and PhD student scientists led a boat trip and discussed purposes of data collection. Monitoring turbidity, salinity, wind speed, bird populations, and measuring shrub expansion on Hog Island were just a few topics discussed while taking samples from the boats. Once students returned to land, they had the opportunity to collect aquatic specimens from the dock, look and learn about collected plankton under microscopes or identify marsh vegetation. After lunch, the graduate and PhD students shared their interests and challenges in pursuing science-based careers during a panel discussion. The research students are currently associated with different universities such as VCU, VA Tech, Old Dominion as well as UVA.
The high school youth are participants from the Eastern Shore Community College’s Project Horizons program which delivers college and career track mentoring to selected students in both counties. The program provides an extra academic, social, and cultural boost for economically disadvantaged students.
