What do Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Representatives Ed Markey and Sam Farr, a syndicated cartoonist, a coast guard admiral, a port director, an oyster farmer, a young sub pilot and a coastal paddler all have in common? They, along with hundreds of other ocean champions, will be participating in Blue Vision Summit 4 this May 13-16 to send a message to our nation’s leaders in Washington: “Now is the time. Our oceans are rising and our voices are too!

What Teens4Oceans students and friends have to say:

The thing that stuck out most to me at the Summit today was simply the responses of the audience to the panel of speakers. When the first two groups of speakers went—panels comprised of all adults—the audience stood and asked, very guardedly I might add, questions about the panel’s thoughts and research about the subject they discussed. However, when the last panel spoke – the panel made up of the youth leaders—adults sprang to the microphones to make “statements” instead of questions. The age barrier was extremely apparent in that moment, because we had just listened to the panel speak on how powerful and respectable youth was and the youth leaders spoke about “children rising to meet the expectations of adults” and exceeding the standards in all areas they were left to succeed in. But right after their speeches adults were quick to snap back with their statements about what they could offer to help the youth excel. Did they miss the message completely?

Teens4Oceans’ informal education efforts were again saluted today as people remorse upon the reduction of federal education programs across and between many agencies.

The presentations of the natural disasters and the oil spills made the biggest impression on me. It was interesting to find out that although BP has donated money little of it has contributed to actually cleaning up the gulf and that even today that environment is still being greatly effected by the spill. The revelation that much of the swampland in Louisiana will be gone by 2020 also stuck with me. This made me realize how much the gulf coast is still feeling the effects of the oil spill even though I was under the impression that it had been helped by Bp’s donation of money. These presentations made me realize how much ecosystems can be effected by natural disasters, and how little are being done to restore these areas.

The Blue Vision Summit seminars were filled with useful information as well as influential leaders. The seminar I attended was filled with people sharing one common interest; how to approach and please reporters. This talent is vital for gaining publicity regarding local non-profit events and projects. I found the seminar not only interesting but also filled with useful information like “assuming all audiences are generalists” and never use repetitive information nor analyses. These small skills can lead to evolvement of structural growth for the non-profits and local environmental events!

We wrapped the day with a youth summit comprised of successful, competent students creating innovative solutions to the problems we hear so often about: climate change, ocean acidification, lack of access to meaningful data and education. I took away a reassuring confirmation that many other young leaders were meeting similar problems with similar attitudes. Rudy Sanchez, a youth leader, spoke about the “big disconnect between what is presented and what youth can do,” while Jordan Howard articulated a key issue I’ve been hoping to address, speaking about her first experience with marine education, “I was uneducated about the problems, but more importantly, I was uneducated about the solutions.” A solution-based focused is a promising way to keep youth activated, hopeful, and engaged in our programs that I am excited to pursue with greater commitment.

Storytelling is an important component of learning, especially in the sciences. Whether you are the storyteller or the listener, a story is a way to visualize data and the results of research questions in order to better explain a project’s significance. I was impressed by Erica Bergman’s (of Explore Ocean) ability to explain her work in deepsea submersibles in such detail to make us, as her audience, picture each aspect of her experience. The motion of the submersible, the light as it traveled through the water, fish as they swam past, and her excitement in seeing something so incredible were inspiring educational anecdotes.

Annalise reminded all of us today, youth and adults alike, that so many of us are drawn to the ocean because of simple joy and beauty. She postulated that the perfect portal for engaging young people is perhaps the marine world. She excused the cliché, and went on to describe the wonder and the fact that the ocean flows in our veins.

Steve Culbertson from the YSA, who spoke on the youth panel today, was especially inspiring, bringing up important points about how to motivate youth and how putting them in leadership positions can lead to novel innovations in the interdisciplinary fields of ocean activism. His points were not only exciting, but also, the fact that he spoke alongside youth (including our own Annalise Downey) who are accomplished in their efforts and successful in inspiring their peers certainly backed up all of his points with great evidence.

15 newly certified Scuba Divers…

A note from Newman:

What a pleasure it has been to watch this very special group of young friends encounter a common challenge and successfully learn and apply the skills necessary to explore the oceans.  After the rough seas of dive one, these middle school Teens4Oceans students displayed extraordinary resilience and on dives two through four found that they are capable divers and that the wonders of the reef ecosystem is now open to them.  Under the excellent instruction of Ocean First Divers and the dive instructors and crew from Sea Dwellers in Key Largo, some life-long memories and friendships have been forged.  Though we are currently on the return flight home, already the talk is of when the next dive trip will be and whether it might be composed of exactly the same members.  If you ask these students, they will certainly tell you where you can find the tastiest food and the best key lime pie within walking distance of the Key Largo Holiday Inn. For these good friends, I am quite certain this common experience is the beginning of a long and fulfilling relationship with diving and exploring the ocean firsthand.

Sariya: My favorite part of the day was definitely having an opportunity to have a fun dive after all of our skill-practice dives. It was an amazing experience to be able to watch marine life and explore the beautiful reef. I am very thankful to Teens4Oceans for providing such a great trip for us. These were some of the best days of my life!

Chloe: My favorite part of the day was the diving. The first two on that day were just skills, but the third was really just exploring and having the opportunity to just dive and have fun!

Danielle: I loved how we all came back ready to dive and give the sea a chance. We all came back with a positive attitude.

Tucker: My favorite part of the day was the diving. We were all prepared after our rough previous dive. I saw a sea turtle! I loved diving.

Jack: My favorite part if yesterday was diving and getting dive certified with all my friends.

Caroline: My favorite part of yesterday was going on the 4^th dive and it was really cool to see the fish on the reef.

Sarah: My favorite part of yesterday was just hanging out with my friends at the pool and while we were scuba diving. I finally got certified!

Jayne: The second day of diving was AMAZING. It was amazing since I was able to dive feeling really comfortable. After the first dive of the second day, I was feeling really comfortable diving. I could relax and just get caught up in the beautiful world under the ocean.

Natalie B.: My favorite part of the day was diving in calm water. The boat ride was much more enjoyable and it was great to finally feel comfortable under the water.

Meg: My favorite part of the second day was having our fun dive. It was really fun to just explore the reef. And I liked not upchucking.

Natalie W.: My favorite part of yesterday was diving down and playing with my friends and everyone. I even forgot about some bad parts of Friday.

Cole: My favorite part of the day was the last dive that we went on.  It was fun to be able to go down and explore the reef without having to do any skills.  I was very excited to finally get SCUBA certified.

Logan: My favorite part of the day was seeing the turtle on the final dive of the trip and not throwing up.

Ben: My favorite part of the day was seeing the turtle and the eel on our 4th dive.

Lisa: What an honor it was to experience my first open water dives with this amazing group of friends. I cannot thank Teens4Oceans, Ocean First Divers (our instructors were AMAZING! We love you…Sage, Roger & Lauren), and Sea Dwellers enough for the many smiles, laughter, and memories made. I am truly awed by the perseverance shown by this amazing group of young folks. Day 1, Dive 1, we encountered, and overcame seasickness; Day 2, Dives 2, 3, & 4, we conquered our nerves to go on to have 3 more incredible dives at Molasses Reef and we ALL became certified Scuba Divers. Our journey, our story, is truly one I will tell with pride; I have made 20+ Friends4Life. It was a privilege to perform along side of you, my fellow ambassadors of the sea. I look forward to many more memories; as we are now true explorers in the mysteries and wonders of the sea.  Hugs!

say…SCUBA!

We were so excited to leave our Denver Spring Blizzard; the temperature was 17 on our way to the airport. for super sunny warm Florida – where it’s 80 degrees. Airplane ride was very bumpy (but, not as bumpy as the boat – you’ll hear more about this later!!)

Mozzarella sticks at Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen are really yummy…and her Key Lime Pie is WORLD Famous.

Our first Key Largo sunset was, “WOW…amazing!” The dock was “awesome” (see pics!)

Woke up early on Friday morning, had egg sandwiches. Went to the pool to practice our open-water certification. Lunch…Molasses Reef, Discovery Cove. It was windy and we had 3 foot swells, in no time those turned to 6 foot swells (waves.)

Group 1, made it down and we were able to swim around a bit.

Group 2, also made it down!

Unfortunately, 15 out of 20 of us couldn’t keep our lunch down! That’s right…15 of us threw up! We hope the water is calmer tomorrow, Saturday!

Teens4Oceans Grand Cayman 2013

The “Real Deal”… If it is spring break and your flight doesn’t leave until midnight, it must be a high school trip!  After hearing about Teens4Oceans’ energetic adventures for four years, we decided to sign up.  Prepared for dormitory living and PB&J sandwiches (our expectations were far exceeded!), we eagerly anticipated snorkeling and exploring the east end of Grand Cayman while the kids dove and worked on T4O research projects.  Before we knew it, Trevor Mendelow (Director of T4O) and Mike Park (T4O Volunteer Scientist and chaperone) delved into a huge group project that was so interesting, urgent, and fun to work on that everyone was swept into the action, including us.

The goal of placing an underwater camera next to a reef  ¾ of a mile from shore seemed reasonable. Then reality kicked in. The solar panels were stuck in customs. The barge to support electronics on the reef was rusting on an overgrown back lot.  It needed paint and scaffolding to support the solar panels.  The data transmission needed to be field tested from the reef.  The land receiver was still in the box, and the camera (which had been disassembled for safe transport) had to be reassembled and fixed to the ocean floor.

Our group stayed in a spacious apartment with multiple rooms, a kitchen and a large dining room table. Trevor introduced us to Steve, the owner of the dive shop and resort. Steve explained that twenty years ago no one was looking for massive environmental changes on Grand Cayman… the fish were abundant and the reef was teeming with them. Then, something shifted, and the fish started disappearing. “No one expects to be driving down a country road and have a 747 land in front of them… the change to the Grand Cayman reef ecosystem has been just that shocking,” Steve said.

A year ago, Steve offered to provide logistical and dive support to T40 in exchange for an opportunity to work with Trevor and T4O. Witnessing this partnership in action was fascinating.  Steve, Trevor, Mike and the T4O students collaborated in solving one problem after another while exchanging non-stop information about what was happening to the ecology of the reef.

T4O had 6 days to complete the work before leaving the island. To everyone’s delight, the camera began transmitting to Steve’s onshore computer the day before we left. Denver was cold and snowy when we landed.  Many of us spent hours in front of our PCs that day, watching fish and coral live from the T4O Grand Cayman webcam.

Fair Warning:  Your productivity can be altered – like mine has been – by going to teens4oceans.org › Webcams during daylight hours and occasionally by full moon.  Or click here.

(Debbie Welles was asked to submit this description to T4O.  She is a KDS graduate and parent who had the good fortune to ask Trevor if all the members of her family could go on this trip!)

Teens4Oceans is currently undergoing the planning stages of a very exciting, very unusual project! We will soon be setting up equipment to monitor and research Beaver (Castor canadensis) behavior, how these incredible creatures impact river systems, how humans impact river systems, and what effect this has on our great oceans. Rivers and oceans are not the same type of environment and exist in seemingly different worlds. Rivers are freshwater, not saltwater, and they have entirely different ecosystems and balances than oceans do, but these two types of life-harboring water systems are incredibly interconnected and rely on each other greatly to remain healthy.

Beaver dam located in Chatfield State Park where Phase I of the T4O project will begin.

Rivers make up larger systems called watersheds, and these watersheds transfer a huge amount of nutrients to coastal ecosystems. Rivers are the main starting point for this transfer. In recent years, the input of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into water ecosystems has greatly increased. This input is the result of human interaction with our world. By increasing food and energy production, more and more waste is released into water systems. The water cycle sends rain (evaporated from the ocean) traveling from inland river systems to coastal areas and provides essential nutrients to those habitats. But, and excess of nutrients causes a decline in water quality, damaging the organisms and ecosystems that exits there.

Teens4Oceans is planning on installing a camera and nutrient monitoring system to stream live video and information to the internet that can be used for a few purposes. The rivers in Colorado are part of a much larger watershed, that ultimately leads to the Gulf of Mexico. By understanding how nutrients from watersheds contribute to large marine ecosystems, more effective policies can be developed and implemented to protect these waterways and our oceans. In addition to monitoring water health, this camera will allow us to explore how beavers create such an incredible impact on their environment. Because beavers have this dramatic impact, they are considered a “keystone” species. Their dams effect how entire rivers flow, as well as creating wetlands, which are nutrient rich environments that attract amphibians, fish and many other creatures. They do this all without opposable thumbs or tools, which is nothing short of incredible. Students would be able to observe these animals in a new way as well as being invited to participate in Audubon Field Educational Activities to learn about beaver ecology and inland water monitoring.

Students and Teachers scouting for evidence of beaver activity

Just recently, on March 16, four high school students (two from Kent Denver and two from the Teens4Oceans Monarch High School chapter) along with two Kent Denver teachers, Chris Michaud and Steve Newman, completed a site survey of a section of the South Platte River in Chatfield State Park. We saw the result of work done by beavers. They chop down humongous trees, clearing large areas beside the river, and transport them along with boulders and huge masses of mud to create magnificent dams and burrows. We looked for signs of recent activity because beavers often move from burrow to burrow for various reasons, and we want to install our camera and probes at an active sight. We found a few locations which had a good chance of being very active sites where many beavers lived. To narrow down the location more, we decided we would come back with camouflaged, infrared wildlife cameras at these sites to track the beavers and see where they are most active. We are excited to continue working on this project and to soon implement technologies and student activities!

With most of our work here done, everyone enjoyed a flexible wake up time.  Some of the early risers were able to make it out to our barge early with Steve on the skiff.  We inspected the anchor chains and wind load on the barge for any drift and to make sure nothing would be interfering with the reef.  In our haste and furious work pace the day before, we were unable to take pictures to document the final product.

First on the site, Mike dove in with a GoPro to survey the anchor blocks, barge, cable routing, and finally the camera. Trevor watched the whole event from Denver on the webcam while Mike filmed the functioning wiper mechanism and camera site for future reference.  Soon after, everyone joined him in one last swim around the location.  Debbie found an illegal lobster hook, which Steve reported to an Environmental Officer who asked us to destroy it.

Early afternoon, we took a trip out to Rum Point.  Here we got on a glass bottom boat and taxied out to Stingray Sand Bar.  Southern stingrays were everywhere.  Some of the larger females were over three feet in diameter.  Everyone enjoyed interacting with them as you will see in our gallery.  The boat then took us to a small reef site to snorkel where the group was introduced to a green moray eel.  Finally, the trip ended with some frisbee on the beach.

Later that night, we visited the Parson’s for dinner.  After, we walked down to the beach to listen to the live band and show off our Congo line skills.  This then turned into a free for all on the tennis court with multiple sports (tennis, basketball, paddle board, and frisbee) taking place all at the same time.  There was minimal carnage with the chaos ensuing.  Mark stubbed his toe and Chloe narrowly missed Drew’s face with a monstrous backhand shot.  All is well and we are all tired and into bed for the trip back to Denver tomorrow.

On Day 5, Mike & Co. got up late again, except Mike. He decided to be a stud, so he woke up at 7 to work on the solar panels on the barge, properly route the electrical cables, and calibrate the data probes on the scientific nodes. Finally, he fixed the static IP address for the camera, which had been rebelliously dynamic. During Mike’s hours of toil, the rest of us oscillated between sun-drenched somnolence and reverent reminiscence of T-Bag, the shark who had the misfortune to be assigned an ignominious name totally unrelated to his skin texture. (Lost yet?)

More prosaically, in the latter half of the morning most everyone (except for Erin and Sarah, who were, incredibly, still asleep) went snorkeling. Told we would assist Steve in laying engine blocks for the barge, we instead milled around the reef aimlessly while he actually scuba-dived down to actually work. Directly afterwards, everyone (except, again, not including Erin and Sarah) got right onto the barge, which we towed out to install the camera! The installation was a success. Mark stood on Mike’s back to enable him to place the buoyant camera onto the mount, and Chloe and Mark zip-tied weights to the camera cable to keep is attached to the bottom and away from the coral. The rest of us held the cabling, and Trevor operated the camera remotely from Denver. Everyone celebrated by pushing each other off our small motorboat.

The rest of the day went by sluggishly. Unnecessarily loud rap music from the dude across the street who feels the need to turn on his rap music the instant he parks his car, which doesn’t even play rap music before he parks it, interrupted dazed naps. Three hours in the hot tub showed that Mark had developed a curious crescent of sunburn across his arms, neck and face. Julia schemed evilly about things. Tomorrow, we venture to the land of West End, aboard an exotic glass-bottomed boat, and to Stingray Sandbar!

Mike hard at work

The exhausted group trickled out of rooms, starting around 7am. Erin and Chloe got up the earliest to load the engine blocks onto the skiff with the help of Howard and Ben. They were then able to lower them onto the deck and Mike, Trevor, Chloe, Erin, and Steve ventured out to the deep blue ocean towards the camera site. Trevor, Chloe and Erin got into the water and acted as spotters while Steve and Mike dropped the blocks overboard and attached mooring chains. Chloe and Erin were able to see a HUGE eagle-ray and some large fish along the reef camera site. Once they finished with their journey they came back to the room where Erin fried up some lovely bacon, including making eggs in bacon grease.

After breakfast we went upstairs to our office quarters where we ran new cable and configured the above water camera. Chloe did some lovely hoolahooping, Erin drew a picture of Atlantis, and Jack got stuck in the attack (somebody pulled the ladder while Jack was still up there). After working hard, everybody enjoyed a nice pool break and delicious lunch.

OMG SHARKS! After lunch dive was CRAY CRAY!!!!! We saw 3 Carribean reef sharks that followed us throughout the entire drift dive along the 6000 ft wall “we think we saw Atlantis LOL ” says Erin. Jen spotted a lion fish ( a very invasive and poisonous species). The guide harvested the lion fish with her spear which then made a lovely meal for one of the sharks following  our dive group. It was an amazing and eye opening experience for all of the divers.

After the dive. Steve was able to get the solar panels from out of customs and brought them back to Mike and Chloe who spent part of the afternoon installing the solar panels on the barge.

YUMMMMMMMM I smell tacos (and see banana grams)!!!! See y’all tomorrow, safe travels TREVOR (he left us earlier today   ).

Teens4Oceans woke up late today, overshooting our target breakfast of 8:30 by about 2 hours. Trevor, earnest as always, spent the morning playing good-cop bad-cop with the customs officials in the hope of actually getting our solar panels out of customs (He didn’t succeed, but maybe tomorrow), and stopped in Georgetown for the deep cycle batteries. We gathered around noon to hook up

Steve at Ocean Frontiers was kind enough to donate a new PC to the T4O cause after ours was “misplaced” earlier this year.  After a new operating system and some impossible to find network drivers, we were ready to join the LAN.  Unfortunately, after hours of diagnosing TCP/IP configuration and hair pulling, we found that all we needed to do was plug in to another port on the switch. Following this solution, we were able to configure all of our equipment on the LAN and finally out to the internet for streaming.  This consists of a pH probe, temperature probe, power controller, battery and solar monitor, 2 wireless radios, camera, and PC station.

At about mid-day, Erin Henston made a short trip on the first T4O vessel from a local ship yard to the OF shop, with a the lovely Jamaican man aboard (Ben) and discussed the local scene and the hot places to go. She was urged by the man to visit Jamaica because “that’s where the party is man!” He discussed the serious matter of Jerk Chicken and how the Jerk lifestyle was born with the Jamaican buccaneers. Then the awesome man talked about his “Denver Girl”. Erin was, suffice to say, intrigued by his topics of conversation.

Erin went on a small scuba adventure this afternoon, when she scuba-dived underneath the dock at OF. She and Trevor went to remove the mount for the camera from last year, and recycle it. Trevor brought his BCD and Erin was left to her own vices. Eventually the two learned that it was impossible for Erin to stay down with out any weight on her. Trevor gave Erin his BCD and regulator and she began to work on the mount. Occasionally, Trevor would make the short journey to the mount and help as much as he could on one breath of air. She got all six of the arms loose and kept handing them up to the floating Trevor above. Eventually after a grueling arm workout, Erin got the mount loose and the mission was successful!

We woke up bright and early, and after a delicious breakfast, began to rewire the camera. With two in the attic, and two below, we ran new Cat-6 cable from the Access Point radio to the server room. Howard, the man, was forced to ascend a 40′ ladder to mount the radio because Trevor was too afraid. Then we grabbed our electronics and put them onboard the boat. Mike and Trevor hooked up the 12V source in the engine compartment, because our batteries do not arrive until Monday. We visited three possible sites for the camera, and performed a number of range testing experiments and bandwidth testing at each one. We found two sites out of the three that allowed the data to pass through well.

We all went snorkeled in the lagoon surveying for the location that would provide the most interesting and diverse images for the camera. In each location, we tested the radio that we were planning to use make sure that data could still transfer back to the land with ease. At the first site, a few kids ascended the ladder to the top of the boat and leapt off, plummeting 10 feet into the 80 degree, crystal water. When Julia surfaced and shrieked, “It’s freezing,” Trevor just shook his head in dismay.

One of the main things we were looking for in the different sites was an area that we could run a cable outside of the reef, which would allow for putting reef cameras outside the lagoon in the near future. Another priority in the search for the perfect location was an area surrounded by diverse coral and fish populations, which will allow us to use the camera and data probes for students online. This will be the beginning of our reef survey work with Ocean Frontiers!

While we were snorkeling we used a GoPro camera to record everything that we saw. In the lagoon, home to a broad range of species, some of the highlights were a sea cucumber, a barracuda, an Angelfish, a trumpet fish, and a lionfish. Back on land, we set the radio up and we ran cable connecting it to a computer. We tested the two radios in most of our snorkeling sites and they were able to get a good connection in all the sites except for one. Also, we worked on the camera that we are going to put in the water. We created a vacuum in the glass dome by removing all of the air in hopes that no water will get in when we put it down in the spot that we choose.

The day ended with the group coming together and enjoying a delicious pasta meal. Everyone was exhausted and excited to see what was to come! The day had turned out to be productive. To see what the gang did all day, check out the gallery!