Course R
Story and Photos By Dyan Yingst
For The Capital Times
I love an adventure. My latest journey
took me to a magical island called Grand
Manan, located about 18 miles off the
coast of New Brunswick, Canada. It was
truly a unique educational experience.
Not only did I spend an awesome week
watching whales, hiking and sea kayaking
around this picturesque island, I earned
four college credits doing it!
Students enrolled this summer in
EDU46O met for several hours in
Middletown for a pre-session with Mike
Bernarsky, a well-known environmental
instructor. He has developed and taught a
variety of summer ecology studies for
Penn State Harrisburg. We all met again
in Bangor, Maine on Aug. 5 and contin
ued our land journey to Black's Harbor,
New Brunswick. From there, we had a
90-minute ferryboat crossing to Grand
Manan, which means "great island." And
a great island is what Grand Manan is
all 120 square miles of it. The first per
manent settlers arrived here around 1784
and this maritime oasis is now home to
approximately 2,700 residents. The
island's beauty and charm are enhanced
by its breathtaking scenery, its rich vari
ety of indigenous vegetation, and the
numerous species of bird and marine life
that can be seen on the island and in the
pristine water surrounding it.
Grand Manan is situated near the
mouth of the Bay of Fundy. The bay is
shaped like a funnel, and the tides near the
narrow end are some of the highest in the
world, with 50-foot extremes possible
between high and low tides. Depending
on the moon, the tides around Grand
Manan range from 19 feet to over 25
feet, providing a unique setting to study
tidal pool flora and fauna.
After settling in at the historic
The geologic
tat formed the
__or in the Bay of
Environmental Instructor Mike Bernarsky Fundy created shear zones,
the Swallowtail Point Lighthouse for where various sea currents are brought
afternoon orientation meeting. This together and pushed upward. Baleen
edefines
site offers an exhilarating view of the sea,
and with the surf pounding on the jagged
rocks below, I began to realize what an
adventure this class would be.
I found myself working on a five
member team made up of biology, chem
istry and physics teachers. The Boreal
Coast Study focuses on the geological
forces that created the island over millions
of years, and how the environment and
nature adapted. Grand Manan has several
geologic areas, including volcanic lava
whales are attracted to this area because
of these extreme ocean currents, which
are magnified as high tides push the water
further up the bay. Plankton accumulate
between these upwellings, and gyres force
them to the surface where whales can feed
while expending little energy. Whales
consume approximately 10 percent of
their body weight each day and that's a
lot of food for a mammal that can weigh
50 tons!
Our group was fortunate to meet Dr.
Lori Muirson, a marine biologist with the
Grand Manan Whale and Seabird
Research Station. Dr. Muirson delivered a
fascinating lecture on the evolutionary
development and adaptation of marine
mammals to their present environment.
She also discussed her research into the
feeding habits of whales. To help protect
endangered species of whales, she said ID
tags are occasionally placed on whales
Triassic period
ind older pre
k formed 430
s around vari
the island, we
d look at these
pions, such as
ills, intrusive
sunken forests
granite boul
:rs left by
treating glaci
•s during the
eistocene
.poch.
Weighing a live bird
and their movements are recorded through
a satellite data tracking system. From
tracking records, biologists estimate that
the world's population of North Atlantic
right whales has dwindled to about 350
and that two-thirds of them make their
home in the Bay of Fundy.
After a lesson on identifying whales
and their movements, we accompanied
Dr. Muirson and Captain James aboard
the schooner D'Sonoqua in search of
whales and other sea mammals. We
checked the global positioning system
(GPS) to chart our location on earth every
15 minutes, and recorded the marine life
we spotted to document later on individ
ual maps. Despite our eagerness to see
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