NAMEPA’s Spring Outreach Recap

From the depths to the shallows, Wakeman Boys and Girls dive into marine environment protectors program! 

NAMEPA was thrilled to get back out into the field this spring at Wakeman Boys and Girls Club in Bridgeport, CT.   Students embraced their inner marine species as they imitated crabs walking, the far-reaching tentacles of an octopus and swimming motion of sharks and more during a fun fill gamed of Who Am I Charades!    We then went small, microscopically small, as students enhanced their STEM skills using microscopes to investigate the meiofauna that inhabits the interstitial spaces of Long Island Sound sediment.  From fast moving copepods, twisting and turning nematodes to the bean shaped ostracods, the students learned about the small, yet important, species that are a vital part of the marine ecosystem.   

Putting it all together the boys and girls of Wakeman learned about the intricate connections in a marine food web and the importance of all trophic levels from primary producers and decomposers up to apex predators.  Student played a food web Jenga-style game getting a hands-on less of how the removal of one species could potentially cause the collapse of the entire ecosystem!   The month-long program ended with students learning about plastics, marine debris and simple steps they can incorporate into their lives to help Save Our Seas!