Santa Rosa Island Trip
My first impression on going to Santa Rosa Island to me was to be much more greener. And what I mean was that the island had a lot less vegetation that I expected. Going on about a three mile hike showed me how dry the island was getting when it came to the leaves on the trees and the plants on the ground. I also expected the island to be a lot less windy and I also expected for the boat ride to be a lot shorter. I expected us as a program (SURF) to come together and cooperate to become closer as friends and colleagues.
Day 1
The first day of the trip was the boat ride. The boat ride was an awesome experience because the feel the mist of water mixed with the wind felt like nothing else. The boat tilting up and down against the current of the ocean was exuberant.
A couple of hours on the boat passed by and we had to stop at Santa Cruz Island because the boat was making a stop to drop off some people before going to Santa Rosa Island. Just looking and passing by that Island made me pretty excited because I got a little taste of what the island we were going to looked like. The rocks were ginormous and the water was a shiny blue the flowed calmly.
After the long three hour boat ride we finally arrived at Santa Rosa Island. We got off the boat with all of our belongings and headed to the cabin we were staying in. Us as a group settled in and went over the rules of staying on the island. Then we went on about a three to four mile hike and that was really beautiful. We went all through the canyons and though the tops of the hills.
After the long and tiring hike we got free time and that is when I got to explore. I got go up and down the pier and go down to the beach. The pier was beautiful with shiny light blue and green water and waves crashing not to far from the cliffs and rocks. It was really interesting to see how the cliff was formed with millions of unique rocky layers. The layers showed many years of past sea levels.
Day 2
The second day for me was the most interesting. We got into groups throughout all of us and went through three sessions of faculty explaining the different types of research they do. The first session was with a professor named Allison and she specializes in the study of birds. Her main point to get across to us was diversity. I have learned that there are so many factors that go into diversity like habitat, diversification, mutation, adaptation, and island geography. We also saw different species of birds including the ravens, hummingbirds, sparrows, and gulls. She also explained to us how we should love what we do as a future occupation.
The second session was with a couple of faculty that were trying to preserve the island’s wild life as much as possible. We took about a mile trip to a plant where they take care of the island fox that are injured. They also plant things in a green house to jump start vegetation on the island. We took activity in planting all sorts of plants to create vegetation for the island. What I found interesting of what they do is capture fog into nets and use that fog for water. Filtering the water to drink and to water plants throughout the island.
