When we were in Monterey Bay area the original intention was to snorkel the rocky shoreline and under water kelp forest. This type of coastline habitat is relatively unique to California, which brings unique plants and critters along with it. You don't find a lot of coral reefs in CA like you would in Florida where the water is calm and the land is flat. CA's unique coastal habitat brings sea lions, seals, sea otters and even elephant seals off of the Farallon Islands for food, shelter and breeding grounds. Those animals bring larger predators and so on up the web creating an incredible ecological community. These species aren't found in many other coastlines in the country because the habitat type is different. Monterey is famous for it's amazing diving conditions and sites. Snorkeling on the other hand isn't as popular. The divers at the snorkel rental store advised against it, claiming it would be murky and a waste of money. Instead they suggested venturing inland to a fresh water hole that only locals know about to do some cliff jumping. The prospect of cliff jumping excited the students, and gave allowed me a new habitat type to slip into the curriculum (freshwater systems).
We went on our way to find this illusive hole, using some pretty questionable directions. Long story short, we drove in the complete wrong direction for two hours. We were finally in the vicinity of the hole after 3 hours of searching, and still never ended up finding it. What a finale to wrap up the last day!
Luckily before we went in search of the phantom hole we ate breakfast and had a final lesson/overview on the trip and ecology concepts we were studying. The students made a lot of connections and now understand the balance and interdependence of life. They used this travel experience to see first hand how climate dictates the species that dominate an ecosystem. They were also able to see how altitude, topography, proximity to the ocean and equator effect the climate.
We also had the chance to stop at the beach in Santa Cruz and eat lunch at Pizza My Heart, arguably the best pizza in the country! We drove through the University in Santa Cruz on our way out, which like Jennings, does not give grades. The students there earn their bachelors by creating an impressive portfolio. The kids were very interested in that, as there are very few project-based universities in this country.
We went on our way to find this illusive hole, using some pretty questionable directions. Long story short, we drove in the complete wrong direction for two hours. We were finally in the vicinity of the hole after 3 hours of searching, and still never ended up finding it. What a finale to wrap up the last day!
Luckily before we went in search of the phantom hole we ate breakfast and had a final lesson/overview on the trip and ecology concepts we were studying. The students made a lot of connections and now understand the balance and interdependence of life. They used this travel experience to see first hand how climate dictates the species that dominate an ecosystem. They were also able to see how altitude, topography, proximity to the ocean and equator effect the climate.
We also had the chance to stop at the beach in Santa Cruz and eat lunch at Pizza My Heart, arguably the best pizza in the country! We drove through the University in Santa Cruz on our way out, which like Jennings, does not give grades. The students there earn their bachelors by creating an impressive portfolio. The kids were very interested in that, as there are very few project-based universities in this country.