Campers explore wild world on water’s edge
Aug 9, 2021
A camper checks out what she has netted during a trip to Gooseberry Island. Photo by: Sandy Quadros Bowles
Hauling in nets to examine what was found. Photo by: Sandy Quadros Bowles
A close-up look at an Atlantic silverside the campers caught in their nets. Photo by: Sandy Quadros Bowles
A sea robin was caught and released at Barney’s Joy beach earlier in the week. Photo courtesy: Sam Medeiros
A camper keeps a close eye on the water to see what she might be able to examine. Photo by: Sandy Quadros Bowles
A youngster takes a close look at a crab found at Barney’s Joy beach. Photo courtesy: Sam Medeiros
WESTPORT — A sea of possibilities lives just feet away from shore.
Campers from the Lloyd Center for the Environment marine biology program didn’t have to travel far into the water off Gooseberry Island in Westport on Aug. 6 to haul in some interesting finds.
Using a large net, they scooped out pipefish, green crabs, Atlantic silverside, shrimp and menhaden, among other marine life.
With eyes shining with excitement, the campers scoured the net, pushing outside seaweed to seek out their discoveries. Each find was placed in a bucket for the morning so campers could get a better view of their haul.
Steve Theberge, educator and naturalist at the Lloyd Center, hopes they discovered something else as well: A passion for marine life.
“I hope they take away a love of marine habitats and the ocean and a curiosity about marine life,’’ he said.
The week-long program took campers to a variety of locations, including Barney’s Joy beach, Demarest Lloyd State Park, the Lloyd Center estuary and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology.
During the Barney’s Joy trip the campers found a sea robin, officially known as a triglidae, a bottom-feeding fish that gets its name in part from its large fins said to resemble a bird’s wings.
They also saw quite a few jellyfish, Theberge said, as well as flounder and spider crabs.
“I really liked the field trips,’’ one camper said.
Another camper was intrigued by a visit to the Marine Center, where the youngsters viewed dogfish sharks being kept in a tank. The sharks are being studied to determine the safest way to dislodge hooks that might be caught on them unwittingly.
The chance to view the sharks “was really fun,’’ a camper said.
Sam Medeiros, an incoming sophomore at UMass Dartmouth, has volunteered at the Lloyd Center for three years, since she was a student at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School. An intern in the education department at the center and aspiring educator, she helped lead the program.
“I hope they take away learning to respect the environment they live in and get a better understanding of their surroundings,’’ she said.
She also hopes the campers recognize the world just beyond their front door.
“We do live in a beautiful area,’’ she said.
