The Experience of a Life Time at Tybee Island
By: Jackson Gregory
Our fifth grade class went on a ten-hour bus ride for our final trip of the year to Tybee Island. Tybee Island is located on the border of South Carolina and Georgia. The Island serves as a barrier for the surrounding cities off the coast of Georgia and preserves them from hurricanes and tremendous waves which can collide into the area. Also, the marshes are exceedingly famous in Tybee Island. They are known to have some of the best salt marshes in the United States of America. It is a very unique home for the creatures that live in the Atlantic Ocean, salt marshes, and burrows in the ground. Tybee Island really helped me understand how God’s creation works throughout different parts of the world. It gave me a great impression about how God works through humans and animals in many similar and contrasting ways.
The bus ride to Tybee Island was very fun and exciting in a million different ways. The hardest part was leaving my parents behind, especially when I had to leave my mom on Mother’s Day! As I got my essentials out of the car and loaded them onto the bus, I was extraordinarily excited for the ride. During the trip, I sat with many of my friends. We watched movies, played electronics, and played the game Hangman. When two hours went by, we stopped at a grassy area and played relay games. After that I found out what group I was in: the Fiddler Crabs. Eventually, the bus took a much needed halt for lunch. I consumed chicken tenders and fries. The icy cold, tasty smoothie satisfied my extreme thirst. Since I was full, I easily fell asleep once I got comfortable back on the huge bus. When I woke up from my deep sleep, it was time for dinner. There were not many choices, so I chose McDonald’s again. I had the same thing as lunch and it still was delicious to my rumbling stomach. Half an hour later we arrived at the Burton 4-H Center and got the girls’ bags out of the bus. This taught me how to be a helpful man to others in my life. Later, I got my things out of the bus and went into my dorm. During our forty-five minutes before we had to go to bed, I unpacked my clothes, brushed my teeth, and put my sheet, sleeping bag, and pillow onto the mattress. I took the bottom bunk while one of my friends took the top.
We had two full days at Tybee Island to learn about the salt marsh, the creatures, and the close surroundings. To start off each morning, I did a sunrise run to clear my head and prepare myself for the upcoming things we would learn. We did seven different activities, which included Dissecting Squids, a Discovery Cruise, and Marsh Ecology. Two of my favorite activities were Crabs & Critters and Surf Sleuth.
I enjoyed Crabs & Critters because it taught me all about the animals, the different species that live in the marsh, and the flat ground around it. I was amazed to hear about the spider crab and where it lives. Did you know that spider crabs live inside cannonball jellyfish? The cannonball jellyfish provides a home for the spider crab, and the spider crab eats the leftovers from what the jellyfish doesn’t eat. When the jellyfish is near death, the crab knows to find a new shelter. Also, I learned that flounder hide from their predators by blending into the sand and water by changing colors. When I tried to find the flounder, I couldn’t because it blended into the sand very well. After we learned about flounder we moved to talking about reptiles. The main kind of reptile we talked about was snakes. I was thrilled to hold many kinds of snakes, two of which were the python and the corn snake. These two snakes were non-venomous, and they had different patterns. The python had black and red stripes, and the corn snake had yellow, brown, and black stripes. When I got to hold the snakes they felt hard and scaly. It was really interesting to learn about critters that we don’t have in Nashville, Tennessee.
My favorite activity was Surf Sleuth. I found pleasure in Surf Sleuth because we got to go on the beach and catch many ocean creatures. Surf Sleuth works by holding a big net and scooping from the bottom of the ocean up. When my group, the Fiddler Crabs, did Surf Sleuth, we caught many different sea animals, such as minnows, flounder, spider crabs, and cannonball jellyfish. What I enjoyed most was hanging out with my friends and playing in the ocean. We also learned the parts of the ocean and beach and how they work. We mainly had a discussion of what sand dunes are and how they are necessary. Did you know that sand dunes are built to keep the sand from eroding into the water? The sand dunes have what looks like grass coming out of them. The tall, green grass is sea oats that help the sand stay together instead of washing to sea. The beach and ocean attract me because of all the creatures you can find there but not back home.
During the long trip, I knew that there was a more important meaning than just having fun. The bonfire was a wonderful experience, and during it God told me something important. It’s a feeling I would like to share with you. I heard God talking to me about how I could become a better person spiritually. I noticed that during the campfire almost everyone was on one side, and some other boys were on the opposite side. I was on the side with the boys that were considered more popular (the larger group). I considered right then that God’s plan was for me to go sit with the smaller group and interact with them. Later on, some of the leaders of our school came and talked about it and helped me realize that I had a true heart for others in need. I am going to continue to have that kind of heart for those people and others in my life. After a few minutes, I gathered some of my friends to encourage them to do the same thing I did. I will continue to urge others to duo these acts of kindness towards their classmates. To me this shows what a true leader looks like. I am looking forward to what other things God will lay on my heart to do for other people.
2 Corinthians 1:4
“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
Learning While in Paradise
By: Caroline Selinger
On Sunday I said goodbye to my family and hopped on a bus for about eleven hours. My destination was Tybee Island, Georgia. I packed all my clothes, a sleeping bag, and my iPod. I only turned my iPod on once. I found out that when you aren’t in school, you learn a lot about your friends. I realized that God created friends for entertainment, and they don’t need to be charged.
When we got there, they introduced us to our counselors: Sidra, Mike, Adam, Aaron, Sinead (pronounced Shin Aid), and Renee. My counselor was Mike. He was encouraging us not to be afraid to do something. He was also very understanding when we asked a question; not only that, and most importantly, he was fun!
My favorite class was called Crabs and Critters. I held a snake and a lizard. I learned not to be scared of animals such as crabs, snakes, jellyfish and lizards. I also learned that spider crabs live in cannonball jellyfish for about two weeks at a time. Clover, a loggerhead turtle, lives in a tank on the campus. In August 2011 they will let her go. They are going to put a tracking device in her shell so they can see her journey. This will help scientists know more about sea turtles and how to help them survive.
While we were in Tybee, we had to eat. Let’s just say that the food wasn’t your typical five-star restaurant. I can’t say that it was delicious, but it wasn’t awful. The menu included Pizza, Chicken Noodles, Chicken Fajitas, and Taco Salad. The breakfast menu was French toast, hash browns and sausage one day. The other day we had eggs, biscuits, apples and grits.
We stayed in little dorms scattered around the campus. In my dorm there were three faculty supervisors and eleven of my classmates. My cabin was unique and fun; during breaks we would have dance parties since it was just too hot outside!
All of the classes that I did were fun. My first class was Beach Ecology. I had Sidra as my counselor. We went on the beach and pointed out anything that we found interesting. My favorite thing that we found was coral. It might sound boring, but I enjoyed it because it almost looked like wires. We also found ghost crab holes, cannonball jellyfish, and we studied the sand dunes.
The second class that I took was Wetland Monitoring. My counselor was Mike. He told us about some chemical tests we would do over the marsh water to make sure that the marsh was healthy. After we did the tests, we gave the marsh a grade on how healthy it was. The final grade was an A. This meant that the marsh was very healthy but was still adjusting to the hot weather. Some of the tests that we did included the pH of the water, the salinity of the water, and the content of Phosphate and Nitrates.
One of my favorite classes I took third. It was Marsh Ecology, and it has to do with the importance of the marsh. After we studied the marsh on campus, we took a bus to a marsh about ten minutes away. We got to taste sea pickle, which is a plant that tastes like a sour pickle. I caught some fiddler crabs and got down and dirty. We got to put the marsh mud on our faces for free instead of spending fifty dollars at the salon to get the same mud. The fiddler crabs aren’t exactly what I expected; I excepted them to be bigger. They are only about the size of a quarter at the biggest.
My last class was called Surf Sleuth. As a group we went out to the beach on a bus bringing a net. We lined up on the net and caught tons of animals including fish, jellyfish, and crabs.
The bible verse I chose had to do with the fact that God took the time to create and think through everything on the Earth. I chose Genesis 1:11-12: “Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” I was amazed about how many things God created, not only humans and animals but also all plants.
While we were there, there was another school there too. They were from South Georgia. There was a boy who wanted to play basketball but the kids from his school wouldn’t let him. They said he wasn’t good enough to play on their team. His name was Keelan. Keelan had a big smile on his face after the first day. The reason for his smile was that, without even being told, the boys from our school asked him if he wanted to play. When he was playing, he even made a basket. This to me stood out the most. Not only did it become clear to me that our school really is about leadership, but it also told me that we have some of the sweetest boys in my grade. This taught me leadership more than anything on the trip did.
When we had to pack up, I was sad because I would have to leave the counselors, the animals, and my bunk. I was also VERY excited about getting home because I missed my family, especially my dog. The bus ride back was very fast and fun. We played games, watched movies, and most of all, talked! Besides, who says that you can’t learn while in paradise?!?!