URI Marine Science Society:
Taking Classroom Learning to "The Next Level"
Most people involved in the URI fisheries program agree that it is one
of the best in the country. So, how can a strong program like that make
itself even stronger? By having a group of motivated students who use
what they have learned in the classroom and take it to the next level.
At URI we have a group of students whose goal includes just that—we are
called the Marine Science Society.
The Marine Science Society is an organization that provides students
with learning opportunities that use and build on the skills and themes
learned in class. Some of the regular activities of the club include dredging
and trawling trips aboard the URI Fisheries vessel R/V Cap’n Bert, attendance
at the Maine Fisherman’s Forum, and guest speakers at our meetings to
share their ideas and experiences.
The club has grown over the past few years and now has about 15 active
members who participate in most of the activities. The members come from
all different departments and majors; we have students majoring in fisheries,
aquaculture, marine affairs, marine biology, and even psychology. In the
last year, the club has also started to expand its activities to present
a more comprehensive view of the different ocean sciences to the students
of numerous majors who have joined the club. We have had speakers talk
about right whales and nurse sharks for marine biology majors, deep-sea
fishing trips and a tour of the Russian factory freezer trawler Dauriya
for the fisheries majors, and kayaking and scuba diving trips for the
ocean enthusiasts. Each speaker brought to the club opportunities to learn
more about interesting subjects, a new outlook on fields of study, and
ideas for possible career paths to follow after graduation.
In order to plan a more diverse agenda for club activities, at the beginning
of each semester an informal meeting is held where club members share
ideas about the activities they would like to do in that semester. The
brainstormed list is kept and the choices reevaluated by the group members
to create a final list with the biggest buy-in from the membership.
We have enjoyed several memorable outings: Our advisor, Dave Beutel,
Rhode Island Sea Grant fisheries extension specialist, took us on a morning
clamming trip and taught us how to use different clamming tools and to
work for our dinner, which we enjoyed the next night when we held a traditional
clambake. And we participated in our most memorable trip thus far, a tour
of the Russian factory freezer trawler ship Dauriya. Organized by Kathleen
Castro, Sea Grant Sustainable Fisheries Extension Program director, we
were treated to a tour of the ship, its galley, processing center, wheelhouse,
and sleeping quarters. The tour was incredible and the ship so large,
as society president Eric Weather put it, “It is hard for me to imagine
that we catch and process over 1 million metric tons of fish every year,
but seeing this makes me think that it is possible.”
We continue to look forward to many more eye-opening experiences. We
have been working hard on our website. Available at http://www.geo
cities.com/urimss, the website features our weekly meeting minutes
along with more pictures from club activities. We encourage new members
to join and would also like to see our teachers, past presenters, and
mentors attending meetings and giving us both ideas from their experiences
and the support to make those ideas a reality. We would love to see new
and interested faces.
—Jeni Menendez, URI Marine Science Society Member
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