StM News

Seventh graders recently embarked on an experiential learning trip at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Marine Education Center in Ocean Springs where they explored beach and barrier island ecology, trawled for vertebrates and invertebrates, and kayaked through a salt marsh.

On the final night of the trip, the students were fortunate to meet a real-life hurricane tracker: Lieutenant Colonel Sean M. Cross, a pilot for the only weather reconnaissance squadron in the Department of Defense. A native New Orleanian, Lt. Col. Cross regaled the students with stories and videos of flying into the eye of many a hurricane, Hurricane Katrina included. His talk drove home the lessons of the week and reinforced the importance of our barrier islands as a crucial first line of defense against dangerous storm surges.

This trip served as the jumping off point to a semester-long inquiry project exploring how both location and human-environmental interactions connect the New Orleans region with the Mississippi Gulf Coast. These inquiries will lead to our intrepid seventh graders designing strategies and action plans to help strengthen the resilience and sustainability of our coastal region.