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[ashlin-slanger]

Week 8 (July 23-29)

This week the Lipsi base was hosting interns from the Samos base for another seagrass planting. These are always fun because we are very busy and spend a lot of time in the water. We collected a lot of seagrass and sediment last week, so this week was all about moving the bags of seagrass into the frames we placed that were deeper in the sea, around 5 meters in depth. I was on the snorkel team. We took the heavy bags from the kayak teams and swam them to the sea floor where the divers were and helped to situate them correctly in the frames. We were so organized and put together that we were able to place all the bags in less than 3 hours, so that day we got a half day off from work.

I’ve also been studying fish identification, and went on my first biodiversity survey this week. I was able to identify most of the fish I saw, and when I saw one I couldn’t remember I described it on my underwater whiteboard and was able to identify it later. This is what I’ll be working on more and more in the coming weeks. It is fun to be in the water, but these surveys consist of only floating and occasional diving which can get really cold after an extended period of time. Each 5x5 meter along a transect requires 10 minutes, and we have 10 sections, so it’s around 2 hours in the water. Luckily we get to break halfway for food and to warm up a bit! This week we took in a bird which had a broken wing because the vet couldn’t see him for a few days. He was in a lot of pain but we gave him as much comfort as we could as well as good and water, by Monday we should be able to get him in, so hopefully he will be alright.

[ashlin-slanger]

Week 7 (July 17-22)

This week I finished out my vacation in Crete and then returned back to the Lipsi base. In Crete, we visited a few famous beaches and more archeological sites. In the 16th century, there were many pirates at and around the island. They built fortresses to spot incoming ships which they would sink and steal from. Granvoussa was one of these fortresses, perched upon an island a few kilometers from Belos beach in west Crete. We took a cruise which let us spend 3 hours at the famous beach and 3 hours exploring the ruins of the fortress. There was also the wreckage of a downed ship which we could snorkel in and around.

Back in Lipsi, another sea grass planting has been undertaken so on my return I was put right to work. I worked to collect uprooted seagrass which we then planted in burlap bags filled with sediment we carefully collected from specific locations on the sea floor. We worked through the weekend then went to the beach bar to relax. Next week will be a lot more seagrass planting, so I am sure we will be very busy.

[ashlin-slanger]

Week 6 (July 10-16)

This week and next are my vacation! I traveled to Athens on Tuesday to meet up with my partner. We spent 4 days in Athens and then headed to Crete! In Athens we went to multiple museums and ruins to learn more about Greek history. The first museum we went to was the museum of the Acropolis, where tons of artifacts from ancient athens were held. We learned all about the many rides and falls of the city, as well as it’s democracy. The Acropolis and Parathion are temples built to worship the gods and goddesses such as Athena, after whom the city is named. There were multiple buildings dedicated to several gods, notably Athena, Artemis, Nike, and Dionysus. As we walked through the museums and ruins we had to look up each myth to truly understand the stories behind these figures. It was such an amazing experience, and truly felt like we were walking among the gods themselves.

Next we left for Crete. So far we’ve been here only a day. We went to the archeological museum here to learn more about Cretan history. Hominid footprints found here have been dated back to 60 million years ago, during the very beginning of human evolution. They also found many elephant remains here, which is interesting given that no elephants lives here today. There are also many egyptian artifacts because they came to these islands often. We have an exciting week ahead of us, and I can’t wait to further explore Crete!

[ashlin-slanger]

Week 5 (July 3-8)

This was another slow week. Since we were relocated to Lipsi, our projects in Samos are out on hold for other interns to pick up. Our ferry wasn’t until Thursday though so we helped out with random projects in the meantime. I did a lot of plastic collections and general cleaning of the base. Then it was time to go to Lipsi! Thursday we spent all day on the ferry. We always watch for dolphins on the ferrys so we can report them to Archipelagos but no luck so far. Friday we went to the dolphin sanctuary and continued our work. Right now I am learning all of the fish so I can be able to identify them when I go out on surveys in the bay. It’s a lot of work and the names are really difficult to get right but I know I’ll get there. We have to pass an exam on all these fish in order to really start this new project. Saturday we went on a 5 island boat tour for only 40 euros! It was amazing. We went out to several smaller islands around Lipsi and got to snorkel around the areas to see the marine life. There was one spot that we had to swim under a cave in the sea to get to! It was so cool! I am really happy to be here at Lipsis.

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Week 4 (June 26- July 2)

Work this week was slow, there wasn’t much else for me to do than plastic collections and sorting through the plastics for data collection. We got back from Lipsi late Monday, and found out that we will be permanently moving there for another project, which will include many snorkel surveys and kayak surveys to document the marine life in a particular bay. This bay is important because Archipelagos is trying to attain permits to make a dolphin sanctuary, for dolphins who grew up in captivity to live more freely. This is necessary because dolphins who never lived in the wild cannot survive on their own. We need to determine what kind of biodiversity exists here to ensure that the sanctuary will not have any negative effects. We will leave next Thursday for good.

The group of us who went to Lipsi got Friday off this last week because we worked over the weekend. We rented a car to tour the island since it is our last weekend here on Samos. The cars available to rent were only manual, and I was the only one who has any experience driving a manual car, even though it was nearly 5 years ago. I had to learn quick, the roads here are narrow and windy with many hills. The first day was just me learning to drive again, but pretty soon I got the hang of it and could take us most places on the island. We went on several hikes. The first was to waterfalls that were only attainable by swimming through a river in between cliffs. It was such a cool experience. The second was a hike to Pythagorians Cave, a sacred place. This is where the famous mathematician and philosopher Pythagorean hid out when he was being chased by a tyrant named Polycrates. There were two caves up there, one which he used for living and the other for teaching. We also went to a very traditional greek restaurant where they began dancing a traditional greek dance called Kalamatianos. I have seen this happen many times out at restaurants and it always fills me with so much joy. Usually it begins with one person brave enough to dance in front of the whole gathering. They stand and begin the dance (must be traditional folk greek music) and the rest of the people begin to clap. Sometimes they even get down on one knee to clap for even more encouragement. Then, more and more people start to join. They all hold hands and match movements. It is so cool because most of them are complete strangers to one another, but they are united in dance and song. It was such an awesome week! I am very excited to spend more time in Lipsi as well.

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Week 3 (June 19-24th)

This week was amazing! I, along with several others from our base on Samos, were shipped over to Lipsi for a large project they needed more hands for. We were tasked with planting (individually) 700 seeds of sea grass. This is a particularly difficult endeavor because seagrass can’t be kept out in the sun for extended periods of time, so transporting them successfully was no easy feat. We stayed from tuesday until sunday, working the weekend to finish the task.

First, we needed to go through each individual seed to gather measurements and record them in an excel sheet. We also sorted out the dead ones and discarded them. We needed to knit 105 burlap bags to hold the seeds. This took a full day, even with all the interns. Then, we made wooded frames to act as planters for the seeds once we put them in the sea. We had to snorkel with heavy rocks to keep the frames underwater, I am STILL so sore from this. For the next three days we used kayaks, snorkelers, and divers to get the seeds from the shore to their locations as quickly as we could. Because of the arduous work, the base leader bought us all souvlaki each night for dinner!

We had media attention for this project as well. Several reporters came to take photos and interview us about the project. This is because man made sea grass patches are unheard of, and something like this has never actually been done. Thus, there was a lot of pressure to get it right. Sea grass meadows have been disappearing with global temperature changes and ocean acidity increases, and they are an essential habitat for many types of marine species. If this works, we will probably begin to plant many more meadows as we do trees on land to restore the precious ecosystem.

[ashlin-slanger]

Week 2 (June 12-16)

This week has been extremely busy! I finished writing a literature review concerning my project on macroplastics which took me about a week. I’ve also been learning a few tricks with the coding program R for analyzing data. I may need this when I start collecting actual data on plastic accumulation on beaches. I’ve decided to do cluster analysis, grouping similar types of plastics into “super individuals”, a method I learned about from reading a paper for the literature review. The idea is that after collecting a certain amount of data and characteristics of plastics, we might be able to narrow down what plastics are local and which may have further origins. To begin the actual project, I first had to go identify several beaches that were farther from base than the ones we already collect data for. Then I had to completely clear them of plastic and waste (a very arduous task in 90 degree heat) so when I begin collecting data on how much plastic accumulates it will be starting from scratch. In a day, I may spend 5 hours walking the coast collecting garbage.

On top of this, I have also been going on snorkel surveys to analyze biodiversity in nearby coasts. This is not for my own project but it is to help out other interns! We also do plastic collections on 3 beaches nearby, so I participate in these daily. After all this work, we also have daily chores that need to be done to keep the base cleanly and working well. After a day, I am so exhausted that the heat doesn’t even bother me at night anymore! I sleep like a baby.

On weekends we get to enjoy the beautiful, and now plastic free, beaches. Last Sunday we spent all day at Psili Amos, a sand beach that is about an hours walk from base. It might be my favorite I’ve been to here! We get delicious food and beverages from the shops here, a nice change of pace from the food that is provided at base. I make it a point to try something new each time.