Mangroves and Seagrass Field Day!

Finally a couple of days in the field! We have so far been having our technical lessons in the classroom, learning about working with Local Government Units and the history of Coastal Resources Management in the Philippines. Yesterday and today we finally got a chance to go out in the field and get some hands on experience!

Our vessels!

Yesterday was a practice run of assessing mangroves. We went to a nearby Barangay and trekked out to the sea, only to find mangroves covered in plastic trash. It was definitely a harsh reality and a look into a lot of the work that we all have ahead of us. We really wanted to start picking up the trash but that was not why we were there and will have to wait for another time. Time to learn how to assess mangrove growth!

Today was much better in the sense that our mangroves and seagrass beds were not completely covered in trash. We were able to lay out quadrants, record the species present, and the growth of the sea grass and mangroves.

Seagrass was first, time to get wet!

First we had some seagrass assessing to do!

Next it was mangrove time! Elliott is laying out our quadrants to measure!

We had some help from the locals in identifying different mangrove
species.

Wrapping things up as the tide comes in.

Then it was time to trek back to the boat. Our banka awaits!

It was a really fun day. The weather ended up being great, cloudy and not too hot! I hope all field days are this pretty!

Lastly another count down begins: 16 days until my Supervisor's Conference, where I will meet my supervisor and, more importantly, find out my SITE!!!

Halong!