The Marine Science club held their fourth meeting of the year on Wednesday, Sept. 30 in room 6-212. 

The officers of this club are Emerson Hunter (President), Mia Caraguilo (Vice President), Samantha Taylor (Treasurer), Zachary Sullivan (Secretary), Tabatha Moss (Social Media Manager), and Angelica Mendoza (Historian).

Marine Science meetings provide education experiences. Speaker Shelby Reece came in to talk to the club members about her job at the Sept. 2 meeting. The club’s social media page explained that Reece told members about how to volunteer in Manatee County and educated them on the Coontie seed. She brought in seagrass for the members to make art. She also talked about collecting water samples. A speaker from USF came to the Sept. 16 meeting. 

Additionally, Dr. Dom Gallery from Mote Marine came to speak at the Sept. 30 meeting and the students engaged with algae prints.

Marine Science also provides educational outings such as group meet ups, beach clean ups, and school field trips. August 18 brought the club to a fishing outing and September 12 to Mote Marine for the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit.

Caraguilo and Hunter say the club is about seeing new sediments, cleaning up shorelines, and having fun. 

Caraguilo also says she hopes to go kayaking more often to clean up more shorelines and go on more exciting trips.

The club has an upcoming event in October called the “Spooky Kayak Cleanup” where they dress up and go kayaking when it starts to get dark to watch the sunset.

Hunter says, “I hope to get more people connected and involved in the environment and with each other. It’s really nice to be able to connect with the Florida environment.”