Salish Sea Expeditions' Student Science Symposium Shows What Kids Can Do

When Kathy Murphy and Sophy Johnston applied for grant funding for their fledgling non-profit 12 years ago, funder after funder denied them.

“Everyone told us that what we wanted to do, couldn’t be done,” said Murphy. “Kids can’t design their own science research. Kids can’t take responsibility for learning. Kids can’t live together in close quarters on a sailboat.”

Twelve years later, standing at the Puget Sound Student Science Symposium, Murphy watched all those “can’ts” fall aside one by one as dozens of students presented their scientific research to their peers and professional scientists, representing over 400 students involved with the research projects presented.

Hosted by Salish Sea Expeditions, the non-profit founded by Murphy and Johnston, the Symposium brought together nearly 70 students from 5th to 12th grade with professional scientists, educators, parents, and others to share marine and aquatic research on the health of Puget Sound and its connected watersheds.

“[The most valuable part of the Symposium was] having the students present to their peers and scientists,” said Annika Mizuta, teacher at Cascade Middle School. “They thought it was very special that they got asked to present and meet other students. The discussion after each presentation was great! I know that my students felt really challenged and proud that they could answer all the questions.”

Eleven student groups participated in the Symposium, held on June 5th, 2009 at the REI Flagship Store in Seattle. Student projects ranged from water quality studies comparing the Duwamish River and Issaquah Creek to macroinvertebrate investigations around the Bainbridge Island shoreline.

“When science changes from a noun to a verb,” said Stephen Streufert, Executive Director of Salish Sea Expeditions, “we see students engage in science in a whole new way.  Their interest in and aptitude towards the subject changes all together.  I can only imagine what career doors will open to these young scientists”

All the groups had participated in Salish Sea Expeditions’ marine science research expeditions during the 2008-2009 school year. Salish employs inquiry-based teaching techniques to teach the scientific method aboard a 61’ sailing research vessel in Puget Sound. Over 550 students participate in 3-5 day research expeditions each year, while another 400 students participate in shore-based research in their local watersheds with their boat-going peers.

Puget Sound Student Science Symposium featured in the Seattle Times, Saturday June 6th!  Read more...

Puget Sound Student Science Symposium Brochure

A summary of the symposium's presentations, keynote speakers, and sponsors.

2009 Presenting Schools

(Click presentation links to download PDF's)
- Bainbridge High School (Bainbridge Island)
    Period 3 Marine Biology presentation (shore crabs)
    Period 5 Marine Biology presentation (e. coli & nitrates in Bainbridge bays)
    Period 6 Marine Biology presentation (nitrates & phosphates around Bainbridge)
- Cascade Middle School (SW Seattle)
    8th grade Honors Biology - Carlyn research presentation
    8th grade Hick's Lake study presentation
- Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition (South Park and Tacoma)
    Environmental Justice Youth Corps overview
- Mt. Si High School (Snoqualmie)
    Earth Sciences & Geology class - Carlyn research presentation
- Odyssey Middle School (Bainbridge Island)
    Blakely Harbor Water Quality presentation
- Seattle Girls School (Seattle)
    oral and video presentation - contact Salish office for more information
- Vista Academy (Issaquah)
    7th grade - Carlyn research and Duwamish River/Issaquah Creek presentation

Download our Overview of 2009 Sound and Source Schools to read more about the ongoing student research projects

Kirstin Holsman, Ph.D. (NOAA)
Dr. Kirstin Holsman is a Puget Sound native who whose research over the past decade has ranged from exploring the estuarine ecology of mobile crabs to the conservation of endangered Pacific salmon species. Despite the diversity of her research interests, her work is unified by a desire to elucidate the mechanisms that govern species’ behaviors and the underlying processes that structure ecological communities. She has explored these topics in freshwater Alaskan lakes, coastal estuaries, and pelagic oceanic ecosystems though a combination of experimental and observation studies and trophic food-web models. Dr. Holsman has a particular interest in invertebrate species and has focused much of her research on crabs and their role in estuarine ecosystems, with an eye toward understanding how human- and climate-induced changes might alter the food-webs on which crabs rely.

"Colorful Crustaceans: The Diversity and Unique Ecology of Puget Sound Crabs and their Relatives"
Puget Sound is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world and as such supports a high diversity of invertebrate life, including crabs and their crustacean relatives. This enigmatic group of beautiful and strange animals has adapted unique strategies to life in some of the most extreme conditions imaginable. I will discuss the myriad ways these fascinating animals have evolved to find food, homes, and mates in areas that range from rocky shores and wide mud flats to the deep sea floor and overlying pelagic waters.

Katie Arkema, Ph.D. (NOAA/Stanford)
Dr. Katie Arkema is coordinating efforts among researchers at Stanford, World Wildlife Fund, and The Nature Conservancy to develop a tool for mapping and valuing ecosystem services in terrestrial environments. She is also working on a new set of models for quantifying the services provided by coastal and marine ecosystems. Arkema's research interests include community ecology, biophysical-coupling in nearshore habitats, marine ecosystem-based management, and land-sea interactions. Arkema received her Ph.D. from the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and her B.A. in ecology with a minor in Latin American studies from Princeton University.

"Healthy Sea, Happy Me!" 
“Ecosystem services” are the things that you and your family need and care about that are provided by nature.  Examples include food, clean drinking water, protection from storms, and healthy oceans for swimming and sailing.  Often the value of these services are not appreciated until they are lost.  I work for an organization called the Natural Capital Project which includes scientists from NOAA, Stanford University, The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund.  We are using science and economics to quantify and map nature’s services so we can protect and sustainably use them.  I will talk about how the scientific process and results from research, like you did in on Carlyn and in local watersheds, is important for the success of our project.  I’ll tell you about the research I have done while SCUBA diving in kelp forests and how science about ecosystem services is being used to restore the health of Puget Sound.

Sponsored by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Puget Sound Partnership, REI, The Russell Family Foundation, Fugro Seafloor Surveys, Inc., and Seattle Rotary #4.