Local students participate in seaweed research
Southport Central School students examine their seaweed seedlings harvested April 25 as part of a Boothbay Sea and Science Center experiment involving five local elementary schools. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
Wiscasset Elementary School students examine their seaweed seedlings harvested April 25 as part of a Boothbay Sea and Science Center experiment. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
Edgecomb Eddy students display their seaweed harvest April 25 at the Boothbay Sea and Science Center. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
Boothbay Region Elementary School students examine their seaweed harvest April 25 as part of a growing experiment. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
Southport Central School students examine their seaweed seedlings harvested April 25 as part of a Boothbay Sea and Science Center experiment involving five local elementary schools. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
Wiscasset Elementary School students examine their seaweed seedlings harvested April 25 as part of a Boothbay Sea and Science Center experiment. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
Edgecomb Eddy students display their seaweed harvest April 25 at the Boothbay Sea and Science Center. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
Boothbay Region Elementary School students examine their seaweed harvest April 25 as part of a growing experiment. BILL PEARSON/Boothbay Register
Five local elementary schools harvested their seaweed crop April 25 as part of a Boothbay Sea and Science Center research project. In September, the Center provided Edgecomb Eddy, Boothbay Region, Wiscasset, Southport Central and Whitefield elementary schools with equipment needed for growing seaweed seedlings in their classrooms.
For six weeks, students studied seaweed growth in two controlled environments. Two tanks had seawater provided by Bigelow Laboratories in East Boothbay. Three tanks were filled with man-made seawater. During the classroom phase, students checked water salinity and pH levels. In December, students brought two three-foot sections of seedlings to the Sea and Science Center for ocean planting. Last week, students saw how each seedling had grown in seawater.
“This experiment allows students to compare and contrast seaweed growing patterns. They see which patterns are more sustainable and how they grow after planting. It also assists us with our seaweed research at the center,” said Boothbay Sea and Science Center Executive Director Pauline Dion.
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