Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Georges + Lovells 7/24/2011

On Sunday our class embarked on a trip to Georges Island and then onto Lovells. We went aboard a ferry which took us first to Georges Island where we saw a very manicured island that had clearly been influenced by humans.

When you arrive you are led onto a pavilion where you can buy food or enter a shelter that has historical information about the island and the fort lifestyle. People are ferried two and from this island pretty frequently throughout the day and there is no camping. The grass is cut and there are bushes spread around. There is a rocky beach where boats are moored and people can dare to dip into the frigid water.

Deeper into the island you find Canadian geese having there way with the 'yard' and a fortified structure that is no longer in use other than a historical site. The rooms are damp and dark and the only animals I could see were us humans. There were calcium deposits along the walls and bricks. I enjoyed the view from the high point on the island. There you could get your bearings and see a very different type of habitat on an island just a couple hundred feet away.

We took a smaller boat over to Lovells island. When we disembarked I saw some very naturalized inhabitants. The rangers were well kept and the campers looked like they had been stranded there for months, it looked like a fantasy land. Boys were throwing sand at each other and I did not see one Nintendo DS, it was magical. I just wanted to abandon class and stay.

The paths on the island were more rugged and the facilities were less industrial. We got to our tidal pool habitat and I loved the pieces of the fort scattered around, it were the only clues to what was there rather than a fort there for you to explore.

I found it hard to interact with the Asian shore crabs but found a lot of periwinkles and barnacles. The mussel shells that I found were MUCH bigger than the ones at the Barking Crab and so were the barnacles. The shells were free of cluttering creatures and could exist and thrive. There were a few more different species of vegetation. I found a Tunicate that squirted water when I lifted it gently above the surface. We found a large shore crab clinging to life after being dropped by a seagull. There was definitely less human traffic and boats only came ashore a limited amount and you had to get a permit to camp.

As for the garden snails I can see them hopping onto the garden plants that the Lovells brought over when they were gentrifying their summer home. No bunnies though...

Nature had definitely gotten the upper hand on Lovells.

No comments: