Picture a classic boat day. It is 80 degrees and you put on your life vest to catch some fish and watch the birds fly by. Now, stop imagining your casual lake day because this is no summer vacation. Instead, transport your daydream to the Anacostia River and prepare to be walked through an AP Environmental Science (APES) field trip.
On November 6, science teacher Will Gomaa’s APES class congregated in front of the school at 9 AM. Rather than going inside, they set out for the Metro. One transfer and a five-minute walk later, they reached their destination: The Wharf Marina.
It was a gorgeous day to be at the Wharf. The sun was shining, the water was clear, and the breeze was warm. Students began to wonder, why was this the weather in the middle of fall? At this point, DC was experiencing its fourth-longest drought in history. Throughout the course of the day, students were continuously reminded of the impacts of global warming. As the students proceeded through the activities provided to them and enjoyed the views, the shadow of climate change loomed overhead and was intensified by the election results that had been confirmed that morning.
“Because it was the day after the election, everything felt surreal and uncertain. It kinda felt like everyone was upset and confused and just not sure how to navigate their lives and their normal routines after such a big disruption,” said senior Maddie Aebersold-Burke. Senior Helen Gaston added that “it was honestly kind of nice to be able to get away on a boat after so much stress was caused by the election.”
In an attempt to maintain normalcy, the group went about the activities as if it were any other day. The morning was consumed by a scavenger hunt and water testing. The scavenger hunt was nothing out of the ordinary—students spotted planes, buildings, and bridges with the aid of some fashionable binoculars. “It was cool to see the East Potomac Golf Course, where I golf, from a new perspective,” noted senior Paschal Fowlkes. “I never considered aquatic life nearby before,” he added. Then, they divided into groups to test the Anacostia water. Collectively, “we tested the water for pH, salinity, nitrates, and phosphates. My group tested the acidity levels,” said senior Owen Stone.
The threat of global warming was evident in the results of the water testing. “The water was cleaner than normal because there wasn’t a lot of runoff from rain, because of the drought we were in,” stated senior Ishan Dave. “However, once all the rain and the runoff came [after the drought], our tour guide said that the things we tested in the water would all get way worse.”
In light of the recent election, where climate change was a contentious and debated topic, the threat of global warming and pollution felt all the more important.
After a lunch of eating, chatting, and enjoying the outdoors came arguably the most exciting part of the field trip. The class divided into two groups. One group stood in a single file line on the port while the other mirrored them on the starboard. Together, the class reeled in a net full of fish, which were later examined and identified in small buckets. Students could pick up the fish in their hands to take a closer look. A few students even got the opportunity to (safely) put their fingers in the mouth of a catfish they had caught.
The APES field trip to the Wharf provided students with more than just a day on the water—it was an immersive experience for students to contextualize their learning with local examples and global challenges, especially in an era of uncertainty about the future of our climate. •
