Outdoors Adventures

Today was not only filled with food, it was also filled with outdoors adventure. SERC is a 2,650-acre campus filled with trails, rivers, marshes, and so much more. I have not been exploring as much as I would have liked, so today was the perfect opportunity.

After Tropical Storm Andrea came through yesterday, we had the calm after the storm today. Lovely weather, sunny and over 70 degrees outside! So, after a lazy morning, we took the bikes out to the trails. The first place we went was SERC's dock. Some of the labs which go out into Chesapeake Bay use it, but all of SERC's boats are still in the field from our preparations for Tropical Storm Andrea. So, I'm not sure whose boats the ones moored at the dock were. But it had great views of Rhode River and the forests on the land across the river. Then we went to the fish weir. We got lost on the way there and got distracted by a little beach. So we went investigating on this teeny strip of sandy land. It was quite quaint!

And so on to the fish weir! I had no idea what a fish weir was until we got there. It is basically a fence in the river that stops fish or any other creature in the river from passing through except at one opening. At this opening, scientists can take a survey of the length, weight, and quantity of the creatures of the river. It was a system of small docks and even smaller walkways combined with a string pulley system to operate the gate of the weir. It's fascinating seeing all the different parts of SERC because I am mostly in my own lab or out at GCREW. There's a lot going on at SERC, much more than I initially thought!

After the fish weir, we decided to go kayaking and canoeing. As well as providing bikes for us to use, SERC also provides a variety of kayaks and canoes that anyone can use to explore the aquatic sections of SERC. Once we checked with the education center that no one was using the boats and once we got a radio from security (just in case anything happened), we were ready. Four of us took out kayaks and the other two went out in a canoe together. Truthfully before today I did not know the difference between a kayak and a canoe, but now I do.
Experience is the best way to learn something! After a rather wet start (there was a splashy slip down the docking ramp on my part and a flip on someone else's part), we got ourselves all coordinated and headed down Rhode River. It was the perfect day for an afternoon on the river. We spent a good two hours out there paddling around, and on the way back we stopped to investigate Korn Island. We found several abandoned SERC buildings and too many flying bugs! The bugs like the shade of the woody trails too.

I cannot wait to explore all the land and water SERC owns/controls. Every day here leads to a new adventure, and every adventure is a completely new experience!