Fishing, Planting, and Learning, Oh My!

            Every year all the seventh grade students at Gulf Shores Middle School go on a field trip to the Gulf State Park.   This year they went on the Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving. Before going on the trip Mr. Wil Tuggle and Mrs. Karin Ralston, the science teachers, worked so hard to put everyone in a group. If students wanted to make up their own group they were allowed. Each group had to have at least twenty people. Once the students arrived at the State Park, they rotated through a variety of different activities they included fishing, planting sea oats on the beach, learning about the different fish that live near us, experiencing what turtles do when they hatch; they also did an animal hunt, and walked on the Gulf State Pier! There were nine different stations in all and each group went to six of them.

                   The seventh grade went on this trip to learn about the environment and the different ways to protect it.  Jill Chance said, "My favorite activity was the animal hunt." Also, "The field trip was very fun."  Lauren McDonald said, "My favorite part of the field trip was fishing, and I really loved the field trip, it was so much fun!"  Avery Taylor said, "The field trip was really fun and cool." Jonathon Rizzo said, "The field trip was fun to go on and I learned so much."    

                   GSMS would like to give special thanks to the following individuals and organizations for helping to make the field trip a great event: Kelly Reetz – Gulf State Park Naturalist and CJ Jarmon, Terra Harris along with Kelly Brinkman from Five Rivers, Frederique Perrett and Sabine Walsh from Dune Doctors, Neal Shults with “Share the Beach”, Joey Donnelly, Patrick Waldrop, and Jim Sullivan from the Alabama Forestry Commission, Harry Dwyer, Billy Brown, and Tom Braddock at the Gulf State Park Golf Course, Gary Bliss and Kyle Johnson with equipment support from Freshwater Fisheries, Karon Radzik, Scott Hammerle, and Fallan Batchelor from Marine Resources, and Nicole Woerner and Sean Brumley from the City of Orange Beach
By: Lauren Williams and Lauren Bowden; 7th grade

Kelly Reetz shows a snake to G.S.M.S. 7th grade students during
 their field trip to the Gulf State Park on Nov. 24, 2009
Photo By: Roger Reetz

Hannah Yeager digs a hole to help plant Sea Oats during the
7th grade field trip to the Gulf State Park on Nov. 24, 2009.
Photo By: Roger Reetz

7th graders Evan Wanager and Bonner Harris golfing