When Sean Nash began the St. Joseph Marine Institute more than 10 years ago, many people asked him why. There’s no marine life in landlocked Missouri. Surely there are forests and other earthly things the kids could study.

The Benton High School biology teacher and instructional coach had a ready answer.

“The fact is that our planet is 75 percent covered by ocean. For us to take the approach that the oceans aren’t important, just because of where we are, is a closed-minded approach,”

Mr. Nash said.

Each May since 1999, he has taken 18 honors students from Benton, Lafayette and Central high schools to Andros Island in the Bahamas to study the coral reef and other marine life. The students meet for two hours each Monday and spend a week in the Bahamas in the spring. The trip is paid for by the students and through fundraisers.

“I think it helps our kids become more worldly and have a global view,” Mr. Nash said. “There is nowhere I could take a class of students and drop them in an eco-system and have them be completely surrounded by the animal life that they’ve been studying all year.”

The program received national attention for helping the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Services add two species of coral to the endangered list. Students and scientists from around the world visit the Marine Institute Web site — stjoeh2o.ning.com — for photos and other information. Former students of the class, many now in the biology field, also post on the site.

“If we could show a little red dot where every marine biologist is working, I think you would see an outline of the United States, and we’re this dot in the middle,” Mr. Nash said.

Alex Paolillo was a member of the class that went to the Bahamas in 2004. He’s now a first-year science teacher at Benton.

“It was amazing to see firsthand what you were learning in class,” he said.

This spring will be the first visit for Benton senior Abby Lucas. She plans to have a career in science, and she believes the program will be beneficial.

“A lot of people came back from it and said it was really cool,” she said.

Next spring, the students will go to the Florida Keys for the first time, instead of the Bahamas, for their annual field trip. Part of the reason has to do with the economy, Mr. Nash said. Typically, a weeklong trip to the Bahamas costs each student about $1,500, which includes room, board and snorkeling fees. The Florida Keys trip will cost less than $1,000.

“It’s a pretty good bargain, and they get this really innovative experience,” Mr. Nash said.

Source: St. Joe News