Montclair Cooperative School

October 3-5,2007

Fourteen 6th graders and five adults arrived at Sedge to find that electricity was in very short supply. As the summer progressed our aging solar system has been delivering less and less power. This has made it necessary for the propane fired electrical generator to come on much more than usual. Finally the entire system went down.

The students and adults were unfazed by lack of electricity. They used flashlights for all their lighting needs. They judiciously used their bottled water for drinking. Knowing that the pump for our well is run by electricity, they even rationed some of their bottled water for a final dish washing after initially cleaning the dishes in the bay. Perhaps it was because they were so careful human generated light that they were treated to two of the most spectacular natural light shows of the year.

On the first night we spent over an hour on the upper deck observing the sky. We were able to observe a number of shooting stars and several satellites. Marie, the MCS science coordinator, did an incredible job of pointing out constellations. She had us pay particular attention to the three stars in the summer triangle. She will continue to observe these when she leaves Sedge Island. She will then join sky watchers all over the world as they email comments on their observations to a special database. This is a one of the initial efforts to monitor the amount of light pollution around the globe.

Not to be out done by light in the sky we also had an incredible light show in the water. Just after dark on the second night, we walked out on the dock. The bioluminescence was incredible. Stirring the water with a hand or crab net resulted in a trail of glowing plankton. Several students held and then jiggled, comb jellies that had ingested plankton. These immediately lit up in their hands. This is real magic!

All this was in addition to the usual kayaking, fishing, crabbing and claming in water that continues to be warm and clear. We wonder how long this Indian summer will continue?