Sanibel Sea School shares camp highlights
The Sanibel Sea School’s Winter Camp, “Winter with Orcas Week,” on Dec. 29 through Jan. 4 welcomed 39 campers and 11 Counselors-in-Training. It started off with a bang as they raced against each other in a scavenger hunt. Campers learned how researchers identify individual orcas by the unique shapes of their dorsal fins and saddle patches, and practiced the real-life research techniques through observation games and challenges. Using hydrophones, they listened closely to clicks and whistles, gaining insight into how cetaceans communicate, hunt and navigate. The week was also packed with creative expression, including tie-dye and a collaborative orca mosaic that will be transformed into a table and displayed at the Flagship Campus. There was the traditional Give Your Worries to the Sea Ceremony, where campers wrote down their worries before heading to the beach and symbolically releasing them to the sea. The week concluded with a traditional surf paddle race.