Six students from Shoreham-Wading River High School spent a day collecting data from the waterways of Indian Island County Park in Riverhead – their designated site for the Day in the Life of the Peconic Estuary program.

Along with science research teacher Dana Schaefer, the young scientists used procedures and methodologies learned in class to investigate the variety of species caught in their seine net and will work to analyze the data in the coming weeks.

The full-year Introduction to Science Research course provides a general overview of research in the natural sciences and includes the scientific method, survey design and statistics. Students have the opportunity to work in small groups to apply their newly adapted skills and the field trip was a real-world experience to help them understand Long Island’s aquatic ecosystem.

The students will upload their data to the Day in the Life database and be able to compare their findings and look for trends with this site and other locations along the estuary from previous years. They have also learned other aspects of research and are in the midst of collecting data from the pond on the high school’s property as part of the Barcode Long Island project, where the goal is to gain an understanding of the crucial interdependence between humans and the natural environment.