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Wetland Ecology and the Value of Craft

Experiential learning in Environmental Science and Policy

By St. Edward's University

April 12^th, 2024

Wetland Ecology and the Value of Craft (ENSP 2349) course isn't your typical university class. At. St. Edward's, ENSP 2349 is a topics course in the Environmental Science and Policy department, designed to be a hands-on experiential learning class led by Steven Fletcher, Associate Professor of Secondary Education.

Over the course of the semester, 11 Environmental Science and Policy students built four canoes and used these vessels on field visits around the Hill Country and the Gulf Coast to explore and study fresh and saltwater wetland ecosystems.

For Fletcher, this is a class that’s 20 years in the making – he managed outdoor education field trips to remote salt marsh islands while working for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and was a professional boatbuilder before heading back to school for a masters and PhD in science education. “Imagine taking flat sheets of wood, bending them into beautiful curves and gluing them together to create a canoe. Then imagine using that canoe to study local waterways, perhaps to collect data for research, or to help with wetland restoration efforts on the coast. That can be magic,” he said on the class blog, where students chronicled their progress throughout the semester.

Steven Fletcher gives students instructions for their canoe building tasks of the day during class at East Hall.

Power tools on a table at East Hall.

Fletcher always had a special interest in bringing this unique knowledge to the classroom, and the dream became a reality, in part thanks to grants like the $1 million U.S. National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Grant and the St. Edward’s University Teaching, Learning and Technology Roundtable Pilot Project Grant. The Scholarship Grant provides forgivable loans up to $60,000 for biology, chemistry and mathematics students who are majoring in those fields, and the Pilot Project Grant supports projects that align with St. Edward’s Strategic Plan or areas of focus of the Innovation Fellowship, such as experiential and/or Austin-based pedagogy.

Grace Hosek sands the edge of a canoe during class at East Hall.

Students work on various tasks on their canoe during class at East Hall.

Jack Hennessy, Beckett Postiglione, Grace Hosek, Katie Gay and Ryan Riojas work on various tasks on their canoe during class at East Hall.

Steven Fletcher shaves the edge of a piece of wood during class at East Hall.

Katie Gay and Beckett Postiglione sand the edges of a canoe.

Grace Hosek sands the edge of a canoe during class at East Hall.

Canoe Building Timeline

Week 1: Learn safety procedures and boat-building techniques; look at Quick Canoe 155 building plans; build workbenches

Week 2: Get acquainted with tools and cut pieces for a scale model boat that was reduced to a 4:1 ratio of the full-size boat; learn how to make epoxy mixes

Week 3: Finish boat model; measure and draw full-size canoe pieces from 4' x 8' sheets of marine plywood

Week 4: Cut and sand canoe pieces

Week 5: Scarf (join) smaller canoe pieces into 16' lengths with epoxy

Week 6: Unfold sides and add bottom to create actual canoe shape; sand edges of canoe to make smooth and flush

Week 7: Add additional epoxy in needed places to ensure canoe is waterproof; add structural support (inwale, outwale, fore and aft decks)

Week 8: Cut and install seats and other small parts of the canoe

Week 9: Final sanding edges; prep canoes for painting

Week 10: Paint canoes

Week 11: Launch Day

Week 12: Rockport trip

Grace Hosek sands the edge of a canoe during class at East Hall.

Stephanie Calleros and Victoria Avila make epoxy during class at East Hall.

Stephanie Calleros puts epoxy in Olivia Prior's syringe during class at East Hall.

Hailey Green applies epoxy to the edges of the canoe interior during class at East Hall.

"FLOAT UR GOAT" is written on the inside of a canoe.

Cameron Crowder applies epoxy to the edges of the canoe interior during class at East Hall.

Beckett Postiglione sands the edge of a canoe during class at East Hall.

Becket Postiglione sands the edge of a canoe during class at East Hall.

The value this kind of experiential learning brings is measured by more than metrics – “This project provides students with a transformative experience to bolster creativity, foster self-confidence, elevate proficiency and comfort using tools and materials, reinforce leadership and teamwork skills, and provide a durable product to use in the study of the natural environment,” Fletcher said. “Honestly, the sanding down was relaxing,” Victoria Avila ‘24 said. “I've started to notice a lot more throughout the semester that being able to put my energy and attention into little details like this helps quiet down the mind and reduce the stress a bit from everything else happening in the world.”

Ryan Riojas applies glue to the canoe to adhere fiberglass to during class at East Hall.

Glue drips down from fiberglass recently laid on the edges of a canoe.

Cameron Crowder sands the edges of a canoe during class at East Hall.

Cameron Crowder and Stephanie Calleros sand the edges of a canoe while Victoria Avila takes a photo and Steven Fletcher moves another canoe during class at East Hall.

Cameron Crowder and Stephanie Calleros sand the edges of a canoe during class at East Hall.

Olivia Prior applies epoxy to the edges of a canoe during class at East Hall.

The tip of a canoe with freshly-applied fiberglass.

Students and Steven Fletcher apply more epoxy to the canoe after applying fiberglass during class at East Hall.

The class finished crafting their canoes in time for launch day on Lady Bird Lake, giving students a chance to learn how to paddle the boats (and to make sure they didn’t sink). The launch was a success, as all canoes stayed afloat. Students got comfortable navigating in the canoes and had the opportunity to explore the local riparian system before heading back to shore.

“It was fun to have this different perspective because we could better see the water-interaction side of these ecosystems,” while on the water in the canoes, Grace Hosek ‘25 said.

“I've never taken a class like this before, and I'm really happy to have had the chance. From having zero woodworking experience, to sailing a canoe I helped build with my hands from scratch, I've definitely learned a lot of technical skills as well as team work,” Beckett Postiglione ‘24 said.

Beckett Postiglione takes a selfie of the class in their canoes on Lady Bird Lake on launch day.

“Our Holy Cross mission is really important to the work that we do here. In environmental science and policy, we really care about sustainability, we care about intellectual risk taking, we care about experiential learning, and we are incredibly honored and blessed to produce programming like this that gives students a chance to work in the real world, gives students a chance to collaborate and joyfully celebrate the accomplishments and successes of each other.”

A seagull flies by the pier at sunrise at Goose Island State Park.

The fruits of their labor were celebrated during their class field trip to Rockport. Students camped together at Goose Island State Park, enjoying a beautiful weekend on the coast.

Deer graze at the entrance of Goose Island State Park at sunrise.

The entrance to Goose Island State Park.

A seagull is silhouetted in the morning sky at Goose Island State Park.

Campfire coffee at Goose Island State Park.

The class campsite at sunrise at Goose Island State Park.

Janiece Jefferson and Cameron Crowder prepare packed lunches at Goose Island State Park.

A day full of learning and research kicked off Saturday, where students met with Charles Belaire, a wetland consulting and restoration expert and owner of Belaire Environmental Inc., to learn about wetland delineation.

Charles Belaire speaks to the class.

A view of the wetlands and the bay at midday.

Charles Belaire's Field Guide for Wetland Delineation.

Steven Fletcher looks at a soil sample.

A guide showing soil texture classifications.

Olivia Prior takes notes.

Students learned how to take soil plugs and transplant the grass for proper restoration. “It will help reestablish a grass community in some of the most fragile ecosystems that we have down on the Gulf that are actually really important buffers from storms,” Fletcher said.

Katie Gay and Steven Fletcher watch as Ryan Riojas takes a wetland grass sample.

Ryan Riojas takes a wetland grass sample.

A wetland grass sample.

Charles Belaire and the class examine the wetland grass sample.

Paw prints in the sand.

Charles Belaire, second from left, gives instructions to Janiece Jefferson, Ryan Riojas and Grace Hosek as they work on wetland restoration tasks.

After helping to restore a part of the wetlands, the class strolled around (and in) the bay. Fletcher gave his students honorary sand markings as temporary mementos.

Ryan Riojas looks out onto the water.

The class walks towards the bay.

Katie Gay balances on a stump by the bay.

Steven Fletcher smiles as he gives honorary sand markings as temporary mementos.

Steven Fletcher gives Cameron Crowder honorary sand markings as temporary memento.

The class and Charles Belaire stand in the bay.

Olivia Prior, Ryan Riojas, Janiece Jefferson and Cameron Crowder walk in the water of the bay.

A quick break for lunch, and students were off to their next hands-on learning experience.

The classes takes a break for lunch.

Janiece Jefferson smiles with her sandwich.

Ryan Riojas sits on the hood of his car and talks to his classmates.

Olivia Prior eats a snack in the car.

In the afternoon, the class met up with Belaire again at Little Bay Oyster Reef, managed by the Aransas County Navigation District, to count oysters and learn how the oyster population was doing after a decade-long restoration effort.

Charles Belaire looks at a water sample at Little Bay Oyster Reef.

The class took their canoes out on the water and recorded data by using a meter square to measure the oysters within a certain location on the reef. They learned that the size of the reef had almost doubled from 20 feet to 40 feet.

The class unloads canoes at Little Bay Oyster Reef.

The class walks and paddles out to their monitoring location in Little Bay Oyster Reef.

A crab rests on Janiece Jefferson's glove.

Steven Fletcher passes Charles Belaire a bucket to put oysters in while the class searches for more in Little Bay Oyster Reef.

Classmates look at an oyster in Little Bay Oyster Reef.

Grace Hosek looks back as she and Janiece Jefferson walk out with a tape measurer in Little Bay Oyster Reef.

Janiece Jefferson holds an oyster to be measured in Little Bay Oyster Reef.

“When you learn about an oyster reef in a textbook, you don’t really get the gist until you’re out there at an oyster reef,” Olivia Prior ‘24 said. “We were able to participate and provide data for the Rockport area, which is very cool and exciting that when you’re doing fieldwork, you’re actually making a difference.”

Olivia Prior sits in a canoe and records data as her classmates continue searching for oysters in Little Bay Oyster Reef.

Olivia Prior sits in a canoe and records data.

Steven Fletcher paddles a canoe in Little Bay Oyster Reef.

Janiece Jefferson holds an old oyster in Little Bay Oyster Reef.

Steven Fletcher, Katie Gay and Grace Hosek paddle canoes in Little Bay Oyster Reef.

Cameron Crowder and Steven Fletcher prep the truck to load the canoes.

Ryan Riojas supports Janiece Jefferson as she straps in a canoe.

The final activity of the day was meeting with Amy Belaire, former Director of Research for St. Edward’s Wild Basin Creative Research Center, and her husband Seth, who own and operate Big Tree Oyster Company, which sustainably harvests oysters in the Copano Bay. Instead of meeting in the bay, the class met in a field filled with oyster crates and Amy shared the process of starting and maintaining an oyster farm – the baby oysters, or spat, start off growing on grains of sand from a local hatchery and are then raised in the crates on the top of the water column, where the oysters have ideal growing conditions.

“It was a really interesting experience [visiting the oyster farm] because it opened my eyes to more career opportunities, where I could actually go into sustainable entrepreneurship, which I feel like a lot of the times you don’t think about when it comes to environmental science,” Prior said.

Amy Beliare talks to the class at Big Tree Oyster Farm's container storage lot.

Amy Beliare talks to the class at Big Tree Oyster Farm's container storage lot.

Ryan Riojas listens as Amy Beliare talks to the class at Big Tree Oyster Farm's container storage lot.

Containers at Big Tree Oyster Farm's container storage lot.

Amy Belaire holds her son as she talks to the class at Big Tree Oyster Farm's container storage lot.

Amy Belaire's son looks at the camera as his mother talks to the class at Big Tree Oyster Farm's container storage lot.

“The experiential learning opportunities at St. Edward’s have shown me what a career in environmental science would look like. Being able to go out and be out in the field, meet people who work in the field, different professionals and talk with them, you’re able to feel more encouraged and feel more empowered to pursue different interests that you have. And I know for sure that all of the field trips I’ve gone on have only solidified my interest in ecology work.”

Ryan Riojas casts a fishing line off the Goose Island State Park pier.

After a busy day full of experiential learning, the class hung out on the Goose Island State Park pier to relax and fish.

Ryan Riojas, right, and his friend walk down Goose Island State Park's pier with their fishing gear.

Shrimp cut up as bait on the Goose Island State Park pier.

Ryan Riojas fishes off the Goose Island State Park pier.

Ryan Riojas helps Cameron Crowder with the fish she caught off of Goose Island State Park Pier.

Ryan Riojas holds the fish Cameron Crowder caught so she can feel its scales.

Cameron Crowder poses with the fish she caught off of Goose Island State Park's pier.

Ryan Riojas holds a fish he caught off of Goose Island State Park's pier.

The sunset at Goose Island State Park.

Katie Gay wears goat socks and kicks her feet up on Goose Island State Park pier.

The class shared a campfire meal and enjoyed swapping stories from the day before one more night under the stars, then it was back to the hill country.

Ryan Riojas pours water for classmates at their campsite dinner table.

Spaghetti in a skillet for the campsite dinner.

Ryan Riojas eats spaghetti out of a skillet at the campsite for dinner.

Steven Fletcher cleans up the campsite after dinner.

Wrapping up the semester in a classroom wasn’t fitting for this group, so their last class day was spent taking part in a final canoe launch on the Colorado River, using the boats for comparative riverine exploration to compare freshwater and saltwater marsh systems. Students got to enjoy their hard work and one another’s company as they reflected back on the semester and enjoyed the great outdoors.

The class unload their canoes on their last class day.

Steven Fletcher looks back as he assists students with bringing their canoe to the water.

Students prep their boats to launch on the Colorado River.

Steven Fletcher stands on his kayak in the Colorado River.

"Environmental Science & Policy St. Edward's University" is written on the side of a canoe.

Birds fly over the Colorado River.

Cameron Crowder paddles her canoe in the Colorado River.

Jack Hennessy, Grace Hosek and Katie Gay paddle and sit in their canoe on the Colorado River.

“I hope students take away from this class lessons about what it means to use a tool in the world and how to problem solve when they’re out in the field in their professions. I hope that they take away some self-confidence and some pride in the work that they’ve accomplished. I hope that they are able to learn how to communicate, collaborate and become leaders in their field,” Fletcher said.

Hailey Green squints in the sun as she waits in her canoe.

The Colorado River.

Victoria Avila, Janiece Jefferson and Olivia Prior smile in their canoe as Steven Fletcher looks on.

Beckett Postiglione walks in the water and bird watches.

Beckett Postiglione, Steven Fletcher and Katie Gay watch a bird.

Katie Gay looks through binoculars and Beckett Postiglione takes a picture of a bird.

Katie Gay cuts down a plant.

Steven Fletcher cheers as his class gives a toppers up on their final class day at the Colorado River.

Katie Gay smiles and holds a tall plant.

“I hope that they understand the value of working to save wetlands and the importance that those ecosystems play in protecting our planet, especially with the encroachment of climate change. And I hope that they remember and are able to take the transformation that they went through in this process and share that forward.”

Steven Fletcher paddles his kayak as students paddle their canoes on the Colorado River.

Steven Fletcher loads a canoe into his truck.

Ryan Riojas secures a canoe in the truck.

The Wetland Ecology and Value of Craft class hug at the end of their last class.

Canoes, named after birds, rest at the edge of the Colorado River

Students paddle their canoes in the Colorado River.

Footnotes

Story, Photography and Videography by Chelsea Purgahn

FootNotes

Story, Photography and Videography by Chelsea Purgahn

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