Santa Rosa Island: Blog #2

This weekend I got to experience the most amazing learning opportunity and life changing experience. I got to visit the Santa Rosa Island with my Environmental Communication class for three days. There is so much beauty and nature revolving around this island, but like always I was always drawn to the beach. In my free time I always ended up swimming in the clear water full of thriving nature or just relaxing on the rocky shore. There was something so particular in the cliffs, you could see the layers of sediment that had formed over thousands of years.     As you can see in the picture, the layers are very distinct and when you touched them they were very fragile. They were constantly absorbing moisture which leads to many of the cliffs falling and creates a danger to visitors. I spent most of my time at the closest beach, which was at the pier.  One of the nights we got to experience the presence of bioluminescent plankton. I had never experienced anything like this and it felt so unreal. The waves continued to crash throughout the night and I felt like I could watch them light up forever.  But soon morning would come and it would be a shame if I didn’t wake up early to watch the sunrise.  The beach is where I find my peace and the sunrise makes it all the more peaceful. During some of my free time I decided to venture out to a beach nearby and I discovered a blooming tide pool. There were so many rocks covered in critters and fauna. This included little crabs and variety of sea anemone. On the shore you will find a vast amount of sea grass and seaweed.   I believe that there is such a difference from the National Park compared to a public beach. Not only could you experience a thriving ecosystem but also a lower presence of pollution. I wish that all common people could experience this just so that they could appreciate the beauty of pureness. If you ever have the chance to visit one of The Channel Islands, seize the moment. Overall, this trip has made me appreciate the beach so much more and I hope to show how important it is to have a healthy thriving ecosystem. Last but not least, here is  picture of the stars from the pier. Too beautiful not to share.