Crystal Cove State Beach, CA– On Friday, January 19th, Colton High School’s Zoology, Ap Bio, and Marine Biology classes took a joint field trip to the tide pools at Crystal Cove Beach to observe the tide pools and the wildlife currently living in them.
The trip was made possible through some planning from the class’s teachers and generous funding from the San Gorgonio Girl Scout Council. They work on building up young girls from a young age to be active leaders and volunteers in their communities.
In this case, they gave our students an opportunity to have some hands-on learning experience about tide pools and their very biodiverse ecosystems that can only be seen when the tides are out.
A lengthy group bathroom break after the long morning drive plagued with traffic had students anticipating their first sights of the beach even more. They enter through a tunnel together that’s painted with murals on all sides, showing cartoony interpretations of the surrounding habitats and nature.
Our students and chaperones take in the sight of a rustic-looking town that precedes the beach ahead. Though it was a small little tourist town, it contained a restaurant, gift shop, and historical/educational building talking about the beach’s history. There was a bar too, but the field trip’s chaperones jokingly made it clear to students that it was off limits…
Finally reaching the water, State Park Ranger Winter gives students and chaperones a quick safety talk about what to and not to do while they all explore the beach and tide pools together. A very important talk, but for some students the view of the beach was a bit more captivating than what Ranger Winter had to say for a couple of moments.
Samantha Jimenez and Dominic Rodriguez lead a couple of other students back to shore after dipping their feet in the water for a bit. For the first half of the morning, the beach was chilly with a stormy gray overcast hiding the sun away, making the water feel even more chilly than usual.
Katolina Esqueda reaches into a tiny pool of water cut out by the rocks buried into the sand to touch some sea anemones. A sessile, and passive little creatures that stick their little arms to anyone and anything that touches them and pulls them closer. Even though humans are very clearly not food for them, they still tug at you to try and eat nonetheless.
Though it may not seem like it at first, Crystal Cove’s tide pools are absolutely full of wildlife. Whether they’re clinging to the rocks, crawling around, or swimming around, there was a new animal to observe in every nook and cranny. This giant starfish resting on a rock right next to a cluster of muscles clinging to the rock caught the attention of a lot of students during their search for animals. Some even decided to name it Patrick. Get it?
The rocks embedded into the beach’s sand reached rather far out into the water. At this point in the tide pools, the pools of water were much deeper and wider than the ones closer to shore. The rather adventurous students accepted the unspoken challenge to go as far as they could onto the rocks, while others like these students right here, would rather observe the view of the ocean from a safer distance away from the waves.
After reaching the edge of the pools on this side of the beach, students were starting to look a little small because of the distance. It was a true sign for students to start heading back before the waves washed anyone out into the water.
Some rocks formed little islands out into the water with their own little tide pools hidden in the center. Along with muscles, starfish, and sea anemones, students were also met with wave after wave of cold ocean water washing over these rocks. It was definitely impossible to not get wet exploring the beach.
Exploring the beach and giant rocky tide pools had our students build up an appetite. By noon, the sky had cleared for a sunny afternoon and shined down plenty of rays of sun that made some much-appreciated warmth after the chilly morning. From left to right, Katolina Esqueda, Cambria Duron, and Melissa Rincon set up their beach towels together to share lunch together under the watchful eyes of the beach’s seagulls.
Once it was time to leave, students spent their last couple minutes at the beach admiring the view of the beach under the sky of now fleeting clouds. Students and chaperones all pile into the bus sadly leaving this peaceful view behind.
