Doral Academy AP Environmental Science Camping Trip.

AP Environmental Science Class taught by Sarah Temple (also the science department chairperson) had a Camping trip February 10-12, 2012 at the Martin County Florida, Phipps Park.

The purpose of trip was for students to perform a variety of labs for their AP environmental class.  These labs included a soil analysis, water analysis, and biodiversity survey.  These labs were performed over a three day period.  We also took two trips during the camping trip.  We first visited a hydroponics gardening facility, called Vertical Horizons, which grew vegetables with hydroponics gardening techniques conserving land space and soil.  This garden facility is located in Hobe Sound, FL.  The second trip was to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Inc., in Juno Beach, FL.  Here the students learned about the dangerous posed to endangered sea turtles in Florida and saw some rescued turtles in the facility.

These same AP Environmental Students have a planned trip to Elliot Key on Wednesday May 23, 2012.

Doral Academy Preparatory School’s AP Environmental Class has been invited by the National Park Service and the South Florida/Caribbean Network to participate in a habitat restoration project on Elliot Key.

The Schaus Swallowtail Butterfly (Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus) is an endangered specie in South Florida.  This species are only found in Miami-Dade County and the Keys of Monroe County.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has created a multi-species recovery plan listing what species like the Schaus Butterfly need to recover.  Currently, the habitat restoration project is underway and the Doral Academy Students have been asked to start the spatial planting grid and dig holes for the trees that the Schaus Butterfly need in their habitat to thrive.