Our first class with the Summer School Students from the New Bern Police Department went quite well. We met them at the Police Sub Station at the Twin Rivers Mall and showed them our Power Point presentation about ADA MAE, and discussed having them "learn the ropes" so they can help us as "crew." We brought in one of ADA MAE's dredges and talked a little about oystering. We did some hands-on "line work" with them and showed them the equipment they would be using onboard. There were 10 students ages 13-17. They were great kids and fun to have onboard the Ada Mae. 
The youth are looking forward to meeting us again at the boat. We will be doing hands-on educational stations, plankton trawl and video microscope, oyster station, water quality analysis and navigation. We will also teach them how to raise and lower and furl the sails. Then we will clean ADA MAE's decks. All this will be done tied up to the pier at Skipjack Point behind the Galley Store. This should get the students comfortable onboard the boat and ready to go out for a three hour sail next time we meet.
Larry Baldwin the River Keeper was helping us as a volunteer crewman with our water quality station. Larry and his wife Diane have volunteered to help us onboard whenever we have classes. Cindy Seymore also volunteered to help us as a volunteer educator. Some of you may remember Cindy from a few years ago when we first got ADA MAE. Cindy helped us with our earlier fund raising oyster roasts and went with us one year to see the Living Classrooms Foundation programs in Baltimore and Washington, DC. She has been following our development and would still like to be part of our team. Cindy was the Marine Science Educator at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. She now teaches Environmental Science at Craven Community College in New Bern.
