For five days a group of 20 undergraduate students from Barnard College in New York City (U.S.) visited BIOS as part of a new course titled “Bermuda: Case Studies in Environmental Sustainability.” Offered as an elective for students majoring in environmental science or environmental sustainability, the course combines the study of the island’s ecology, geology, and hydrology with an investigation into sustainability issues, such as biological conservation, drinking water, energy production, and waste management.

A new collaboration between BIOS and the Overview Collective provided an exciting educational opportunity for Bermudian students called The Climate Classroom. With support from lead sponsor HSBC, over 200 students participated in this gamified immersive learning experience for M2 students across Bermuda from April 18th– May 2nd. The spokesperson said, “HSBC Bermuda is delighted to be the lead sponsor for this important education program on climate change and its impact on Bermuda’s marine life. We believe this learning experience will equip our students with the tools they need to make a positive impact on the environment and contribute to a sustainable future.”

A world-class ocean science research facility, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) inspires the next generation of marine biologists, oceanographers, marine ecologists and more by providing K-12 and college students a captivating introduction to the science of the ocean. BIOS is now expanding its impact, joining Arizona State University as part of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory™. BIOS brings over 120 years of research and education on Earth’s largest biome to the world’s first laboratory dedicated to reshaping our relationship with our planet.

A collaboration between Arizona State University’s “Ask A Biologist” website and researchers and educators at BIOS is helping students understand the fundamental concept of taxonomy, or grouping and classifying organisms based on their physical characteristics. Claire Fox (right), BIOS science education officer, designed an online, interactive game that leads players through the use of a dichotomous key, a tool that helps scientists identify unknown organisms—in this case, species of fish or zooplankton found in Bermuda. The game, called “Keys to the Ocean,” is tied into the “Identification Keys” lesson that is offered through BIOS’s Curriculum Enrichment Program as a 2.5-hour workshop, which includes the opportunity for students to conduct a plankton tow aboard a research vessel and view live plankton under microscopes.The history of taxonomy—or the science of naming, describing, and classifying organisms—is as old as human language and speaks to a fundamental desire to understand and bring order to the natural world. A new online game developed in partnership between Arizona State University’s (ASU’s) Ask A Biologist website and BIOS is combining this fascination with ongoing research to teach students how to use a dichotomous key, a tool that helps scientists identify unknown organisms.

In early 2021, Nicole Burt, then 22 years old, was in her fourth year of graduate studies at the University of Southampton in England. She was close to finishing her integrated master’s degree in marine biology and was putting final touches on her thesis, which focused on the effects of dissolved inorganic nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, on coral growth. Burt hoped to travel after graduation and started making plans to spend the summer conducting fieldwork in a tropical marine environment.

Paul Gensbigler, 20, is no stranger to the water, having spent the past two years studying the health of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. A junior majoring in molecular and cellular biology at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Maryland, Gensbigler is researching the microbes that help control nutrient levels in the Bay. However, this January he traded the brackish waters of the northern Chesapeake for the salty waters of the northern Atlantic in a “Hopkins Intersession Abroad” program.

Jurassic Park’s Dr. Ian Malcolm was right. Against seemingly impossible odds, life often does “find a way.” Fictional dinosaurs notwithstanding, creatures large and small display impressive abilities to adapt to changing conditions. Sometimes, though, the changes are so rapid and profound that “life” starts losing its way. Sometimes, “life” needs a hand.

This summer marked the eighth BIOS Educator Workshop, a five-day program designed for pre-service, middle and high school teachers, college professors, curriculum specialists, administrators, and informal educators based in Canada and the U.S. who want to plan field courses at BIOS for their students.

Several dozen of Bermuda’s upper elementary and middle school teachers participated in a professional development workshop over the recent half-term break, which ran from February 14 to 18 for the island’s public schools. The workshops aimed to provide educators with tangible examples of how biodiversity data collected by BIOS from the deep sea in and around Bermuda are being used to support the development of marine protected areas (MPAs) around the island as part of the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme (BOPP). As BIOS is one of the three partnering organizations in BOPP, along with the Waitt Institute and the Government of Bermuda, the collaboration was a natural fit and an opportunity for BIOS to share how the work of its scientists is being leveraged in broader decision-making efforts.

In 1991, BIOS became a site for the competitive and prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, which provides participants with the opportunity to work alongside the Institute’s faculty and staff on research projects in a variety of topics in ocean sciences.