The lab is abuzz with activity and the sound of students talking excitedly as they peer through their microscopes, checking for different species of marine micro-organisms.

They hurry over with their slides and hand them to Niceville High School senior Maria Rossi, who is busily cataloguing every slide onto an Excel spreadsheet, before passing them on to junior Maryam Mohammed, who lines them up in order and photographs the samples.

Mohammed is serious and professional, emanating an air of calm while maintaining intense focus on her work. Her quiet smile contrasts with the energetic grin of senior Jason Baker, whose flair for the organizational and promotional aspects of the project led him to assume the role of spokesperson for the group. The students are not merely studying science; they are working as scientists, conducting research as part of an important world-wide tracking study of the marine life found in coastal areas.

The NaGISA (Natural Geography of In-Shore Areas) project originated at Kyoto University, where scientists are documenting the effects of global warming and human development on marine organisms over the next 50 years. Niceville was the first high school to perform research for the project and this year, a representative group of eight students and seven teachers will travel to Japan October 12^th –20^th to present two abstracts about their work at the NaGISA World Conference.

One of the NHS presentations will discuss the scientific aspects of the study, explaining how the research was conducted and how the procedures were adapted to the local environment, with its powdery beaches. According to District curriculum specialist Shawnea Tallman, the original protocol was for rocky shore analysis, but Niceville’s enthusiastic insistence on participating in the study and its leadership in recruiting other institutions led to the opening up of the protocol to include sandy substrates this year.

The second presentation will focus on the considerable organizational requirements, which has so far involved assistance from the underwater crime unit of the Sheriff’s Department, state park and Coast Guards personnel, Navy Explosive Ordinance Divers and many community supporters, such as the Sloan Foundation.

“We all have our own specialty,” explains Baker, who plans on majoring in business next year. “I’m the one who does the fund-raising and represents us to the community. Maria is the computer whiz and Maryam can tell you anything about science. She’s really brilliant, but she’s shy.”

Baker is particularly happy with the level of respect the teachers show for the students, working side by side with them, rather than lecturing from a podium. “They're like college professors,” he says. “They ensure we follow procedures correctly, but they let us manage the process.”

Gifted instructor Rick Hernandez visited Japan in 2003 on a Fulbright scholarship, which marked the beginning of Niceville’s involvement in the international project. While he is used to guiding intellectually advanced projects – his students are currently studying ways to rid the world of terrorism – this project has a particular twist. “The difference between this and other projects is that this is applied science – it really counts," he explains. "The students have the opportunity to collaborate with the most prestigious scientists in the world. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Tuesday, a large group of students took water and sand samples from 25 different areas at Henderson Beach Park. The students used GPS locators to precisely mark five transect lines at a distance of 5 meters from each other. They then took samples of the organisms from the sand on the beach, both the larger creatures like crabs and the micro-organisms that live in the sand. They then took samples at 1, 5, 10 and 15 meters out into the gulf, diving into the water to collect core samples from the sand. Using the collection process outlined in the protocol, the students labeled each sample with great care and stored them in coolers for the lab analysis and photographs of the following day.

Last spring, Niceville invited a team from South Walton High School to participate in the project, with the hope of seeing the research spread throughout schools along Florida's coastline. A group of Pat Murphy’s AP Environmental Science students collaborated on the project and this year, she hopes to see even more participation. “This is great for our students. They love the autonomy and the informal type of setting,” she commented. “They like the idea of collaborating with other schools and it's helped both sides overcome pre-conceptions.”

That collaboration will be extended to include recruitment this year. When the Niceville students return from Kyoto, a group of them will visit South Walton to give a presentation about their experience, with the goal of inspiring more student scientists to participate in the research.

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The Japan trip is still in need of sponsorship help. If you would like to contribute, please contact Niceville High School at 833-4114. Your assistance is deeply appreciated!