The students of Sunlake High School, or rather those who were taking AP Environmental Science, went on the EMC field trip. The Energy and Marine Center that the students went to is located on a maritime hammock on the Salt Springs Run Estuary in Port Richey, Florida, which was originally a research site in 1962 before it was officially founded in 1975 and named the Energy Management Center. The center served to educate students, preserve marine wildlife, and conserve energy. In addition to its primary function of educating local students about energy conservation and management, the Energy Management Center quickly built a nationwide reputation as a state-of-the-art energy science center.

Educating students on the importance of preserving energy and marine life is extremely important and essential to the environment around us. Lexi Csuhai and Alyson Milano are students at Sunlake High School who experienced this education firsthand while attending the EMC field trip. The scholarly students described learning about how oysters are crucial for the ecosystem and serve to maintain the environment by acting as natural water filters, preventing algae bloom by consuming extra or unnecessary nutrients and sediments, which in turn improves the quality of the surrounding water.

As for what they did during the trip, the students were split up into multiple groups. Lexi Csuhai was a part of the animal group, and their group was in charge of checking the oysters for any growth or decay, and Alyson Milano was a part of the cleanup group. The cleanup group was in charge of cleaning up any trash and tending to the environment. The field trip itself was, in their own words, a fun experience, and they would recommend going there, whether it’d be for a field trip with other students or as a family outing, to indulge in learning about marine life and contribute to protecting the environment.