In photo: Some of the USM Geology class 2020, posed at Oyster Pond Overlook.
The natural world is all around us. Many gaze admiringly at the sea or the sunset, a bright red blossom or the fleeting glimpse of a hummingbird. Few find beauty in the rocks by the side of the road.
Not so for the students of the University of St. Martin (USM). The Fall 2020 Geology class, listed in the University’s catalogue as NSC 206, was at the last stop of the University’s annual Geology Field Trip.
Alongside the road, they made the discovery of some large crystals in some big white boulders. The five special boulders were among many that had clearly been placed there as a deterrent to roadside parking.
The students decided to see if it was possible to relocate these natural rarities to the USM campus. They hoped they could beautify the University grounds, adding to the interior garden’s charm, and perhaps to also inspire future research of the inorganic mineral structure.
A request was made to the Department of Infrastructure and Management, under the Ministry of Environment VROMI to have the boulders relocated to the University for the community at large to see and appreciate.
Student Chelsea Henry took the lead with making the request, together with University President, Dr. Antonio Carmona Baez, who penned a formal letter requesting the relocation – and the boulders were delivered on the afternoon of December 8. Future students and visitors to the campus will now see another facet of our island’s natural beauty – thanks to these dedicated students.
The Geology field trip was held on November 21 and 22. Course Instructor Lisa Davis-Burnett and 15 students kept the exercise socially-distanced and masked up with a car-rally-hike from Point Blanche to Oyster Bay to the Lowlands. The objective was to observe the various rock formations, of what type of materials the rocks are made-up of here on the island, and to collect samples for their personal rock collections. Credit for photos: RaeAnn Ford (NSC 206 Student) and the Ministry of VROMI.
