Meet Eleni Kotsis and her sons, Dionisios and James. 

Eleni enlisted herself and her boys in the famous SAV ‘Navy‘ this summer to help in the search for underwater grasses.

They had a great time on the water, finding not only some submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), but they also enjoyed watching some birds, snakes and fish in local waters.

The Eleni Crew were crucial in discovering that the submerged aquatic vegetation has returned to Weems Creek!

We didn’t expect to find any SAV in Weems Creek because nothing shows up on the aerial surveys conducted by our pals at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS).

Look And You Will Find It!

However, the SAV ‘Navy’ crews have been finding pockets of SAV here and there that haven’t been recorded, the Eleni Crew paddled out so see what they could find in Weems Creek.

Bingo!

To our wonderful delight, Eleni, Dionisios and James were able to find small pockets of Widgeon and Sago Pondweed inside Weems Creek.

It’s a huge scientific discovery, especially when you’re in Elementary School.

That’s Eleni holding a strand of Widgeon, Dionisios with the SAV sample nicely displayed in the tray.

James is getting ready to take a clarity reading with the Secchi Disk. We’ve shared their discovery with the SAV teams at VIMS and the Department of Natural Resources.

Ain’t this a great way to have a family outing?