The group ,Southwest Expedition – The Shadow People Field Trip By Andrew Harris

Tuesday March 6^th 2012

The group ,Southwest Expedition – The Shadow People, Went to the Balsam Mountain Preserve for a field trip and lessons in ecology the group studied ecco systems of nonmoving waters and moving waters they were responsible for inventory and cataloging of different types of aquatic bugs and amphibians. The kids started out a little cautious but quickly warmed up to playing with bugs in the mud and it soon turned into a competition of who could find the biggest and who could find the most aquatic specimens. It was slow going at first around a still water pound but as soon as specimens started being collected the youth really started getting into the project proclaiming “Dude you gotta check this guy out!”. After taking the waters temperature at both the edge and in the middle all of the specimens were examined catalogued and released back in to the pond. From that point it was only a short hike down past a water fall to the creek being fed below, as the boys were having the parameters explained several were making quiet side comments about the beauty of the creek and really liked being outdoors. The boys learned the differences in moving water and still water eco systems and some of the differences between them. Admittedly the boys did tend to get to get bored towards the end and engaged themselves with flat out creek explorations. After examining the specimens collected here and cataloguing those, the group moved on to a day hike to explore some local waterfalls and beauty. All in all it was a fun wet adventure that was enjoyed by all

SEC1 First Field Trip to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park

“Dispatches from the Field”

                        Moira Murphy

Last Wednesday the Flo-ridaz team field tripped to the Oconuluftee region of The Great Smoky Mountains to experience nature’s classroom first hand.  Park Ranger Emily Darling employed us as field researchers for the day.  With two activities, she led us to understanding the roles of science, research and resource management projects in the park.  At the same time we learned about all the amazing things that thrive and grow here.

First the students searched the forest for terrestrial life. We overturned rocks and logs, sorted through the soil and hunted with keen eyes.  Then we collected our specimens with an aspirator or  “sucky upper” and placed them in jars. Back at the laboratory Emily placed our bug collection under the microscope to examine, identify and classify.  It was amazing to watch the creepy crawlies enlarged and realize that so much of learning is just observing and questioning; “How many eyes does this creature have?,” How many legs?”. After lunch, the students headed back to the forest to learn to identify some of the 100 species of native trees that grow in the Smokies.  Equipped with binoculars, measuring tapes, and field guides the students studied bark, buds and branches to identify the species of trees.  It’s quite difficult to tell trees apart without leaves but the student’s rose to the challenge.  We hypothesized about carbon dioxide absorption and how trees can be used to green up the planet.  The coolest part of the day was learning that the information we collected would become part of the park database for scientist to use!  I like to think what we all liked about the trip the most was not just that it was hands-on learning but that it was dirty hands on learning.