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.