Busy Busy Busy

Last week was a very productive week for us. The two wetland sites and the woodland site are coming along. We have finally figured out how to describe what we want the kids to do when they see our sites, and we've done all the initial measurements. We've spent a lot of time discussing the best way to teach the difference between just a wetland and a more specific vernal pool, even if just superficially.

The students will be at each site for at most 30 minutes (more like 20), so maximizing that onsite time is crucial. So ultimately, the question becomes, do we suggest going over the differences before or after the visit? The concern we have is that if we tell them before, it takes away from the exploratory/observational/ discovery nature of the experience. BUT if we don't tell them before, they might not take in enough details onsite in order to remember the difference for the classroom and will completely miss the point of the exercise.

I imagine we will have to suggest a couple of variations for the teachers to accommodate teaching styles; such as bringing a camera, asking pointed questions that they must answer on a worksheet onsite.

The fun part of this project is going to be for the kids to see how the size of the vernal pool changes over time and the wetland site does not. I hope some students will get into looking for biological evidence for classification of a vernal pool or maybe participating in some of the Vernal Pool Association outreach programs. That would be very rewarding. And I think that kind of extension project has the potential to cover more of the NH Department of Education curriculum standards.

Working on my background section now...


On to the Cellar Hole:
Last week provided me the chance to finalize my study of the vegetation and historical background. Today Katherine and I finally finished our coring samples. It was mightly hard to sand down the maple sample so it was actually easy to read. The pine was much, much easier and barely had to be sanded at all in order to read the rings. I discovered that both trees were roughly 50 years old, which is pretty cool. I was wishing they'd be older so to show how long ago the house/barn disintergrated. I still had a fun time coring and counting the rings. It is pretty impressive that you can find a tree's age simply by taking out such a small sample!

My lesson plan is almost complete, just needs a little tweaking. I think the students will enjoy this lesson because it enables them to discover nature for themselves. They get to read the landscape to figure out the history and see connections within their lives and the past. I really want them to appreciate nature and the landscape and be able to find a sense of place. My site is based more on inqury and journaling rather than scientific study. Since they get that in other sites, my site provides the time for reflection.


And the tree site:
The cores of the three trunks disproved my hypothesis! Judging by the DBH of the trunks, I thought they would be three different trees -- the center trunk is much larger than the two on the outside. But the cores gave me the chance to count the rings (which was no easy task), and it proved that the trunks are the same age. That led me to conclude that they all sprouted from the same stump about 20 years ago.It seems that the center sprout had the best position -- it shot up in the middle of the stump, where it had the best access to resources from below and the best access to light from above.
Now that my research is complete, I can focus on composing and compiling the many pieces of the project. My teammates are taking great initiative and are holding up beautifully under the pressure of our deadlines, so it's all coming together nicely. I hope our final project reflects both our hard work and the fun we've had producing it!