Our Nature Journals (Gustavus Spruce Trees on Nagoonberry Trail)

Nagoonberry Loop Field Trip (March 29)

The 3^rd-5^th grade class went to the Nagoonberry  Loop Trail on March 29^th. It was windy and cloudy and kind of warm. It was very hard to get a soil sample because of all the roots.  Our soil samples were really interesting because you could really see the layers clearly. There was a little sand and a lot of clay. Desire noticed that at the top of the soil sample it was really soft and wet.  The soil would feel harder and harder as you went down the sample with your finger.  One group noticed that the soil sample had some reddish-brown soil and grey clay in it. 

The trees we recorded in the area were willow, Sitka spruce, jack pine, and cottonwood. We found two really big Sitka spruce trees.  One had a circumference of 251cm and we estimated it to be 55 feet tall. (It had a hunting stand in it.)  Another Sitka spruce had a circumference of 269cm.   

We noticed a lot of moose scat on the ground.  We also saw Carolyn hiking on the trail.

We were quiet for a minute and we heard a lot of geese.  If we keep doing a quiet minute we predict we will hear different kinds of birds migrating through Gustavus. 

When we were nature journaling, Sammy wrote some poetry about her observations:

The blue sky leaves as the dark clouds take over.

The wind is blowing, the trees are shaking, and everything is quiet.