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.

NOAA BOOK

This is a link to a post about our NOAA book on a United States government blog.

NOAA Book

Strawberry vs. Moss

We were talking  about our study and noticed that the strawberries and moss were green and no other plants were. We drew a picture of moss and strawberry plants and called it strawberry vs. moss. We drew them to learn more about them.

Strawberry Questions

1.      How do they survive in winter?

2.      Why does it have a giant root?

3.      Why does it have a shell (around the root?)

Moss Questions

1.      How fuzzy can it get?

2.      How does moss keep you warm?

3.      Why does it have all that fuzz?  Does it help it keep insulated?

  

Strawberry vs. Moss (Nature Journal Sketches by 3rd-5th Grade)

Field Report, February 9th (Behind the School)

On February 9th, the 3-5th went behind the school for a field trip, and on the way back we had to notice something that we didn’t on the way there. When we got back we wrote what we noticed in our journals. This is what we wrote:

On the way back from the site I noticed that there were buds on most of the willows that I saw. Also I saw cotton wood buds that looked like they were about to open. Hopefully that means spring is coming. (Tasha)

On the way back we saw a moose browsing on small willow trees, and a moose bed. (Marshall)

I noticed that there were a lot of moose tracks and other stuff like there were no pine needles on the bottom of the pine trees. (Jacob)

I saw a seed pod that had seeds really close to it and I also saw willow buds. What did you see? (Sammy)

I noticed a bunch of the trees were laying on the ground, they looked lazy. The snow was too heavy for most of the alders so they were touching the ground. That was interesting to me. (Faith)

I noticed a seed pod and it wasn’t opened yet. It was an easy guarantee that spring is coming. (Desire)

I noticed where the moose hang out. It has a big tree and moose go to the bathroom there. (Scherion)

I saw a chocolate Lilly seed that Jacob pointed out to some people and some willow nipped off the tree. (Sesylia)

I saw that the willow buds were opening. (Ula)

Halibut Road 1-12-12

The 3-5 grade class went to Halibut Road. It was really wet and cold. A water table is water under the soil but it is not all water it has soil mixed in with it. The water table can be a foot deep under the soil or deeper. Sometimes it can be over the soil. It was very cloudy and the water table was at the ground level. We saw some Sitka spruce, Jack pine, willow,and alder. And it was like a treasure hunt trying to find the hole that Greg dug for us.We found a worm in the soil. And the soil was really muddy.