Day 4

Good job to everyone who has written a comment to my Blog response earlier this week. I've seen your comment, IF YOU'VE WRITTEN ONE, even though you may not see it published on the blog page. I can't post everyone's, but will read it and grade you accordingly! Keep the good constructive comments coming!

Today's events included checking the traps again at the Cooks Lake area. I took a very cool video of what it was like to open a trap, remove the small mammal, take the appropriate measurements, and then release it back into its habitat. Please see the video below (it's about 4 minutes).

http://vimeo.com/29813334 (click on link or copy and paste link)

We also followed a procedure called a Deer and Hare Quadrat, in which teams of 5 searched a 50 meter by 50 meter grid in search of deer and hare signs (scat, prints, eating areas). This data gets compiled to measure an estimated population of deer and hare in the Cooks Lake area, which is also used as an estimate to calculate the overall population within Nova Scotia.

We're all very busy with tramping into these remote areas, carrying the necessary gear (backpack with water, rain gear, food, trapping equipment, notebooks, bugspray, sunscreen, etc), and spending the entire day outdoors. It's been great, but exhausting. In the evening, usually after dinner, the volunteers get together at the dinner table to lengthy discussions on the health of ecosystems, the state of climate condition, global warming, and the human condition. I am the only American from the northeast. There is a senior couple from Iowa, and another teacher from California. In addition, there is one couple and another woman from London. The conversations are very enriching because we all have very different backgrounds, politics, and walks of life. Learning about the education in England reassures me of how lucky we (and you students) have it here in America. Please be grateful for the wonderful learning opportunities that you get, because, according to my new British friends, the teachers over there have a very autocratic, know-it-all style, and do not give the students much opportunity to ask questions, explore things that are interesting to them, or do much hands-on activities.

We do have it good!

So, please respond to Part 1 of assignment 3 as a comment to this blog, and respond to Part 2 of assignment 3 in your STEM notebooks:

Animals have been designed to adapt. For example, a wood mouse has large ears and eyes so it can see and hear very well at night, when it's time to look for food and escape predation. Another example is the snowshoe hare's ability to go from brown hair to white hair during the winter in order to avoid predation, and blend in seamlessly with the environment.

Part 1 is to list 2 different Mammal species and their unique adaptation characteristic. Feel free to do a "google" search if you cannot identify any examples off the top of your head. Post part 1 to the blog site.

Part 2: In your STEM notebooks, design a new mammal that needs to be able to survive in the following conditions (draw, label, identify adaptations, etc): cool climate, seasonal snow, ice, flooding, drought, dryness; rocky, hilly, grassy, treed environment; plants and small mammals are abundant, but YOU are preyed on by large carnivores (bear, wolves, coyotes). You need to survive in this region, so be creative and think how you can adapt to all the changes!

Day 3

We had success in trapping small mammals today! Our group of 7 had set 100 traps in two separate areas near the Cooks Lake area (a 1 mile by .5 mile strip of land owned by the scientists). In area 1, along a hill side overgrown with bramber bush, poplar and small pine trees, we found about 9-10 animals including shrews, wood mice, red back voles, and chipmunks. In area 2, a lush moss covered forest of mid age pine trees, we found about 5-6 more animals including a bog lemming, mice, and voles. When we discovered a tripped trap, we would carefully bring the trap to a designated focal point adjacent to the monitoring area. One by one, we would place the trap in a plastic bag, empty the contents and "scruff" the animal so it could be examined. We learned how to identify the sex, approximate age, physical condition, pregnancy, and weight. Scientist Christina would then snip a "hair marking" on a specific area on the animal so we would can recognize it in the event of a recapture. All of this data was recorded in the field chart and will be used for the project-end summative report.

Along our walk to and from the field sight, we also identified more scat and animal tracks. Check out the pictures of the day including how I "scruffed" a vole:)

Day 2

Day 2 was full of learning about Camera traps and Longworth traps. We set 5 passive infrared camera traps in one location near East Port Medway, and 100 Longworth (have a heart) traps in the Cooks Lake area. We walked approximately 2-3 miles total, and learned how to stuff, set, and place these traps. We'll be checking them and resetting twice a day for the next 4 days, hoping to catch Wood Mice, Shrews, and Voles, and possibly chipmunks.

I'll post more pictures after tomorrow's trip, and will also comment of the beautifully lush carpets of sphagnum littering the forested landscape…

And check out the really cool example of nature's food web: a beautiful dragonfly eating a bee while posed on the one of the Earth Watch volunteer's shirt (and my hand)

See ya

Day 1 Cherry Hill

After traveling from the Maine Border to the ferry in Saint John, across the Bay of Fundy to Digby, Nova Scotia (NS), I had some down time before arriving at the site in Cherry Hill. I took the opportunity to see some of the beautiful sights of this region, as well as some wildlife. When I finally arrived at the home in Cherry Hill, where I'll be spending the next 2 weeks, I was greeted by the 6 other fellow Earth Watch participants as well as the 2 field scientists: Drs. Christina and Chris (both professors from the University of Oxford, in England). We had a nice meal that evening and got to know each other a little bit.

Today, we had a 4 hour lecture/class on what Earth Watch is all about. We discussed the importance of mammals as key indicator species of an ecosystem, including what particular mammals we'll be studying during our course: the wood mouse, the common vole, and the red squirrel. We also learned the importance of knowing the number of particular species within a region (or ecosystem), because they indicate factors such as climate change, habitat destruction, or introduced species and competition.

After our talk, we took a short drive to a place called, Broad Cove, where we took a 3.5 hour long walk (about 5 miles) along the rocky, rugged coastline. Our walk, which is called a transect, was to practice identifying mammals. That came in the form of direct (seeing the animal) and indirect observations (seeing signs of the animal). What do you think the most common sign was? What mammal do you think left that sign? Scroll through some of the pictures, and post your thoughts to this blog as PART 1 of your assignment. PART 2 of your assignment (to be done in your journals) is to make a list of all the mammals you can see from your backyard, commute to school, around the school property. Make sure you are clear what distinguishes a mammal from other animals (birds are not mammals!)

Enjoy the pics, and please post by Wednesday!

***I will see all of your comments, but will only POST about 8-10 of them, so don't get discouraged if you don't see your comment under my blog. I'll try to get everyone's at least once!***

See ya,

Mr. Mac

Pre-expedition travel day 1

I began my drive on Friday afternoon, in the shadow of rain on the NH seacoast. After 3 hours, I arrived in Bangor/Brewer, where a refuel was necessary. As darkness closed in on Route 9, the fog began to blanket the rolling speedway and the only indication of terrain was the dim headlights of infrequent oncoming logging trucks. I felt that at any moment a moose would lumber onto the highway, cloaked in the vail of fog so thick, the reflections of my headlights made it look like a ghostly white wall of mortar. Two hours of intense focus on the old Airline Road, and I made it Calais, where I decided I would spend the night and make the crossing early the next morning. At 9:00 that evening, the only place open was a pizza joint, and that chicken parm sub tasted so good!

Up at 6am, and at the border crossing by 7. At 7:15, which became 8:15 as soon as I crossed the St Croix river into Atlantic Time Zone, I got my first Tim Horton's coffee of the trip: Welcome to Canada!

Now, I'm waiting to board the St. John to Digby Ferry across the Bay of Fundy. I'm here early, and although the travel time is the same as driving all the way to Cherry Hill, I'm opting for the ferry because of the nasty driving conditions spawned by the cold front dumping 2"+ of rain on the entire region. After the 3 hour ferry ride, I'll only have about 1.5-2 hours of driving after arriving in Digby. I'm looking forward to seeing some whales or other marine life and settling in to the slower pace of life up here which is already starting to kick in.

Good Job 7th and 8th Grade for posting!

I still noticed a few of you have NOT posted, and will therefore be in jeopardy of loosing points(you still have time), but want everyone to know that I have to read your post before it is published. (The problem was fixed!)

That way, I can decide who's comments will appear under the original post. Make sure your spelling is correct, and you answer the question/reflection with authentic detail.

I will only publish <10 comments, so as to keep the blog "clean". I will still be able to read your comment though, so please do your best.

See you all in a couple of weeks!

Mr. Mac

Cherry Hill, Nova Scotia

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=cherry+hill,+nova+scotia&ll=43.277205,-66.137695&spn=6.925348,28.037109&oe=UTF-8&safe=active&gl=us&t=k&z=6&vpsrc=6

See where I'm going by clicking on the link

1st assignment for 7th and 8th grade

Part of the reason I am going on this field expedition is to conduct research relevant to climate change. In 1-2 sentences, list some of the key factors to climate change.

Sample Blog

Hi there,
This is my first blog. I'll be heading up to Nova Scotia in 2 weeks to study/research the small mammals and ecosystems of Atlantic Canada. This will be the 2nd time in 2 months that I'll have made the looooong drive. My wife's family has a beautiful home in Mabou, on Cape Breton Island, NS, and we visit every summer for 2-3 weeks.

I love it up there, and am looking forward to getting back; despite having to leave my family and students for so long. Hope the weather is nice!
~Mr. Mac

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