Day 1: Presque Isle

Our first day at Presque Isle was composed of different activities to help us find different concepts of ecology in the nature around us here in our own backyard.  This was a great way for us to get hands-on experience in what these concepts look like, and how they actually work. These same activities can be done with students of any age or grade level.  Through the assigned activities, we were able to notice symbiotic relationships, see similarities and differences between different living organisms, find evidence of food webs, as well as realize parts of nature that we may not pay close attention to.  This is a fun and simple way for students to understand what ecological terms and concepts really mean!

*Activity sheets handed in separately!

What Is Living?

On a plastic sponge, my MSED group placed a penny, bird seed, beans, cotton, a toothpick, glass, some rocks, and popcorn kernels.  We predicted which of these things were alive, dead, a product of something living, or have never been alive.  Then, we soaked the sponge (still covered in all of these items) with tap water, sealed it in a zip-lock baggie, and left it on a window ledge for a week.

As we  predicted, the bird seed and beans started to sprout green life.  To our surprise, however, so did the popcorn seed!  All the other items in the bag, remained in their original state.

However, we were presented with a tricky question: how do we really know if the other items are not alive?  The toothpick came from trees, and cotton came from a plant, so are they (or aren't they) alive?  This idea leads to questions about organ transplant and abortion.  If a person is determined to be dead, but their organs are transplanted into a living human, is that first person still alive through those functioning organs?  Is a fetus considered to be alive?  These are both tough, and at times philosophical, to try to answer.  This is a good way to show students black and white concepts of life and death, but you can also go further and ask students about the toothpick or the cotton, and explain that the concept may also be gray.

Point Quarter

In groups of four, our class partook in a point quarter sampling to determine the different tree varieties on Presque Isle, as well as their importance to the ecosystem.  Professor Lowe set each group up in the forest, in parallel sections, so ensure that no groups would cross paths or use the same trees as one another.  Every 30 meters until we had  (6 data points total) off of the path and into the woods, we made a grid of four quadrants.  One person stood in the middle of the quadrants, and each tree in each quadrant that was closest to the middle (where the person stood) were the 4 trees for that point that we collected data for.

For each tree, we measured the distance to the center where the quadrants met and Samm stood, we recorded the type of tree being examined, and measured the circumference of the tree at breast height.  With this data we gathered from the particular area of the park in which my group was, we learned that sugar maples were the dominant and most important tree species.  Out of the 24 trees sampled, 21 were sugar maples.  This was a very neat experience because not only does it teach participants about what kinds of species are in their surroundings, or make up a particular ecosystem, but because it is the technique used by "real" ecologists to determine this information.  It is simple enough to do with elementary school students, with no simplifications necessary for older students.  This is a way for students to do something that professionals do...how cool! It's important to teach students how the curriculum they're learning applies to real life, and how it can be used to further their knowledge.

DHMO

When first presented with the proposal to ban DHMO, or dihydrogen monoxide, I immediately realized that DHMO is water.  The website for this proposed ban, DHMO.org, is composed of completely accurate information regarding water.  However, if you didn't already know that this is water, then you would think that you are reading about a highly dangerous chemical! Many examples of what the site explains about DHMO are listed is the picture above.  All of these are true about water, but the way they are presented is very misleading.  This teaches teachers AND students the importance of extensive and accurate research.  Even if something contains accurate information, it may be manipulated! This is a good website to have older students look at.  When students start to learn how to write research papers, or essays that need sources, they need to know the risks and tricks to finding accurate and unbiased material.

Day 2: Presque Isle

Our class had the wonderful opportunity to explore the bog on Presque Isle on "Day 2".  This bog is a wonderful place to take anyone interested in nature, nature preservation, or students of any kind.  The bog has a wonderful boardwalk, taking you to many different examples of the components of a typical bog.  Along the boardwalk, there are multiple point with sign explaining these different components of this particular bog.

We learned that a bog is an acidic wetland.  Much of a bog is composed of sphagnum and peat moss.  The varieties of plants that are able to grow in these acidic conditions are easily destroyed because they are so specialized to this kind of environment.  Some of these plants include buckbean, birch, duckweek, tamarak, horsetail, and pitcher plant, which is a carnivorous plant that captures bugs in a pocket filled with water.  These plants have special adaptations in order to obtain proper nutrients that may not be found in the acidic water of the bog.  Animals commonly found near or in a bog setting are beavers, deer, and red-winged black birds.  While at the bog, our class witnessed many deer eating grass near the wetlands! Between this bog and the shore of Lake Superior were surprisingly large sand dunes, exhibiting a great deal of succession...this was particularly exciting for me to see!  The water that composes the bog itself is the remnant water from glaciers that melted 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.  Bogs are a piece of ecological history!

Pop Bottle Ecosystem

Among my table group in MSED 251, we have created an ecosystem within 2 two-liter soda bottles.  I have learned through this project that this is a fantastic way to teach students, young and old, about the components of an ecosystem!

We designed out ecosystem like the ones shown above.  The bottle on the bottom has the top cut off, allowing another upside-down bottle to rest inside of it.  Our bottom bottle contains pebbles, well water, a few drops of pond water, a couple pinches of dirt, oxygenating water plants, and two snails.  The top (upside-down) bottle has a sponge stuffed into its neck.  The sponge holds a string that hangs down from the bottle, into the water, allowing the water to travel up to the second bottle.  This bottle is partially filled with dirt, inserted by cutting off its bottom.  Our dirt has three layers: the first layer is dug up from outside, the middle layer is potting soil containing nutrients, and the top layer is more natural dirt.  In our soils, we have a transplanted ivy plant, as well as beans and bird seed that we have planted.  The soil absorbs water through the string, which makes its way to the roots of the plants.

This project is relatively easy to replicate, and is a simple yet complex way to show students the components of an ecosystem.  This bottle ecosystem demonstrates many different biogeochemical cycles.  The water cycle is the easiest to see, but the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, phosphorus cycle, and oxygen cycle are all taking place as well.  Respiration and photosynthesis are taking place among the plants in this ecosystem, and respiration is also being conducted by the living animals, such as the snails and other small organisms from the pond water or living in the natural soil.  Competition takes place between the plants over nutrients, water, and space to grow.  Competition is also happening between living organisms in the water and soil. Trophic levels and pyramids are also displayed.  The snails will eat algae and other small organisms in the water, and soil organisms may either eat the plants, or aid in providing nutrients to them.  Anything that dies will decompose and add nutrients back to the system, and help the other living organisms thrive.  Students are able to see these interactions among the parts of an ecosystem, and the symbiosis necessary between organisms to keep an ecosystem healthy.  They can examine the abiotic and biotic components, and how they are each important and unique in their functions.

Nature! It's awesome!

For my nature observation, I sat on the beach of Lake Superior behind the Superior Dome on Lakeshore Boulevard.  It's a nice, quiet, private beach, protected from the road by beach grasses, shrubbery, and tall, spindly trees.  The soft and fine beach sand descends toward the water, morphing into colorful pebbles of all sizes and colors. Green, orange, red, pink, blue...and pieces of beach glass here and there.  As I sit there, I think of the beautiful craft projects that could be made with these gorgeous jems: jewelry, lamps, and picture frames to name a few. However, I don't dare remove these ornaments from their natural home.

The small waves of the blue lake quietly proceeded towards shore, spraying the pebbles with water, revealing their colors and patterns in full bloom.  The day was slightly overcast, but the sun poked it's light through the gray every now and again when the wind parted the clouds.  Seagulls soared through the sky, landing on the beach sand, not too far from me, to pick at the debris left from previous beach-goers, hoping to find something to eat.  One walked as close to me as possible within in its comfort zone, and watched me...I presume he was hoping I had a snack for him.  After a few short moments, he waddled off, and eventually took flight to a southern part of the beach.  This day, like many of my days spent outdoors in Marquette, left me in awe.  What a naturally beautiful place! This beach is a perfect blend of earths' biogeochemical cycles and formations.   With the breeze blowing around me and through my hair, I sat in the sand, celebrating this wonderful, natural piece of artwork.

My Celebration

For 13 years of my life, I lived in "the country" on Dawson Road, outside of small town in Northern Lower Michigan, called Central Lake. I was always surrounded by nature, as we lived on 20 acres of trees, shrubbery, and woodland creatures, with seasonal hay and corn fields.  Growing up in this kind of place, nature can easily be taken for granted and underappreciated as it is a part of everyday life and can become ordinary.  One scene that I never took for granted was that of the local lakes.  I always had a plethora to choose from: Intermediate Lake, Hanley Lake, Lake Bellaire, Lake Charlevoix…all beautiful in their own ways.  However, there were two that took the cake in liquid beauty.

                A short 5 minute walk to Dawson’s western-most end left you at the top of a hill, overlooking both Torch Lake and Grand Traverse Bay (Lake Michigan).  Both of these lakes, with their clear water and sandy beaches, are a tourist’s ideal destination.  But, most of these folks picked one or the other…a lake house on the shore of Lake Michigan OR Torch Lake. But for me? I got both at once.  Evening time was my favorite to walk up the low incline to the wide-open viewing area.  The teal blue water of both lakes was beautifully complimented by the hot pink and orange reflections of fluffy clouds as the sun descended behind the horizon.  My eyes never became sore or bored from this sight.  The landscape was an artist’s dream.  Having two of Northern Lower Michigan’s most famous attributes in my backyard was something I will never forget.  Day after day, passing by this natural masterpiece, my breath would take a second to catch up with my eyes.  Though I can’t remember the first day I noticed this work of God, I do know that every day that I do see it, I’m just as inspired and thankful for it as I would be my first time every seeing it.  Every viewing is a new celebration.