Our Floating Classroom Wetlands Study Field Trip

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Our Floating Classroom/ Wetlands Study Field Trip

• Well spend half the day in the wetlands and
  the other half the day aboard the Nautical Nature
  Floating Classroom.

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• Come with us to Lake Arthur in Moraine State
  Park to study a wetlands.

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Meeting At The McDanel Launch Pavilion
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Off We Go!

• After a briefing by a park naturalist or
  Moraine Preservation Fund volunteer, the group
  will split with half going to the wetlands and
  half going on the Floating Classroom.

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Student Roles

• Your teacher may assign roles to members of
  each study team so that individuals have specific
  jobs for both the wetlands and floating classroom
  activities.

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Welcome to the Wetlands
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What Is A Wetland?

• A wetland is an area that has wet soil for
  most of the year or has water on its surface.

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Why should we care about conserving wetlands?

• Consider them to be almost like the perfect
  hotel. They provide great shelter (nice beds),
  food (good restaurants), and clean air and water.
  However, over 50 of all wetlands in the United
  States have been destroyed.

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Lets Go To The Wetlands

• Well be moving to and from the wetlands on
  trails. Remember to stay on the trail with your
  group.

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As You Move To And From The Wetlands

• Watch for signs of animal movement.
• Can you identify these tracks on the trail?

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Watch for signs of animal behavior. What wetland
animal had dinner here?
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Watch for the patterns and changes in nature that
occur during fall.
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Observe The Plant Life Along The Way.

• This elderberry bush provides food and cover
  for wetlands dwellers.

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Please Remember As You Visit The Wetlands

• TAKE ONLY PICTURES!
• LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS!

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Wetlands Study Activities

• Students work in groups on these three
  different studies in the wetlands
• Water Quality/ Water Dwellers
• Wetlands Soil
• Wetlands Scavenger Hunt

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At The Water Station Well Be Looking For
Critters.

• Move slowly and carefully as you search.
• Search small areas at a time.
• Look for life in the water, in the water plants,
  and dont forget the mud.

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Checking the Elodea for Specimens
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• Fish like this catfish may hide in or under
  the elodea while insects like the boatman may be
  hiding in the muddy bottom.

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• Divide your team so that some members are
  searching for specimens while others are
  identifying them.

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• Look closely and watch for movement
• Some wetlands life may be no larger than a pin
  head.

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• As each group gathers specimens, well save
  them for all to look at before we return them
  back to the wetlands.

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Using the Insect ID Guide

• Use the 4 page stream insects and crustaceans
  identification guide to try to identify the water
  life you find at station 1.

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Dragonfly Nymph Is Easy To Identify Using The
Guide
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HeyWhere Is Everyone?
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Well Study Wetlands Soil At Another Station
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Well do several tests on the wetlands soil using
a variety of instruments.
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Soil Core Samples Will Be Taken With A Special
Tool
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Testing Soil Permeability

• Well test how quickly water drains through
  different soils by placing samples in cans with
  holes on the bottom.

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The Scavenger Hunt

• Students work to identify a spider collected
  along with other land dwellers in the scavenger
  hunt station.

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• Finding examples of wetlands plant life is
  often part of the scavenger hunt activity.

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All Aboard the Floating Classroom

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Aboard the Floating Classroom

• The Floating Classroom is a fully enclosed
  pontoon boat equipped with several stations for
  scientific water study.

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Boat Safety

• Life preservers for all passengers are stowed
  above the windows on each side of the Floating
  Classroom.

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Students Work In Assigned Groups At Each Station

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Directions At Each Station Lead Students Through
Their Investigation

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Collecting Bottom Samples From The Lake

• This device is a clam-shell scoop.

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• At one station, the clam-shell scoop is
  lowered to the bottom of the lake in the open
  position then closed to get a mud sample for
  analysis.

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Water Quality

• At this station, water samples are taken from the
  lake to study water quality.

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• At another station a drop net is used to
  recover specimens of aquatic organisms.

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Organisms in the Water

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• The mud sample is then carefully examined for
  signs of aquatic organisms that live at the
  lakes bottom.

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Yucky Mud

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• Careful searching of the dip net samples
  produces plant and animal life from the lake.

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• Special test apparatus is used to test the
  water sample for pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates,
  etc.

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Measuring Water pH

• The acidity level of water, its pH, can be
  measured by adding certain chemical indicators to
  a sample and comparing the color to standardized
  samples.

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Testing Water Turbidity

• Turbidity is a measure of how clear the water
  is. A one station turbidity is measured by
  lowering a secchi disk into the water.

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Caution Environmental Scientists At Work

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Clean Up Before Leaving The Floating Classroom