This was our last night. We're on our way home!
See you soon!



Sycamore camo bark...

Up above the trees...

Thursday

Hi Everyone,
I got your messages today class! I am glad you liked Frog & Toad, I do too. They are funny. So are the teachers that brought them.

I had the best day today! It was sunny and close to 70! I got to do some interesting work with tree stumps, using an electronic tool with a laser to measure how tall the sprouts were that were coming up out of the cut tree. You can see the "sprouts" growing out of this tree stump.

I went for 2 bike rides today (I got up really early, before the sun, and then a few of us went at lunch time down a trail to the ocean (it wasn't a beach, it was marshy and looked like a lake.)


After working all morning we climbed this super, high tower. It is taller than the canopy of the forest! I will be able to show you videos when I come home.


The people here were very impressed the questions my class had and liked that you were doing the same things with trees as we were here.



I fly home tomorrow afternoon. It will be good to see you all on Monday, I look forward to sharing more of the things I learned with you. Have a great weekend!

Some interesting trees

This is an amazing sycamore.

Wednesday

Hello Truman Moon,
It was so great to see all of you today!! That videoconference was really amazing wasn't it? Hearing your voices and watching you on my computer, wow!

As I told my class during the video conference, we were mapping the woods today. Every tree over a certain size had to be measured, tagged, and the exact location recorded so that the scientists can know just what is growing and how well the trees are doing. They will keep checking these trees for years to come. Some of the trees were growing in some wet spots, like a little creek, but we had water boots on, and went right in. Some of the work here is doing the same thing over and over again, but every tree is different! I am getting good at identifying the types of trees we are labeling.




To Ms Lowe's Class: In answer to your question, there are not many pine trees here. There used to be a loblolly pine tree growing business here a long time ago, but they are mostly gone. I had one pointed out to me, its very tall, with no needles until just at the top. The trees are mostly deciduous. I wonder if anyone knows what that means?

Tuesday

Hello!
It took me all day to find your questions, sorry. If you comment on the day that I post I will find them easier.

There are no alligators here, but as you can see, there are owls!



I was standing inside a hollow tree today, hoping I'd look up and see bats, but there weren't any. I asked a biologist this morning and she said she's never seen any bats, but they should be here.

I am eating normal food. We have a large kitchen and we make our own breakfast and lunch, then we take turns making dinner for the whole group. I cooked tonight. This picture shows what we do in the evenings, we are sitting in the main room (dining room/living room) and we are learning about climate change. It sort of becomes a classroom in the evening.

Yes, I've made new friends. Everyone here is either a teacher or a scientist, but very friendly and helpful.

I will bring home pictures of what the rest of the buildings look like.

I am really busy, but it is fun. Today we gathered debris (good word for you to learn) out of buckets that were evenly spaced throughout the forest. They collect this debris every month. It took hours for us to find all the buckets.


This afternoon we measured branches and rotting trees that had fallen on the ground.



Why do you think we always wear these orange vests out in the woods?

This is a map of the area. We measured inside 4 of the white boxes (they are 10 sq meters each). How big is a meter?