Last Day!

High: 5°C
Low :3°C
Sunrise: 7:19
Sunset: 18:50

Well, this is the last day. The next time you hear form me will be Thursday morning. I had a really great time, but now I am ready to come back to my normal life. I learned so much about science. What I learned the most is how difficult a scientific study can be. I have always wondered why it takes scientists so long to find answers to problems or find cures for disease. Now I know!! There are so many variables that come into play when scientists look at global issues. We have been studying the issues of vegetation growth in certain areas. The problem with coming up with answers is that scientists need to compare their data to other data. But, when they look at data they want to have at least 30yrs of data to compare. When you think about it, this is a lot of work and a very small amount of data compared to the life of the whole world. When we look at the trees, we are looking at a small section of vegetation when compared to all the vegetation in a similar climate. Then, we also need to look at the variables that come into play. We need to look at soil, types of trees, human impact, animal/insect impact, and the growing seasons. So, the two main questions are: Is the Climate Changing?, and What Can I Do To Help? Well, what we have definitely noticed is that we are having longer growing seasons. We are noticing in the arctic that the growing season for many plants is extending. We also need to understand that weather is a cyclical event. We have years when the climate is warmer and we have years when the climate is cooler. The one thing we need to be aware of is that when we have those warmer years we need to be conscious of our impact on the climate. We can speed up or slow down this process with the choices we make. So, the question is what can we do? That is what we need to figure out when I get back. We need to come up with a project in Cudahy that will help the process of climate change. I hope when I get back we can discuss the possibilities to what we can do. Also, any other teachers following the blog can also help come up with ideas. Can we start a project that helps our communities? Can we make a difference? Well, today we started a new task. We started doing some research on soil sampling. We started digging in the soil at different locations. We needed to look at the soil in 10 different locations along the tundra and then 10 locations in the forest. We also needed to dig 1 "pit" in the tundra and 1 "pit" in the forest. The pit needed to be dug down to the permafrost. I have included pictures of the different pits. ( I know I look like a nerd holding the shovel and soil, it was on purpose)When you look at the pictures you should see the different soil horizons. When digging the pits we see Horizon A, Horizon B, and Horizon C. When we dug the pit in the tundra we found that there was 71 cm of organic material. After the 71 cm of organic material we actually made it to the permafrost. It was so cool to dig down and find a layer of frozen material. I actually found the Frozen Tundra ha ha. What was so interesting is that if you dig in the soil in Wisconsin it doesn't get colder it actually gets warmer. The reason would be because of soil decomposition. Up in the Arctic the decomposition of anything is very slow. When we dug down 71cm we were actually looking at material that was hundreds of years old. Cudahy Students: Look up the bold words (one last time). Also, right down some ideas about a project we can start for Cudahy when I return. Finally, watch the video of me digging a hole and talking about the horizon layers. See you soon!!

Moved To The BLK Site

High: 8°C
Low : 3°C
Sunrise: 7:17
Sunset: 18:53
Hello Again - I just wanted to say I was so excited to talk with all of you on Monday. It was really hard to talk with you and not see you. I couldn’t see your reactions or how you enjoyed or didn’t enjoy what I was talking about. Let me know if you enjoyed the phone conference. I can share your answers about the conference with the Earthwatch people who made this possible. All of you that keep saying I need to come home, guess what, only one more day. I will be back for 3rd hour on Thursday. This trip went so fast, but sounds like it was forever for some of you. It has been an exciting trip. I have met people from all around the United States. Just learning about what they teach and how their schools run has been an experience. I want to thank the School District of Cudahy for letting me experience this and to share it with my students. Ok, on to more fun things in the arctic. While we were in Churchill we observed an artistic figure called a Inukshuk. Look up this word and tell me what they are. They are really cool and while we were in Churchill we saw a few of them. We were able to see some more wildlife today. We saw the ptarmigan. This bird is really neat to see flying though the woods. I was unable to take a picture of it, but look it up and read about the adaptations this bird makes. We continued our study of the forest and the different vegetation that grows there. We did move to a new location today. We were able to finish the site we were working on and now moved to a site they call BLK. At the BLK site we noticed there are many more black spruce then we have seen at the last site. We were also able to see the Larch tree. This is an interesting tree because it is a deciduous conifer tree. What was so different was that the larch tree was all over the BLK site, but while we were at the old site there were very few. The larch tree is the tree that I showed you on the video conference today. So, today we were able to collect 50 seedlings and 50 saplings from the forest tundra. Once we collect them we brought them back to the lab and do a few more studies. One of the studies is to count the whorls. The picture is of some of my team members counting the whorls and entering the data into the computer. Another thing we need to do once back at the lab is to remove the cores from the trees we collected. We put the tree cores on a piece of wood and let them dry. In one of my previous posts I explained how we do this already, but wanted to put a picture of the boards on this blog. Finally I want you students to start to think about a "project". Now that you have seen what I am doing in the arctic, I want you to think about what we could do in Cudahy to help improve the schools or the community. I want you to think about problems or concerns you have about the environment or areas around the community that we may be able to help or study. When I get back I want to discuss different options and come up with a plan of action. Cudahy Students: 1. Define the bold letter words. 2. Look up Inukshuk (Inuksuk) and find out other places in the world that have them. 3. Tell me adaptations that the ptarmigan makes. 4. In your journal come up with some ideas that we could do as a project to help out in our community or school district.

Hello Everyone. What a great weekend. So many positive things happened this weekend in Churchill and in Milwaukee. First of all, GO BREWERS! Secondly, I heard my friend and former student Lauren Molitor is getting better. You go Lauren! Lastly, WE SAW POLAR BEARS. Wow, what an amazing sight. We went on a road a trails tour and ended up seeing two polar bears, a red fox, snow geese, arctic hare, tundra swan, Canadian Eskimo Dogs, and it even snowed. The polar bears make our black bears look like babies. One of the polar bears that we saw was estimated at 1000lbs. Our guide on the trip is a local of Churchill and also hunts the land. Therefore, I trust his judgment on the size of the bear. One of my students asked about what species of animals are protected or endangered. I was able to ask Carly (our protector from bears) and she informed me that it is really hard to answer that question in Churchill. The reason for that is because the numbers constantly change. There may be a time that the numbers of one species goes down which puts it goes on the protected list. Then, within a few years the numbers go back up and that animal may be taken off the list. Some animals on the list right now are the Polar Bear, the Tundra Swan, and some species of whales. See if you can find any other animals on the protected or endangered list in Churchill, Manitoba. On the trip we also saw the “Polar Bear Jail”. This is a building where they hold problem polar bears. If a polar bear enters the “control area” then the bear is trapped and put in jail. Once in jail they do not feed the bear, they tag it, record size and weight, and they keep it in a cage for up to three weeks. After this time they harness the bear to a helicopter and transport it to the north. If the bear returns, they do this process again. If it returns a third or fourth time they then make a decision to put the bear down. The jail is supposed to give the bear a bad experience and hopefully discourage him from returning. After we saw all the wildlife on the tour we went to town to see the Eskimo Museum. We were able to learn a lot about the Inuit people and Dene people. We were also given lots of information on the tour about the Inuit people. Many of the hunters in this culture still eat raw caribou meat and build igloos for shelter. Many of the Inuit people still live a traditional way of life. We were able to see the Canadian Eskimo Dogs. These dogs are very cool looking. Look at the cool eyes these dogs have. They are also pretty scary looking. (I think Mr. Sommerville should buy one. Tell him they are only $1800.00) These dogs are not like the dogs we think of back in the United States. These dogs are used for racing and work. They are a special breed and the history of these dogs is long and in depth. I have attached a video of the large group of dogs chained up. We were told that we can’t look at these dogs as we do our own pets because these dogs are working and racing dogs. The tour guide said we need to view these dogs like we would view a horse back at home. Not something you want in your house, but rather something you keep for work, recreation, or sport. Tell me what you think! Also, I want you to visit the site http://www.canadianeskimodog.com/history.htm. Write in your journal your thoughts on the video and some information from the web site. Cudahy Kids: 1. Find out what animals are on the endangered or the protected list in Churchill, Manitoba. 2. Define or describe the bold letter words. 3. Go to the link about and read about the Canadian Eskimo Dog. Watch the video and write a 1pg reaction to the video and what you read about the dogs. 4. Write me a comment about my weekend, and if you have time visit the other teachers pages. Keep having fun!! Remember, you do not need to hear the video.

Some Pictures

Just a few pictures. George is even coring a tree. We also saw an Arctic Hare . He is really cool.

Thanks for the update on the Brewers Mr. Sommerville. Go Brewers!! And for the spelling mistakes, sorry it gets real late!! Well, tomorrow is our day off and I hope to see that infamous polar bear. I have included a picture of a paw of the polar bear. They have a polar bear rug in the research center. The bear was put down after several times of relocating him because he was showing up in town several times.

23.5 Mile Per Hour Winds

Hello Everyone - I am getting a lot of questions that I can not answer because of lack of time. I apologize for that and if you keep track of the questions in your journal or continue to ask them, but I may have to answer them when I return. Well, today we did a lot more tree coring. Someone asked me how many trees we had to core. We had to core 50 trees in the tundra forest and 50 trees in the forest. Now remember, we had to take the DRC (diameter at root crown) core and the DCH (diameter at chest height) core. Therefore, we need 100 trees total with two cores from each tree. We did a lot of drilling. So, once we core these trees what can we learn from the cores? (“comment” me the answer) Another person asked what we use the straws for when coring trees. We use them to basically hold the core until we get back to the lab. The core fits right into the straw and we tape both ends and label them. Once we get back to the lab we lay them on a board to dry. Again, we have to label them a second time once on the board. Now you know why this is so time consuming. Students, this weekend I have off on Saturday. We get the whole day to ourselves to do whatever we want. We will be going on a Trails and Roads tour. We get to go down all the different trials that may lead us to the infamous polar bear. In the afternoon I think we are going to visit a museum. So, I will most likely not post a blog on Friday night or Saturday night. I will check it for anyone who whats to comment. Especially my "emergency" kids. (you know who you are, I will be back soon. Hang in there) What I will do is post lots and lots of pictures. I will mostly likely make a link to a website that has all my pictures on it. I know you guys/girls would love to look at pictures and not read a long blog. Today was a VERY windy day. Watch the video of Erin and you can get an idea of how windy it was. The wind got up to 23.5 miles per hour. When you watch the video it is really hard to hear because of the wind. Basically, in the video Erin is using the anemometer and I was asking her the wind speed and temperature. But the only thing you can hear is the wind. Once we got done with the tree coring we moved to the next data collection process of looking for seedlings and saplings. Let me know what you find out about the difference between a seedling and sapling. We basically crawl on our hands and knees and look for the specimen. Once we find them we make qualitative and quantitative observations about them. The method we are using is called destructive sampling. What I mean by this is that once we make our observations we remove the plant and bring it back to the lab. Then the scientists can make further observations and conclusions. Again we need 50 seedlings and 50 saplings in both the forest and forest tundra. We have to carry all the material back to the lab. So it comes to 100 seedlings and 100 saplings. Although, I have included a picture of the seedling so you can see its size. Ok, That is it for today cause you guys only have a half day. Have a good weekend and be safe. Oh yea, do me a favor. My roomate is Mr. Hoovey and he is kind of sad cause he isn't getting many comments from his students. Go on his page and show him some support from Cudahy!!! Thanks guys. CUDAHY STUDENTS: Look up bold words, answer questions above, comment Mr. Hoovey (he is from Buffalo, NY and loves Labman)

Labman Arrives!!!

HIGH: 8°C
LOW : 5°C
SUNRISE: 7:08
SUNSET : 19:06
Hey Everyone - The weather today is gorgeous! It was in the high 40’s to low 50’s. Totally out of the ordinary. The problem is not usually the temperature as much as the wind. Once we were out on the tundra, the winds were really strong. This morning we looked at the forecast for the rest of the week and it is going to get cold. They are calling for -5 degrees Celsius with some strong winds. Therefore, we are going to really have to take a look at the wind chill factor. Cudahy kids, once again you guys amaze me with all of the wonderful comments and research you are doing. Although, I don’t understand how some of you guys are telling me you find so much information, but others say they can’t find anything. Mrs. Blunt would love to show you some sites to go on to find this information. I had several people tell me that I should be searching these words before I give them to you. Girls and boys, I do search them and I know what they mean and their importance to this world. The only things I am not searching on my own are the little stories of Churchill like the plane crash and the Ithaca. So, if I give you vocabulary words I know for sure you can find them on the internet. Do your best!! So, we had a visitor today. His name is Labman. He visited us from somewhere in the United States. Yes, he is a superhero that helps researchers speed up their data collection. I have included some pictures of Labman. He even took a picture with Curious George. We also found something interesting in the field today. A ROCKET!! In my first blog I asked you to find out what the CNSC building used to be. Well, it used to be a rocket launching site for the military. Back in the 50’s and 60’s the military launched between 15 and 20 thousand test rockets. You can see that while we were looking though the underbrush we found a rocket. Again, today was a long day in the field. We finished up our work on the point center quadrant data and moved to tree coring. I have included a video of me coring a tree. What do you think we core trees for? Another term for coring trees is boring trees. But then, we say we are working with “boring trees” hahaha. (I know I am a science geek.) While we were coring trees we also had to look at the general health of the tree. Some of the things we needed to look at are the herbivory, the general ground vegetation, the apical meristem, the vitality, branch height, how many upright stems, if it has cones or not, the root crown diameter, and the middle diameter measurement. The reason we have to look at all of this is to determine if the trees are surviving or slowing dying. This would determine the stability of the climate. As you can see we collect LOTS of data. Look at the pictures of the tundra. I included some pictures of the tundra up close and some further away. When you really get close to the tundra it looks like coral in the ocean. Although, it is real soft and when you walk on it, it feels like a sponge. The vegetation that looks like a sponge is actually called lichen. Cudahy kids: Look up the bold words. Also, look at the picture of me by the tree. Look how the middle area of the tree is dead. Why do you think the tree is growing like this? The bottom is real healthy and so is the top, but the middle is dead. Write in your journal. Finally, the picture below is a picture from the widow of my bedroom. What is covering the windows and why?

George Gets Some Berries

6°C
9°C
Sunrise: 7:04

Sunset : 19:11

Hello once again. First of all I want to just address my students. You guys are AWSOME!! Today I got 140 comments. Most of them were right on track. Remember, I try to give you enough work to keep you busy, don’t get overwhelmed. The scientists up here love the Cudahy kids. They love that you are doing all that research. Good Job!! I understand you don’t want too much homework, but I am learning so much that I just want you all to experience the same. We wake up at 7am for breakfast and lecture and then we go into the field until lunch. We then go back out after lunch until dinner. After dinner we have lecture and data entry until 9pm. So, after 9pm is when I can answer questions and do my blog. I typically stay up until midnight. LONG DAY!! I am getting your messages about your day in science class. I understand, but can’t do much about it from here. Hang in there and if you stay focused on your work the other stuff shouldn’t bother you. Today we did so much research in the field. We started doing “Point Center Quadrants”. This is where you stand at one point and make a four quadrant grid. I can show you more when I get back. OR ask Mrs. Reedy to show you a four quadrant graph. But basically, you look at each quadrant and search for particular species of plants. Remember, some of the plants we are looking for are only like ½ to 1 inch. Watch the video, it is of Doug and he is looking for plants. You can see how time consuming this can be. The cold weather really slows down the growth. Mrs. Schmitt’s class asked how tall a 40 yr old tree would get. Well, we looked at a tree that was 20-25 feet tall and it is estimated to be 100yrs old. The vegetation we are looking for are the following: White Spruce, Bog Birch, Larch Tamarack, and Shepherdia. I have included pictures of most of the plants, see if you can identify them after looking them up. When you look up these words, just write down some interesting information about the bush or tree. We will discuss them when I get back. Some of the fun shrubs to look at were the Dry Ground Cranberry and the Crowberry. They were fun because we can EAT them!! We were told that MOST of the berries and fungi are edible (can eat). Look, even Curious George is taking a break and eating the berries. They said it is the earth’s way of providing for the people. The picture to the side is also of a Pinguicula. Look up that word and tell me why this is a really cool plant. (hint: wouldn’t want to be a bug!) Well, there is so much I can talk about. To answer some questions: No, we haven't seen a polar bear yet, we are eating three times a day, I can't come back right now, my roomate is Adam Hoovey, it was raining and cold today, and THEY DO NOT HAVE PENGUINS HERE, and yes, I am having a great time, but it is 90% work. Ok, have to go and get done as much research as you can. Let me know what you find. ALSO, don't forget to look at yesterdays comments to hear some of my answers. HAVE FUN!!!! Cudahy Students: Look up the bold words. Don't just give me the definition of the plants, give me some interesting information. Tell me why the pinguicula is a cool plant. And finally, look up "The Wreck of The Ithaca" It is a ship that we can see on the shore here. Try to find out the story. One of the scientists wants to know what you find because there are many tales of this ship.

P.S. The picture of the girl with the gun is Carly. She takes care of us in the field so no bears eat us. Hope she shoots straight. Have Fun and BEHAVE!!!