Tracks all over the place

I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to be in the woods with Dan again. I am learning so much, and things that I wouldn't have even looked for before now I am not only seeing but recognizing too! The big prints are exciting, especially the surprise of the bobcat, but I actually find myself enjoying the little ones the most. Something about the little mice and chipmunks are so adorable and delicate, it just makes my heart melt. I think in some ways it goes back to my belief statement and seeing value in everything. While these small animals are often overlooked, they have important lives too that deserve to be noticed and appreciated.
I can't believe Dan is letting us borrow traps to record footprints. I was a little nervous about using them with our original study because I didn't want to disturb the natural patterns, but now that we are just trying to see what is there I am so excited to use them.
Randy has been so great during this whole process, too. It is very refreshing to know there are people like him in this world that truly care about their land, their communities, sharing knowledge, and just being kind to others.
Back in the classroom I got to facilitate my reading today. I was surprisingly nervous, there have been so many great presentations I didn't want mine to fall short. But I thought that the class did a great job with the community maps I gave them and that some fantastic ideas for place-based education were shared. I also enjoyed the presentation before me, particularly the game and the questions on the back of the cookies.
This week has gone by so much faster than the first week! I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday. It will be great to put out our traps, sand traps, and camera to see what wanders through over the long weekend.

Appreciating Nature's Beauty

No two trees are the same to the raven
No two branches are the same to the wren


These lines really struck me from Vicky's poetry reading today. In this class I have been working hard to indentify plants by species, but I must remember to look at them as beautiful individuals that make individual contributions to the world, as well. We did this on the first day, when we qualitatively chose a spot and a tree to observe, and while doing so I felt so at peace. Yes, now I can look at the woods with more knowlege about exactly what is and was there, but I don't want to let that overpower the love I have for simply appreciating nature for it's peaceful beauty.

I loved the values trading activity. It really made me think about what is important to me right now, and how that might change in the future. It was also really intersting to see what was important to others in the class. I chose "a long and happy marriage." To me, if I have that I know I will have atleast one person in this world that appreciates and loves me for who I am, and therefore my other important values will also be supported. And maybe I'm just a little bit of a romantic, too.

In other news, our project proposal just received a thumbs up so we will be on our way to the farm in less than an hour! I'm not only excited to start our project but also just to spend more time on the farm and the beautiful land surrounding it.

Corridor Craziness!

All weekend I knew that Monday would be the day that I would decide what would dominate the next three weeks of my life. I was nervous about what my project would end up being. I had a few ideas but I didn't think any of them were strong enough to carry an entire project. The brainstorming session was a little stressful at times. In the end, I ended up with a topic I never would have thought that I would have at the beginning of the session, but now that I'm in it I'm so excited to get started!
I almost went for a bird project, but I know a lot about birds and have done a bird research project before. I wasn't even sure what a corridor was, and now I am going to be doing a whole project on them. I think I will take a lot from this project. I'm so excited to continue to learn about animal sign, particularly prints. We are also gong to be lucky enough to have Dan join us again. I learned sooooooo much last time from him, I feel so lucky to be able to work with him again. I called Randy to ask if we could use his land and he was so accomadating, it seems like everything is really falling into place.
I'm a planner, and I feel very good about the plans that we made today. I'm nervous about using GPS to make a map, but I have a lot of confidence in the group's skills, and I think our map will be so cool once we make it!
Overall I think we have a clear direction and I can't wait to get moving. I'm excited to work with the people in my group, I think we all have different things to offer and that we'll work very well together, as well as have lots of fun.
On another note, I was talking about some of the things we had done over the past week at my roommates graduation party and she said, "wow, you are so much smarter than you were a week ago." While smarter may not be the right word, I continue to be amazed by how much I have already gained from this class, and we still have three weeks to go!

What a Week!

I cannot believe how much I learned in just one short week. I feel like I am taking so much from this class and I hope that I'll be able to apply it a lot to my teaching in a traditional classroom. I know that I will be able to apply it to my life in general, especially what we have learned about being sustainable. Taking the survey to find out our footprint was eye opening and really made me think about what changes I can make in my life to be a better citizen. I am inspired to buy more local produce, make my own bread, and ride my bike a little more often.
It was also great to take a closer look at what UNH does to be sustainable. After being here for four years, I almost take what the office of sustainability does for granted. Hearing the reactions of other students who went to different universities for undergrad reminded me that not all schools are as green, or even nearly as green, as UNH. I am proud to have a degree from such an amazing institution. It was great to think about how we as teachers can do some of the things that UNH does at our own schools. My favorite idea was having some kind of reward, like a raffle, for all students and faculty that ride their bike to school.
I thought that I would be anti coring trees, but I got really excited about it when it came time to do it and I realized how much we can learn from the core. I got to start the core into the tree and it was really fun! I felt like a scientist.
I wasn't as crazy about the GPS. I don't like technology very much in general, and especially when I'm in the woods I'd much rather be without it. I found myself getting stressed out when it wasn't working completely correctly, like pointing us in the wrong direction. I'm also not confident that I would be able to find the right screens to use if I was doing it by myself. I hope that I am in a group with someone that is more comfortable with GPS than I am so I have time to continue to develop this skill.
This really has been a week full of wonder, adventures, and learning. I hope that I have some chances to get into the woods this weekend so I can try to find some of the things we have learned about. I also hope that I continue to get this much out of the class as we being delving into our research projects.

So Many Cool Things to Learn!

This morning's walk through the woods with Dan was the highlight for me so far. I could follow him around forever listening to all he has to say about the woods. My favorite thing to see was the porcupine shelter. I have never seen anything like that before. Walking the trail that the porcupine made made me feel very connected to the animal, as I got to experience firsthand a piece of its life.

It was extremely helpful to look at the molds of the different prints before we went out into the woods. I always seek tracks when I'm out hiking, and I always just give a guess of what I think it is just by instinct. Now, even though I probably would not be able to give an exact species, I could differentiate between dogs and cats, knowing that dogs have claws and more evenly placed toes and cats have retractable (and therefore not visible) claws as well as three humps on the palm.

I love listening to bird songs. It's a new love that only began once I started studying birds and learning about all the different individuals that are out there. It's this natural beautiful music that honestly I didn't pay much attention to before. Figuring out what bird is singing is almost like a game, and it's great to be out in the woods with someone that can help you figure it out and tell you if you are right with your guesses. I appreciated that Dan took the time to stop and figure out some bird songs.

Speaking of birds... the hermit thrush nest was something neat to see. I had no idea that they had blue eggs! I really hope that the fledgling makes it okay.

There was so much to learn from this morning, the snail tracks on the trees, the squirrels taking sap, the beetle larvae casing... I just tried to write down as much as I could so I can go back and let more of it soak in. I truly took a TON out of this morning's experience.

I appreciate the puzzle that Meg brought in for the class. I thought it was a great and creative way to review important terms and I think it helped some of the concepts from the reading sink in more. I really feel like I'm making a lot of progress when it comes to knowing things about the woods.

I was really looking forward to hearing from a local farmer. The history that this one man knows is amazing. I can't believe all of the things his family has accomplished, and I'm so glad they switched their land to be conserved right before it was almost bought for industry! While I'm not a Wal-Mart fan, it was fascinating to hear about the process of a Wal-Mart finding a place to build, and all of the possible benefits of having one in town. In general, the fact that Mr. Warren showed both sides to many stories made him someone whose information I could really trust. His observations about the wildlife in the area also gave me a perspective of someone who really knows the land and its patterns.

Unfortunately, a storm started rolling in by the end of the talk. I tried to stick it out as long as possible, but after getting struck by lightning last summer storms make me very very nervous. This one in particular really got to me, I think because I so badly wanted to stay and hear more about nature but at the same time nature was scaring me. I'm a little nervous about being way out in the woods if another storm comes, but that's just something I'm going to have to get used to because I'm certainly not spending the rest of my life indoors! : )

What a great day! I'm so excited about everything I learned today, and I'm looking forward to what tomorrow brings.