To every season...

photo from flickr

Thank you so much to each of you who contributed your ponderings, discoveries, and a little piece of yourself to this blog.  Being able to hang out with you all was a highlight for me each and every day and I am truly grateful for the opportunities I had to learn from each of you throughout the year. Students like you make being a teacher the most phenomenal career in the world!

And, as you head into summer, remember the words of naturalist-extraordinaire, Gary Snyder...

Stay together. 

Go light. 

Learn the flowers. 

Happy Adventuring! 
~ Ms. Lord

PS... Feel free to keep adding to the blog throughout the summer and be sure to check it out again in the fall!

Change

Yikes! It's probably due time that I posted my last Phenology blog post. It's interesting how so much changes over the course of a year, especially if you are student. There is no explanation to the crazy amounts of drama, homework, and of course fashion statements that are forever involved with going to high school. Senior High is no exception to this of course and I have gone through my fair share of questionable attire.

However, there is something about Senior High that makes it unique in it's own way. Connected to it's walkways is a little place called Pioneer Park. There is something stable about knowing the presence of the outdoors not to far from the cramped, noisy hallways. It doesn't graduate or decide to change it's whole outfit. It's a part of our school and it was so nice this year to actually get involved with what's really there. Phenology was a great way not only get outside but it brought our learning to a testing ground. It was remarkable to see the vast changes that my area went through from the fall, (including having a muskrat move in!), but it has been reassuring to see it go back to green fluffy grass and an overflowing creek.

Overall, change doesn't have to be a bad thing. It's kinda scary to go through so much in such short four years, and that can be a bit overwhelming at times. Having a place where students can breathe fresh air and just learn about the outdoors was just the right tool to help bare the craziness of high school.

Bye, Phenology!

I can't believe the year is already over! Wow, the days must have ran past me. I am so glad I was able to take Environmental Science class this year and experience Phenology with all of my classmates. Before this year, I had never heard of Phenology. Even though, I had appreciation for the earth around me, I rarely took the time out of my day to spend such quality time with nature. Now, I'm able to look back over my journal and reflect on the beautiful moments I had spent outside during 3rd period. Hopefully in the days that lie ahead of me (whether I'm writing about it or not) I will still be able to spend that one-on-one time with nature. Recording Phenology made me realize how important it is for any individual to take the time to slow down and observe the environment. This world is a very fascinating place!

The End of Phenology... or is it??

This year has been great with Phenology. I've loved it so much. Watching/hearing animal activity, seeing things I've never really had an eye out for, and being able to go outside in a class that's not gym for a change. I have to say I'll miss being able to go outside and be able to do Phenology.
I never even found out how old the tree stump by my tree was. Or what a blue spot was I had found on my tree. Oh well, I guess there's some things you may never know. I wish I could have been able to do this more. The one part I hated though was seeing a bunch of litter on the ground for about a few weeks. Might not have been the same litter each time I went out but it was still litter!
Who knows. Maybe It's not the end of Phenology. Maybe we could still follow this blog and go do some Phenology of our own. Maybe even Mrs. Lord will have her class next year do this. Either way I still had fun doing this!!

Last Post

         On May 16th of 2012 the Environmental Science class went for their last phenology data collection day. I had some mixed feelings about this, because I really enjoyed doing phenology, but I knew that school is almost over, so I don't have to worry about that. The temperature was twenty six degrees Celsius for the air, and sixteen for the creek. The sunrise that day was 5:42 A.M. and the sunset was 8:40 P.M. The water depth was eighteen centimeters, which was quite a bit more than the previous data entry of twelve centimeters on May 7th. The water in the creek was kind of cloudy and fairly rapid in its flow. The creek also was wider because some twigs and leaves blocked the creek.
       There were lots and lots of dandelions, which didn't look at all like dandy lions. They were all over the ground everywhere. The grass was also very green in color and thick, but that's because they water the grass in Pioneer Park. The broad leaf plantains and clovers were very plentiful too.  I heard three separate birds.
       Over the entire time we did phenology the change was astonishing. At first it was warm, the leaves in the trees were very full, and the grass was fairly green. Then, during the fall the leaves changed and fell down, and then winter happened. Also, the amount of sounds for the sound tapestries went down for me during the winter, but then went back up in the spring, which I thought was pretty cool.  It's also really interesting because of how much of a change there is in sunrise and sunset. I knew that it changed, but it really seems to be such a larger change when you actually look at lengths of days in the winter compared to the spring. I really enjoyed phenology and hope that other people got out of it what I did.

Final Post

Throughout this year in phenology I have learned a lot. I spent a lot of time in my phenology site and pretty much mastered it. I now understand that the big metal grate dams up during the fall and winter months due to the leaves blocking the water flow. More importantly I figured out the mystery of the weeping tree, which is wet wood, and that was what I set out to do at the beginning of the year. I thoroughly enjoyed doing phenology and recommend any future environmental science class takers take it serious because you will get a lot out of it. Anyways I left the site in tip top shape with all the leaves on the trees and the grass green as ever.


                          So Long, Cree Minkoff 

Last Phenology Post

   It has been a pleasure to note the changes of my phenology site. Just to witness the changing of the seasons and its effects was worthwhile enough but to have an understanding of the changes themselves has really made the environment something tangible for me. I cannot say that I will change like the running creek or turn over like my four-trunk behemoth but I can say that I am more conscious of my surroundings. I pick up pop cans now. And I throw them away. My site was a spot in which I could escape away from the toils of school and the redundancy of my classmates and just think for a minute. I could doodle away pages as the grass beneath me shone brilliant emerald to dull yellow to the fresh green of rebirth. I sat through a storm of cotton as the seedlings of all the dandelions blew on past me in the wind. Bits of snow clung to my boots as I shook my pen to get the ink to move. I have a lot to think about what with graduation upon me and nothing else in miles so it is comforting to know that at any time I can carve out my own little piece of the environment and just watch it for awhile.