MS Students Explore Vermont’s Ecology
We often take for granted the place where we live. Its familiarity leads us to believe that we know all its secrets. On Thursday, September 13, TSA Middle School students took a field trip to Rochester, VT, to uncover some of the secrets of the unique habitats of the White River as part of an interdisciplinary unit to explore, understand and appreciate life in Vermont.
Students use snorkels to explore deeper parts of the river.
The section of the river the students visited was restored by the forest service after Hurricane Irene, and now populations of fish are thriving, including trout, dace, sculpin and bass. The students spent the morning collecting and identifying benthic macroinvertebrates, which are animals are large enough to see with the naked eye (macro) and have no backbone (invertebrate) living among stones, logs, sediments and aquatic plants on the bottom of streams, rivers and lakes (benthic). Many are food for larger fish and their presence is one way to determine the health of the stream. In the afternoon, students used snorkels and viewing scopes to find and observe fish in the deeper pools of the river.
MS students searching for benthic macroinvertebrates in the White River.
The trip ties the local ecology studies happening in science class into the Middle School’s “Living in Vermont” interdisciplinary unit that includes history, art and outdoor skills. Check out these photos to see how discovering nature’s secrets that are just in our backyard can pique curiosity and joy.
Read the article Students Peer Into the Life of the White River, published by Valley News on Tuesday, September 18, 2108, for more information about this science enrichment program led by the Virginia-based Center for Aquatic Technology Transfer and the Green Mountain National Forest and White River Partnership.
Visit our facebook page to see more photos.
Click here to learn more about how the TSA Middle School challenges and engages its students.