Today we went in search of some Tom Thomson inspired landscapes for an upcoming art project. Check out the slideshow below to see what we found.
Regina Street Public School was very fortunate to have Sarah Kirkpartick-Wahl and Ted Cheskey, from Nature Canada, join us to celebrate Take Me Outside Day. Since most of our school was heading to the opera on October 24, we decided to get a jump on everyone else and hold our event on the 23rd. Sarah and Ted arrived bright and early on a cool, sunny morning and prepared to take the grade 4/5 class outside for a bioblitz of the school yard. Basically, this meant that we would spend about an hour attempting to observe and identify all the living creatures in the yard. The grade 4/5 students would then complete the same activity with all of the other classes from Kindergarten to grade 6. After a great start with Sarah and Ted, we continued the activity throughout the day. One of the big highlights was the discovery of a wild grape vine growing in a cedar tree right at the school entrance. Ted explained how to identify wild grapes, and then it was time for a tasty treat. Altogether we found over 30 different creatures on a cold day, right in our own school yard. Our plan is to repeat the bioblitz during the winter, and then again next spring once the weather warms up. Check out the list and slideshow below to see some of the inhabitants of Regina Street Public School big outdoor classroom.
One activity that brings smiles to the faces of any group that visits Mud Lake is feeding the black capped chickadees that thrive in this setting. Originally, we planned to search out decomposers, but after a student announced that he had brought food for the birds and showed us some bread in his backpack, we had a brief class discussion on why feeding ducks and geese bread wasn't a good idea (for more information on this check out this link from the Canadian Wildlife Federation website). Seeing the disappointment in their faces, we brought some sunflower seeds and went in search of chickadees, and also managed to find a few decomposers along the way. Despite the fog, Regina staff set out on a sensory scavenger hunt through Mud Lake. It was a perfect morning for a walk through the trails. Ask your teachers what they discovered. This rainy Friday morning, the class spent about forty-five minutes carefully examining ecotones in Mud Lake. What's an ecotone, you ask? None of us were sure at first, but thanks to a great Project Wild activity, called "The Edge of Home", we discovered that an ecotone is the area where two ecosystems overlap. These areas are where we can find great diversity of living things. They can also tell us which ecosystems dominate and which ones are dominated. Here the pond ecosystem meets the forest ecosystem at the shoreline. What evidence of both ecosystems can you find in the images? Does one of the ecosystems dominate? Here's something to think about. Are most trees usually surrounded by water? How does the beaver affect the pond and forest ecosystems? Can you think of any other animals that you might find in this ecotone? |
AuthorMr. Cameron and the grade 4 and 5 students from Regina Street Public School hope to share their year-long journey of discovery with the world. Archives
November 2014
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