Discovering Thompson Island with Summer Connections

Discovering Thompson Island with Summer Connections

It was a week of new beginnings. The students met their teachers, facilitators, and rangers while beginning to discover the ecosystems that Thompson Island has to offer. Thompson is truly an island of infinite stories; it has a vast history that ranges from geological processes that shaped the island and harbor to the personal stories of the many groups that inhabited the island over time.  Currently, the Summer Connections students are adding to this history by simply learning about the island.

During this week’s field program, students learned skills that enabled them to uncover these stories; they practiced making careful observations with their four senses while visiting three ecosystems: A salt marsh, an intertidal, and a forested woodlands and meadows. Students will be using these important skills throughout the whole program to gather information for their final project.

So what are some of the things the students observed?

On their way down to the first ecosystem, the students used their sense of sight to match biotic and abiotic objects to paint cards. It is very important for a scientist to be aware of their surroundings paying attention to as much detail as possible.

In each ecosystem, the students took 30 seconds to quietly see, hear, touch and smell their surroundings and make observations to share with the group.

“I see a bird and a lot of water around”

“I notice the water is moving”

“What I notice is that 2 cm down the sand is wet, maybe the water comes up to this level?”

The students also got to explore and discover living organisms in each ecosystem like bugs, crabs and even baby birds.
Students observe a cricket that Ranger Sophia found.

 

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