Blog
Browse this page for blog postings related to middle- and high-school-teacher Adventure Learning workshops taking place across Idaho. Use the widgets to the right (or at bottom of this page, for smaller devices) to filter blog posts.
Snorkeling as a survey method
There were 6 of us that went snorkeling in the river looking for trout. First of all, that water is just as cold as I imagined it would be. The way to find trout is to start downstream of a calmer, deeper area of the river and slowly make your way upstream by grasping rocks and pulling yourself along. This sounds easy in theory. In real life, it is much more difficult. First of all, the current pulls you downstream as you cling to smooth, slimy rocks on the bottom. Sometimes the current is strong enough that you and the anchor rock you were clinging to both go downstream. The... more
Friday- What we're up to and your final assignment
Happy Friday, digi-adventurers!
Today we’ll be staying in Coeur d’Alene covering urban water issues. We’ll start the morning talking about stormwater and stenciling storm drains. (Have you tried incorporating any service learning projects in your classrooms? Do you think it increases student engagement?)
Next, Barb Mueller of Gizmo Coeur d’Alene will show us some remote-operated underwater vehicles. Gizmo CDA is using these vehicles to monitor water quality in local lakes and they are looking for ways to involve students! We’ll kayak along the Spokane River and around... more
Forest Regeneration- Is it our responsibility?
Cheryl Tijerina posted a great question that I replied to on her blog, however, I wasn't sure if I should just reply to her, or write my own blog, so I am doing both! It will be redundant, so no need to read both.
I wanted to address her question, “Should we allow nature to take its course to repair any damage without human interference, or is it our duty to repair any damage using any means possible?” I took this question to my husband, who is a silviculturist. (Silviculturists are the people who manage the trees in our forests. They attempt to control forest regeneration,... more
Grizzly Complex Fire
Today we visited one of the sites of the “Grizzly Complex Fire” on Grassy Mountain to look at where the fire happened in 2015 and the salvage and restoration work being done there. The fire broke out in August of 2015 and was started by a lightning strike. Most fires in Idaho are caused by lightning strikes.
The goal of the salvage and restoration project is to restore the native population of white pines. The fire has given the forest service the prime opportunity to clear out non-native trees affected by the fire, to replenish the ground cover and replant white pines. Not only is... more
Electrofishing: Who Knew?!!
Hello digital observers! I am posting this today about our experiences yesterday as we were camping with no cell service to post yesterday. Honestly, I was pretty apprehensive about camping yesterday, but it really was a great experience! The University of Idaho Outdoor Recreation Department joined us, guiding us down the river, feeding us, and it was nice getting to know each of them. We had a visit from two Department of Environmental Quality summer interns Todd and Katie. They gave us a demonstration of something I had never heard of—Electrofishing. Here is my very unscientific... more
Camping with an English Language Arts (ELA) Educator
Good evening to all our blog viewers! Within the last hour I arrived home from our latest outdoor adventure, floating the North Fork of the Coeur d Alene River and camping at Devil’s Elbow. I am dirty, smell like sun screen, and super happy about the adventure we had and all we learned.
The first thing that I would like to share with all of you is that I am a language arts teacher here in Coeur d Alene and have been learning immense amounts of science terms over the past few days. So if I get a term wrong, I am sorry!
... more