"Today in the Outdoor Classroom..."

...we talked briefly about tree identification basics (fifth grade) and enjoyed exploring the micro-habitats present in trees (climbed trees for science?). 

Some fifth grade naturalists preferred returning to their pre-hominin roots and ascended back into the trees, others learned one of the first steps in tree (and other plant) ID. "M.A.D.  Vibes" is a mnemonic for remembering that Maples, Ashes, Dogwoods and Viburnums(ae?) are the only groups of plants in North America with oppositely arranged leaves. If you find a tree with pairs of leaves (i.e. placed exactly oppositely one another on the stem/twig) it is one of those groups. Honeysuckles used to be grouped with viburnums but are no longer, so you could modify the mnemonic to read MAD Vibes, Hon (for  Maryland surfers?) If they're interested we'll talk about the difference between simple and compound leaves next time. For those interested in going further into tree ID, I highly recommend finding a copy (free downloads available!) of the book Common Native Trees of VA and its companion, Common Native Vines and Woody Shrubs of VA. https://dof.virginia.gov/education-and-recreation/educator-resources/buy-an-id-book/. Both of these books use a "dichotomous key" (two-choices) to help get an ID of plants native to VA, which mostly also exist in MD. It takes some getting used to, but I'd be happy to help folks learn to use it if you'd like. 

Fourth grade managed to manipulate me into getting two dum-dums each—I think they all would have eaten the marshmallow. We did discuss some fascinating topics. We learned that there are no buffalo native to North America, although bison and yaks are both related to them—so are cattle. We also managed to talk about the Salem Witch Trials at a broad and shallow level—I explained that it was a time in American history when people were treated badly for being different. Some wanted to share more others wanted to learn more, but I decided just to tell them that some of my friends, including my best friend, are self-described witches. And then we "earned" dumdums by comparing two plants in the genus Prunus. The one they were climbing in and closely observing (Prunus sp?) and a sapling Prunus maritima, beach plumb. Like all members of the rose family these trees have flowers with parts in groups of five. Both trees also showed the distinctive lenticles (breathing pores) common among Prunus.

Both groups may have "helped" to water the garden beds.

Fun was had, learning happened (maybe) and we enjoyed being outside.

Have fun outside!

we did NOT start fires! No matter what they tell you, there were no fires.

(Yesterday we got our hands dirty in mud and just enjoyed being outside.)

I am sworn by Ms. Schwartz not to have or to demonstrate how to start fires in the OC, there are many good reasons for that ban.

And...humans being what they are--incredibly smart, innovative, observant animals with the capacity to ask, "what if...?"--hand lenses were used to combust leaves. Again: no fires were started. Since it was inevitable, and I'm weak, I did discuss the fire triangle and the components necessary for a fire to exist, all of which are around us all the time (unless we're underwater). And they already knew those things anyway. Without instruction they made a lovely fire lay and promptly attempted to burn large sticks with a magnifying glass. Some moved on to individual leaves. Under no circumstances was there ever a chance of successfully starting a sustainable fire. I want to be invited back for the rest of the year and next year!

Now that the disclaimers are done, we did experience some serious learning. We started by observing a robin's egg, empty, covered with ants, on the sidewalk. We had a discussion about how it got there (someone dropped it there), what reason a parent robin might have for removing empty eggs from the nest (sanitation, space), and why it would be so far away from any tree with a robin's nest that we could find (no one wants a giant sign that reads DINER OPEN under their nursery, i.e. predator confusion). The hand lenses were supposed to be used for looking at the egg pieces more closely. But someone saw a cartoon once...

Some fascinating chemistry and physics experiments happened: green leaf vs. brown leaf comparison of time to smoke; what happens if we stack our lenses, does it make smoke faster (no); what if we concentrate several beams on the same spot, will that be faster (inconclusive; need to refine experimental design). I merely observed and made sure no one made the leap from never-going-to-work to yep-that's-how-it's-done.

We also "rescued" a bee that was, at first, reported to be under attack by ants. Once EIR (emergency insect responders) arrived, no ants were observed attacking the victim. So we gently picked up the bee, who appeared to be struggling to clean itself of something sticky (sap, spider web?) and relocated it to a spot with nearby flowers (the bee was burning lots of energy). When we came back later, the bee was gone, presumably off to pollinate flowers. We think it was a female Eastern Carpenter Bee. I just learned, about these bees, that they may be an evolutionary link between social bees (honey and bumble, e.g.) and solitary bees, (most of MD's 430+ native bee species).

If there are any parents interested in letting their naturalists learn about fire safety and how to start a fire without modern tools (friction, flint and steel, etc.), I would be happy to host a small group sometime over the summer, no cost, just fun. We can meet in a nearby park with a grill area and go over the basics. We can even build our own bow drills. We'll talk about the kinds of plants useful for making fires and how to ID those plants. This offer is ENTIRELY unrelated to the school and is only available to current or past naturalist club members (4th grade and higher). These are skills I have taught to other students.

And on another note: some students are very interested in knowing the names of things they come across (they're human, it's a thing). For adults interested in helping with that, there are several apps available. One for adults is iNaturalist; their spinoff, for kids is called Seek. Seek collects no location data and just helps ID photos; you don't even need a login. 

Have fun outside!

...we planted an herb garden, dug for treasure and played with water (or, How I Watered the Garden Without  Getting One Drop of Water on Myself.)

I have dedicated ¼ of our garden area to be a mix of perennial and herbacious herbs. The central feature will be (I hope) a rosemary shrub). Today fifth grade planted chives, chilantro dill and violas (edible flowers). I added in some lavender and garlic chives. Coming later in the spring: Basil and Strawberries. And one naturalist brought some mint cuttings from home that we planted; they are named Bob, Cypress, Cyrus and Minty.

We also put some potatoes in the ground; I'm experimenting, in a very non-emperical way. 

Fourth graders helped add mulch and just enjoyed the sunshine, phytohormones and being free to dig and spray water. At least one may learn that wet jeans stay wet a loooooong time. Learning happened!

I was supposed to look up two things. I forgot one. The other is the name of the beetle we found. I told them I'd seen one once before; only recently and had even documented it. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/133931223. Rove beetles are cool and this one did exactly what it was supposed to do: it mad them think it was a scorpion. It isn't. It's a beetle with a cool looking tail that it raises over its head. It's also tiny. And fast.

I think the other may be how many kinds of beetles are in the world. My answer: More than any other kind of insect. Turns out I was more right than I knew. Some sources say there are 400,000 described beetle species. That makes them 40% of all known insects. And, they represent 25% of all known animal species. If there were four of us in a room one of us would be a beetle the rest of us would be all the rest of kingdom Animalia! That's a lot of beetles.

Have fun outside! And happy spring break!