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Field Study of the Merrimack River Watershed
Meaningful Watershed Education Experience (MWEE) Workshop

Share my MWEE during this last week of summer vacation.
My name is Catherine Case and I teach 5th grade at the Molin Upper Elementary School in Newburyport Massachusetts. After a beautiful summer of sunshine and gorgeous weather, Boat Camp started on a day of down-pouring rain.



I brought my camera but the battery was dead. Ann brought her camera but the memory card was full. It's okay though because I have vivid images of our experiences in the woods and am something of an artist so I can reconstruct the high points of the afternoon.

Day 1 Field Experience: Moseley Woods
Activity 1: Find Your Tree Blindfolded, a partner leads you to a tree which you must try to find ways to identify without sight. Once you are led back to the starting point, the blindfold is removed and you see if you can locate the tree. We decided this would be fun to try with students but much attention would have to be given to safety, as we weren't sure how sensitive the children would be to informing their blindfolded partner of the changes in terrain, tree roots, rocks, etc. that might trip them up. We discussed other areas, such as the park in front of the Firehouse, where the layout might be safer.

Activity 2: Tree Identification, Measurement and Core Sampling
Using field guides, we identified trees and took leaf samples.

We estimated the age of the tree by taking a core sample. We discovered the difference between taking a core sample of a pine tree and a hardwood tree. It was easy to feel the difference in the hardness of the wood from the resistance while turning the handles of the sampler tool. The core sampling required a tool that was screwed into the trunk of the tree. The tool had a hollow center and the core sample was pulled out through the end. The age of the tree can be determined by counting the rings.

W e also estimated the height of the tree. This was really interesting and brought some math into the activity. There were two methods we could use to do this. One required a tool called a Tangent Height Gauge. The second required just a long stick we could find in the woods. Since everyone loves finding a good stick on a hike, most of us chose this method. The tricky part was keeping the top of the tree in sight in the dense woods with the rain coming down while walking backward. It was fun and pretty amazing at how it worked.

We decided that this would be a great activity for students but they would have to do it in larger groups than partners or it would take too long. The physical aspects of handling the trees were very effective as a learning experience. For all of them to have a chance to feel the coring procedure and handle the core would be valuable. Even the smell of the core was something to discover.

Activity 3: Claim Your Spot
Everyone scouted out an area and planted a flag where we would bring our class for a lesson and then gave a brief description of why we chose it and what we would use it for. This was a great way to share ideas about what we could do with our students. The area we were in was rich with possibilities. There was a pond feeding a stream littered with fallen trees and branches which led to the river. There was a very sandy beach where the water fed into the river. During the morning session we had learned about how the river moves affected by the geology of the land it moves through and the effect it has on the banks. The little stream demonstrated some of these things in miniature. It was easy to see how the water moved sediment and how the trees and roots held the banks in place, and where the banks were cut away if there was no vegetation to prevent it.

Day 2 After a morning session in the classroom, we set off on the Erica Lee to observe the river, the salt marsh on the Salisbury/Amesbury side and the maritime forest on the Newburyport side. It was a beautiful day to be on the water. We went up the river as far as the Chain Bridge. We took bottom samples, water samples and plankton samples at three locations, the Chain Bridge near Deer Island, around Carr Island, and in the ocean just past the mouth. We also had several different methods of testing, some simpler and less expensive, some more complex and expensive.

We learned that cold water holds more dissolved oxygen than warm water, there are eagles nesting on Deer Island, the Wedge is the point in the river where the salt water mixes with the fresh water and that if there is high turbidity (cloudiness) the sun can't penetrate affecting what is able to grow in that water. Plankton like cold water.

Heading up the River on Day 2



Extracting and Examining a Bottom Sample[[image:DSC05403.JPG width="540" height="409"]]
Cormorants near Carr's Island

Reading a Water Sample

Day 3 Sandy Point and Plum Island at the mouth of the River On Day 3 we drove down to Sandy Point and explored the tidepools, the sand, and the glacial drumline at the tip. We learned about the currents affecting this barrier island and some of the history of its changes over the course of time in which it has been inhabited.

Examining the Wrack Line with the drumline in the background

Treasures from the Tidepool







We also had a very interesting and beautiful dune walk down to the back side of Sandy Point. We tracked a fisher cat, who luckily avoided us and found an unusual plant called an earth cactus. We discovered the imprint that a large boat had left and eventually found our way to the beach on the back side.