Here I am doing the webcast from an outside table. It stopped raining long enough for us to do it, but we kept getting disconnected... this is life when relying on satellites.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Webcast! (attempt)
This morning we tried to do a webcast from the research station in the PR rainforest to the Kiwi Team at Curtis Middle School in Sudbury, MA. It is a pretty amazing idea... and it worked for the most part. There were some difficulties with knowing if/how/when the students could hear me, but overall, I think it went well.
Here I am doing the webcast from an outside table. It stopped raining long enough for us to do it, but we kept getting disconnected... this is life when relying on satellites.
Here I am doing the webcast from an outside table. It stopped raining long enough for us to do it, but we kept getting disconnected... this is life when relying on satellites.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Successful frog survey!
We found hundreds, if not thousands, of frogs on our survey. We tried our best to count all the frogs in a 100 meter section of the rainforest. The total numbers have not been calculated yet... but it took us three hours to do the survey. Check out the pictures below. In addition to frogs, we found other creatures too.
Looking for little frogs...Watch your step!
One of the more dangerous creatures in the rainforest... a scorpion! It's only about two inches long, but I was sure to avoid it.
Another amazing stick bug. This one really wanted its picture taken!
Yes, the coqui do come in small sizes! This is a baby coqui that we found on the forest floor.
Adult male coqui frog (about 2 inches long)
Monday, May 28, 2007
And... here comes the rain!
After a couple dry days, all the visitors here (including myself) were beginning to wonder why they call this a "rain" forest. Well, today I got a taste. I awoke to heavy rains at 4 a.m. and then it continued most of the day. Despite making the steep forested slopes extremely slippery, the rain didn't stop us from trekking into the forest to collect more data. Equipped with rain gear and waterproof notebooks, we surveyed an acre of forest. I worked with another teacher on the trip, Ms. Matheson, to determine of how wide the canopy of the largest trees are. This wasn't an easy job since every time we looked up we would get large rain drops in the face. As you could guess, we had fun getting wet and muddy.
Hiking in the forest... ready for the rain!
My muddy boots!
Some snails I encountered during today's trek.
An amazing stick bug that literally fell out of the tree on to my sleeve.
One of my favorite trees, the prickly ash.
Check out those crazy spikes on the bark!
Check out those crazy spikes on the bark!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Eco-friendly behavior here in the rainforest
The folks that live here at the research station (las casa de la selva) are very conscious of their effect on the environment. After all, they are sharing this place with the local wildlife. From recycling to growing their own food, the residents here are committed to having a low impact on the environment. The waste water from the toilets even gets recycled into a waste water garden.
... sign posted in the kitchen.
Compost bucket in the kitchen. All food scraps make their way into the compost bucket.
This is the compost pile where the bucket is dumped daily.
(It is located beyond the dried palm frond in the picture.)
...herb garden near research station.
...tomatoes in the garden.
...papaya tree. Yummy! We have been having papaya for dessert.
... waste water garden.
This is the compost pile where the bucket is dumped daily.
(It is located beyond the dried palm frond in the picture.)
...herb garden near research station.
...tomatoes in the garden.
...papaya tree. Yummy! We have been having papaya for dessert.
... waste water garden.
Assignment for Kiwi Students!
Howdy Kiwis,
For Tuesday's class with Ms. McCarthy please be prepared with the following:
1. Journal Response: If you were in the middle of the forest (any forest, even one near your house) and you wanted to collect data on that forest, what kind of things would you measure and how? Try to think of at least 3 features of the forest you would measure. When explaining your methods, remember that someone else should be able to repeat your methods.
You ideas should be written. If it helps, you can use diagrams to explain your ideas.
2. Journal Response: What is your favorite picture from the blog and why?
On Tuesday, I will post more about the techniques we are using to analyze the forest and what exact features of the forest we are focusing on.
I look forward to hearing about your ideas.
~ Mr. Lafond
For Tuesday's class with Ms. McCarthy please be prepared with the following:
1. Journal Response: If you were in the middle of the forest (any forest, even one near your house) and you wanted to collect data on that forest, what kind of things would you measure and how? Try to think of at least 3 features of the forest you would measure. When explaining your methods, remember that someone else should be able to repeat your methods.
You ideas should be written. If it helps, you can use diagrams to explain your ideas.
2. Journal Response: What is your favorite picture from the blog and why?
On Tuesday, I will post more about the techniques we are using to analyze the forest and what exact features of the forest we are focusing on.
I look forward to hearing about your ideas.
~ Mr. Lafond
Another cool frog... this is a white lip wood frog.
Into the Forest...
On Saturday, we set out early in the day to measure the trees in a particular acre of the forest. An acre is 208 feet wide x 208 feet long. It took us 6 hours to survey the trees in half an acre. I was working in a three-person team with two college professors, Alice and Jeff. We made an excellent team and managed to learn many of the tree names.
Can you guess what I might be doing in these pictures?
Once again, it was surprisingly dry. It hasn't rained in two days. The wildlife, especially the reptiles and amphibians, stay hidden when it is dry. I did, however, see a few anolis lizards. Here is one posing for me!
Can you guess what I might be doing in these pictures?
Once again, it was surprisingly dry. It hasn't rained in two days. The wildlife, especially the reptiles and amphibians, stay hidden when it is dry. I did, however, see a few anolis lizards. Here is one posing for me!
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