WEco students ... Leaf Collection is due next Thursday 10/17

Some Tree locations around town

·        BHS by base/softball fields –Red & Black & Red/Black Hybrid Oak & Bigtooth Aspen &Hickory

·        Along the fence by the SRE playground-pavilion – Chestnut & Quaking Aspen & Black Cherry

·        BHS pond – Willow & Hickory & sumac & hawthorne & white & yellow birch

·        Jabish Middle School – Tuliptree

·        Swift River Elementary & Stop n Shop – Honey Locust

·        Across from Checkers – purple-leaf … cherry or maple, ornamental

·        Bank on the town green – gingko

·        In front of the Police Station - Hackberry

·        Lake Wallace – Witchhazel & Beech & Chestnut

·        In front of anybody’s house, dark green-to-purple maple – Norway Maple

·        Along the Swift River – Sycamore

·        Bridge across Fort River just past Rolling Green in Amherst – Silver Maple & Sycamore

More, the more you look!!

Source to Sea Clean-up at Lake Wallace is on!!

Be there at 10am by the picnic tables on Foley Field, with gloves, yard gear and a great attitude ... 'cause the we're on ... rain or shine!
(If you have the time, swing by the Stone House Museum for Living History Day, too)  

Sign in with Ms.Levy and be sure to fill out a Child Permission slip.  We begin with a quick orientation and instructions, then it's off to the trail.

Mother Nature seems to have heard the call of the trees, and the Weather Channel says it'll be about 60, with on and off showers through the morning.  Be prepared for wet toes.

Raining or no, we'll go raking, trimming and generally making sure the loop trail is a full loop!  Adults, anyone willing to put on the waders to clear trash from the water?!

If you can't make it at 10, then swing around the loop trail to find Ms. Levy ... your hard work and sense of community is welcome at any time, for any length of time.

Pizza, water and carrots at noon back by the picnic tables again.  Anyone willing to make the run to Saporito's for us?



See you tomorrow!

Get Muddy for the Environment!

Join the Ecomentors and Pack 57 for the 4th annual Lake Wallace Clean-up and Trail maintenance,

Saturday, October 5th by the picnic tables at 10 - go 'til 2 or 'til we're done  ...
stay the whole time or drop in anytime

part of the Connecticut River Watershed Council's annual Source-to-Sea cleanup

http://www.ctriver.org/portfolio-items/source-to-sea-cleanup/


Dress for the times ... long pants, long sleeves, and your bug-repellent of choice

Bring gloves and shoes that can get (very) muddy.

Adults, bring garden gear:  pruners, rakes, shovels, etc.


Pizza from Saporito's at noon.  The Ecomentors budget can afford the first 3 ... let me know if you can pitch in.


Contact Ms. Levy to register ... Adults sign in at the event, children need a Child Safety Waiver signed before participating.    llevy@belchertown.org

Ecomentors ... let's keep trying!

How about October 10?  Let's see if we can make it happen.

Any parents out there able to help out with the logistics?  Contact Ms.Levy if you can ... llevy@belchertown.org

Clark and WEco once again team up

This time, it's to check out the pond and ponder what makes for a healthy ecosystem and why it matters ...

Yep, that was great.  Thanks for chaperoning, ladies!!

"We screamed for frog jumps and hummed to help them sleep.  We learned a lot."  Clark's 2nd graders

Exploration and digital images

BEST Explorers live up to the name

Belchertown Environment, Science and Technology ...

Off to the pond, scoop, sort, then back to the classroom and microscopes ... excellent inquiry and some creativity, too!

Glass worm  aka Phantom Midge ... we got to watch its' peristalsis through the projecting microscope!

Digiscoping ... it's an art!

Maggie's buddy

Swift River Puddle ... Life on Earth students find that it's not a mosquito-breeder!

yep, that's a smile!

Making those waders look good, ladies!

Yes, Ms. Vigneux, we know all about the dynamics of a healthy aquatic ecosystem!

even tadpoles can make funny jokes

Sunshine and teamwork ... what a combination!

And what did we find, in the final analysis?

That both in April and September, our scoops of the SRE puddle tallied far more predators of the mosquitoes than mosquitoes themselves.  Tadpoles, dragonfly and damselfly larvae, Mayfly larva, along with Daphnia, Ostracods and Copepods.  We even found a Water Scorpion in April.

Now that's the sign of a healthy ecosystem ...biodiversity!

Moth and Mantis visit

This moth decided Ms.Levy's window was the best place to hang out for a day.

This Mantis decided to wait for Ms.Kampe's kids to get a good look!

Smile!

There's the Mantis, in the top left corner of the first window

Clark and WEco team up for a Photosynthesis Seminar

Inquiries abound around the glories of plants and the fabulous features of photosynthesis.

Do plants need Oxygen?  Which one is Oak, which is Maple?

Vote with your feet

Who is faster, the Oak-runner or the Maple-runner?

The group wrapped up the activities with a rousing game of Oak, Oak, Maple!

Hmmm ... looks like we need some trail maintenance here!

Poison Ivy ... thriving in the sun-drenched spots!

Watch your fingers and toes!

Look on the Class page for your vocabulary

over there  .............................................. >

Honors Ecology ... information for interested students is now on the Ecology page

Please click the link on the right side of this page to see the description of Honors Ecology.
The general idea is not that you'd be doing more work, just more in-depth work.

Let Ms.Levy know by Wednesday, Sept 11 ... so we can get the course change) to Ms. Pagos.

Get outside and  Have fun this weekend (properly protected from mosquito bites, of course!)

and    Thanks!

Great Blue Herons nest, and other wildlife at Lake Wallace, Summer 2013

June 3

The nest through the scope, August 5

Kingfisher, through the lens

Mourning Cloak tastes the salt at Tadgell

The Canada Geese do own the place when we humans aren't around!

Damselfly emerges, June 2013

We were privileged to witness the whole event in the classroom

And to think, we caught the emergence on video, too!

Start with a larva, determined to crawl out of the water ...

 ... leaves its exuvia behind, pumps to deploy those wings ... 

 ... starts to dry and stretch out ... 

 ... and there's the adult, ready to live out the rest of its life!

Ecomentors ... stay tuned for information on our first trip of the new school year!

Our last trip of the year, in June 2013, was a great one ... beautiful afternoon, and great scientists ready to put their skills to work.

Thanks, everyone, for a great year.  With special thanks to Mr. Clark!!

These experienced scientists know the drill ... sort, identify, sketch, and appreciate.

A Mayfly, even in June

A respectably large leech

Hey, little dragonfly, thanks for eating all those mosquitoes!!

Larva, who are you?

Lots of little crayfish

Now that's a kind of dragonfly larva we've never seen before.  2 years of looking, and we can still find something new.

Thanks, one and all ... 2012-2013 was a great year, and we're looking forward to more in 2013!

Last trips to the pond, May 2013

Even dedicated explorers need to know when Not to take that next step in

Yes, exploring the pond can be fun

Green Frog portrait

Grey Tree Frog, shy

Identify, record, then decide if we want to check it out under the microscope back in the classroom

Tough little Red-backed Salamander

Painted Turtle, sweet

Painted Turtle, fierce

Froglet back in the classroom, ready to hop away