Computer Blues

I haven't written in a bit because I have been so busy! We are pretty much done all our field work and now comes the fun part...NOT! We will be working on the computers for the rest of the time applying all our data and setting up our notebook!

My paper is coming along and I feel better after talking to Lara about it. Hopefully the peer editing will give me a bit more help with wording which is my weakness!

The new version of EXCEL is giving us all sort of issues!

Up and running...

Today we got things up and running!! After lunch Erin, Lynne and Jennifer and I hit the woods and started to make our first plot. With some confusion here and there we did an awesome job at our first plot! This really worked out for us because then we had more time to tweek some of the other aspects instead of attempting to perfect the plot! Working in pairs we went through the plot identifying every living thing that fit in between the red flags! We also hashed out a our descriptions of "tree" vs. "shrub". It was great to Lara come out and double check what we were doing! She really made me feel better about everything and gave me even more confidence that we will reach our expectations. Now, those aren't set to high, but I still think we will accomplish what we wanted to, which to me is the most important. Tomorrow morning should be exciting. The other group is helping us out so we should get 2 plots done for a grand total of 3. Not to shabby!

Today was long but I did get a chance to see a presentation by Mary who is finishing her degree. It was pretty neat to see the end of the program when I am just at the beginning. Her activities were pretty neat and gave me some good ideas.

Robin's presentation was great to! I was so exhausted but I can only imagine how awesome it would be to get to Antarctica. It is on my list of things to do before I die...so I guess I have to go!

Lets get started!!

I am getting super excited to get started on our project. After having our propsal reviewed I feel like we are in a good place. We are bumping our plot numbers down but that will give us a chance to really concentrate on them. Today we also discussed our 'I believe' statements about EE. These statements are going to be the basis for a paper refelcting our feelings about EE. My statement focused on my feeling that I feel that EE can and should be taught in all settings, such as urban, rural and suburban. After going through it with Eleanor, I ended in a really good place. She got me thinking about why its important for inner city children to be aware of their environment. When we kept breaking it down I discovered that my roots in this were empowerment and self worth. For someone to care about others they must first care about themselves! This is where I think I am headed!!

Project

Today we picked our project. My group is working closely with another group, so that we can observe the land near a new development on the Barrington Headwaters. My group is going to be looking at the species composition and abundance of the plant life. With this knowledge the other group will be creating a handy guide for the new inhabitants of the development. To achieve all this we are going to help each other. Whats nice about this project is that it really encompasses a lot more then just one group could do. Using the two groups will really give us a chance to look at a larger picture. Ultimately, it would be awesome for a group in a couple of years to go back and re-do our project. This way we would have a group before the development and after. I really have a feeling that the group I'm in will produce a great project. I think we have a good range of ideas and different strengths to bring to the table. I can't wait to get out there tomorrow and really let what we have to do soak in!

"Hang at your Own Risk"

When the fine tenants of Babcock hall decided to leave their bikes during the summer, unlocked, they probably didn't count on Vicki, Leah and I! Picking out the ones with the most dust, cobwebs and flat tires (Leah has a pump) Vicki and I borrowed some bikes to take a ride out in College Woods. We only went out for a half hour but still we saw so much more of College woods then we had seen previously! Just taking lefts, so we'd eventually end back where we started, we saw a beautiful pond with teeny-tiny frogs and heard beautiful bird calls. Not only did we get to explore campus a bit but we also headed to the beach this morning. It was very crowded but got some of our work done which was nice. The drive alone was super nice.

I am still on the hunt for an apartment. I looked at 5 places on Friday and the first one I saw that day was big but old. The space would be great though and its in an awesome location. The women hasn't gotten back to me yet but please keep your fingers crossed for me! Now I am going to attempt to finish all the readings and reflections so I can spend the week working on the other stuff!

PS: for some reason only pictures of scat will upload onto my blog

The only picture I can get to Upload!

Moose Scat!



moose scat

We did so much today!

Today was tons of fun! We started the day with Dan Gardoqui from White Pine learning how to track! The most amazing thing I saw today was the porcupine home! When I can steal pictures from Leah I will. The moose scat was the also cool. This is my second sign of a moose maybe the third will be a moose! Very awesome morning in the woods! The afternoon was then spent at the Warren Farm. There we got a better history account of the Tamposi land. I give him a lot of credit for keeping up with the farm. He also just wowed me of all his knowledge and the way he went out and looked up stuff he didn't know. I have a list of questions that I still haven't looked up that I need to take the time to learn. I don't know the area well enough yet but i feel like I have seen a bunch of farms in the area and don't know the competition there is around this area. Now I know where I will get my Christmas tree! There is so much I want to write about today but I think I need to tell people about it before I write more about it. It is hard to write about a day like today cause there was so much! Having way to many issues uploading photos ...so will attempt later!