4H Day 2 Part 1

Good morning....rise and shine it's time for class!  Try not to be jealous of my view.

 

 

After a hearty breakfast (think a little better than school cafeteria food) we went to Marsh Ecology Class.  There was a classroom portion where we studied marsh water under a powerful microscope and learned all about plankton.  Next we walked out to the marsh on campus and learned about the zones of the marsh and finally we boarded a bus for another area of the marsh where we got really down and dirty.

During this class I learned that my kids

1.       Have a lot to say

2.       Aren’t good at raising their hands

3.       Know a surprising amount

4.       Are not at all shy

5.       Have a LOT of confidence

6.       My son doesn’t like getting dirty At ALL.

7.       My daughter loves getting dirty.

Learning about the zones of the Marsh

 

 A feisty Sea Robin

 Seeing the animals in the touch tanks

Studying marsh water

 

Identifying zones and creatures of the marsh

 



 Learning about why the marsh is muddy (you don't want to know) and catching crabs.

By the way kids...the mud is made up of decomposing plants and animals and animal poo....

After lunch we had Crabs and Critters class.  We learned about habitats, body temperature regulation, camouflage and a lot more.  We also learned which native snakes are poisonous and what purpose all the snakes serve in our ecosystem.  AND we got to touch lots of creatures.

Touching the big gray rat snake

 



 

Getting up close and personal with a baby alligator.

Then we went outside to meet a few tortoises.  This Gopher Tortoise was my favorite.  I had to restrain myself from kissing him right on the face.

 

Well maybe not my absolute favorite...inside we got to meet a Diamondback Terrapin.  AMAZING!  And we learned why they are threatened and what we can do to help.  This isn't the actual terrapin we met.  The one we met however was even more beautiful than this photo.. and her skin...her skin was soft as silk.