April
15 & 16, 2007 - Overview
Saturday 4-7pm. This class will present an overview of the concepts behind
the Intensive Field Studies course. We will also explore the participant's
weakness and strengths. A Classification of the Senses lesson will teach the
participants how to observe, describe and compare.
Sunday 9-1pm. We will travel to various spots to observe, categorize and analyze
different cover types and exercise observational skills.
Assignment: Pick your "Nature Spot". This spot needs to be chosen
carefully as you will be spending a fair amount of time at it in the next couple
of months. Spend two hours alone in your nature spot (forest, field or aquatic
area) without moving. Sit, stand or lay down but don't move.
Watch-wait-listen-look.
May
21, 2007 - Observations & Senses and Introduction to Journaling
Sunday 9-3pm. This class will start by the participants describing what they saw, felt, smelled or heard on their two-hour vacation in nature. This will highlight the 5 senses and we will explore each in turn. The 5 senses don’t apply just to us; they are present in all the animals in nature and this discussion will apply to both!! More fieldwork for the senses with a special introduction to Journaling skills with noted illustration instructor Annie Chappell. This segment will greatly expand your ability to observe structure, details, field signs and observations. Additionally, the introduction to illustration will offer you an invaluable tool in recording the information you see in the field.
Assignment: Go back to your area and see what an animal sees for two hours. Start by being in the same place as before, for 30-45 mins., make observations about the lay of the land, habitats, ecotones, etc. Then move to a different, distant, landform or field marker you can see from your nature spot and make a new set of observations. Continue to move to a new spot and then another, until time is up. You may move in a straight line away from your nature spot or move in a circular fashion. This is designed to alter your human perception of the area and give you an animal’s eye view.
June 10 & 11, 2007 - Plants
Saturday
3-7pm. Bring your Newcomb’s! Today is plant day. Slide show introducing plants
and their habitats.
Sunday 9-5pm. Field day today, we’ll be visiting plants where they live. Many different habitats. How to use “keys”. We will be knee deep in a swamp today, so take boots or mud shoes. We will visit several other habitat types to capture as many different plant species as possible. Special visit to the Audubon High Ledges in Shelburne, and a wild cranberry bog in Wendell, MA.
Assignment: Find your county’s USDA Soil Survey Manual. Read the Formation of Soils, Glossary, Detailed Soil Map Units and a dozen or so soil description on that chapter. Dig a hole in your garden and in your nature spot and think about what you see and smell.
July 8 & 9, 2007 - Mammals
Saturday 1-5pm. Nothing but animals today! We’ll view a slide collection of the various New England mammals and receive a lecture/discussion of their life histories and habitat needs. We’ll meet at the Massachusetts Museum of Natural History and have a private tour of their extensive mammal collection.
Sunday
9-5pm Things are getting more intense! Today we will be visiting various
habitats to directly examine, the habitats of the New England mammals.
Introduction to trees in the field. Long day, bring your power bars.
Assignment: Pick a favorite animal and find it! Go to its habitat, take pictures, remove sign, gather opinions regarding the quality of its habitat. Identify 5 tree species, to the genus, within this habitat.
August
19 & 20, 2007 - Trees and Soil
Saturday 1-5pm. Plan on bending down a lot. We’ll be (i.e. you) digging holes in the ground this afternoon. Class will focus on how soils are formed and continue to be formed and what role they play as the skin of the earth. Soils are so important; they are the basis of all our habitats, yet they are often overlooked.
Sunday 9-5pm. This will be a day of trees and visits to some of the old growth tree sites in the state, 300-year-old Hemlocks, Black Gums and Spruce trees. Introduction to Forestry. We’ll examine re-growth of the forest after lumbering or natural disaster and core a few trees to determine their ages. Lots of hiking and walking in steep places.
Assignment: Prepare to introduce your nature spot.
September
9 & 10, 2007 - Nature Spots
Saturday
10-4pm and Sunday 9-5pm. We will tour as many “nature spots” as possible
today and tomorrow. This is your time to shine, (and get grilled) you will be
the guest Naturalist at your “Nature Spot”. Tell us everything you have
seen, felt, collected and learned about your spot.
Text; Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide Little Brown & Co.