Rebecca's+Page

=Rebecca's Page=

Our eco-plot was a project to see how things in an ecosystem interact, develop and grow. From everything from bugs to berries, it was important. We collected statistics on weather and went outside in the rain, freezing cold, searing heat and horrible humidity. To study something that we were already studying in class. *sigh* It was fun at times.

-thermometer attached to a yard stick -Barometer -Kestrel wind meter -Bubbles -compass -sling psychrometer -plastic cups -field journals -shovel -Nerd logs
 * Equipment list:**

When we would go outside we would hold the timer thingy up and press a button and it would tell us the Wind speed. We would use the bubbles and compass to find out which way the wind was blowing. I really don't remember much about our eco plot experiences because I tend to repress unpleasant memories. It was very cold a lot of the time, thus making the memory unpleasant. I never really saw the point in having an eco plot.

I don't remember much about November, but my field journal says there was a lot of English ivy, or Hedera Helix. There was really tiny sprouts of garlic mustard growing around the end of the month. It was rapidly getting colder. We did not go to the eco plot much in November.

December was really the first time we saw the garlic mustard. It was really cold outside.The first frost of the year came on the first of December.There were a lot of dead leaves in the eco plot in December. There was a new plant around that remains unknown to this day. It looked a bit like the english ivy. BTW, the garlic mustard smelled weird. The tree had lost all it's leaves and the ivy and the garlic mustard were the only green plants. We examined some leaf samples under the microscope and the plant cells looked like green sparkling dragon scales. There was a lot of nuts on the ground by the eco plot and wineberries were growing near the entrance. Stuff was beginning to decompose.

In January there was very dry air, the ivy was the only green thing and it was FREEZING! LITERALLY! There was hardly any color, and hardly any moisture. The second time we went out in January we found animal pellets. The ground was pretty much frozen and there was a dusting of snow. You could just see some small mammal tracks.

February was a very barren month. The ground was VERY hard and it was VERY cold. There was leaf litter and a bit of snow on the ground. There was more snow later in the month.

In March we heard woodpeckers, there was even more green around us and the snow had finally melted. We found bird feathers and animal droppings, and there was a lot of robins on the soccer field. There were groundhog holes and daffodils began to sprout. It was hard to believe that at the very beginning of the month snow covered most of the ground, there was no birds and the ivy was the only thing that was green.

April brought flowers and very little showers. There were zounds of new species, the ground was wet and the eco plot was full of green. There was some bittersweet in the eco plot and the garlic mustard had made a comeback. There were a lot of yellow flowers that looked like buttercups but weren't.

I don't have many notes on the rest of the months, just data. It was sunny and warm a lot in May.