Day 1 - Classroom (1.5- 2 hours)
Introduce project and learn how to make a site map
Overview of project- discuss what activities will be done during the field days. Introduce estuary ecosystems. Questions to be answered are:
- What is an estuary?
- Why is it important?
- Threats to estuaries
Introduce the concept of stewardship and restoration. Look at the steps of a stewardship project (including who we need permission from to do a stewardship project).
Discuss what aspects we might want to consider in our site survey (things that may be indicative of the health of our estuary and why)
- Woody debris
- Manmade structures
- Terrestrial plants and trees
- Bird and bat houses
- Garbage
Discuss how to make a site map
- Which way is north?
- Water
- Evidence of changes/alterations to the site over time
Activity- Students will create a map of the school grounds or their classroom in preparation for creating a map of the estuary.
Day 2 - Classroom (1.5- 2 hours)
Learn how to do wildlife surveys and plant survey
Discuss why we do surveys and what information we gather?
Discuss methods of observing and recording data, setting up plots, using transect or grid system, counting and estimating data
Wildlife survey
- Talk about the different types of wildlife found in an estuary.
- Discuss the relationship between the wildlife and the vegetation within the estuary (Food Web interactions)
- Why are animal surveys an important component of our stewardship project?
- Discuss how to best use the binoculars
- Wildlife etiquette
- Practice identifying wildlife using field guides and slides ?Plant and woody debris survey
- Talk about plant identification and why it is an important component of our stewardship project
- Explain the steps involved in identification, including how to use field guides most effectively, quadrats and transects, and practice identifying plants using slides
- Discuss the importance of visiting the site before doing the restoration work
- Outline how we will perform our survey
- Discuss native and non-native/ Invasive species and Invasive species removal
Activity- Have the students practice identifying plants with samples brought to the classroom.
Day 3 - Classroom (1.5 -2 hours)
Learn how to do water quality testing and an estuary health walk
Water quality testing
- Talk about water quality and why it is an important component of our stewardship project
- Discuss the parameters of water quality we are going to test and why they are good indicators of the health of the estuary
- Discuss what influences the parameters we will test
- * Possibly have a special guest give a demonstration on a pollution model Estuary Health Walk
- What is an Estuary Health Walk?
- What can be learned from this?
- Outline stewardship objectives
- Discuss the importance of careful observation
Beach cleanup information
- What to expect
- What to wear
- Safety
Activity- Have the students split into groups- the groups will perform one of the 7 water quality tests on a sample of water.
Day 4 - Field Trip (London's Landing)
Travel to a local estuary to conduct:
- General site survey (create a map of the area)
Split into groups and rotate through 6 stations:
- Bird and Wildlife survey
- Water quality testing x 2
- Plant and woody debris survey
- Estuary health observation walk
- Create site map and Garbage Clean-up
Debrief- Discuss the outcomes, observations and comments students have about the field day
Day 5 - Field Trip (Annacis Island)
Travel to a local estuary and conduct a beach clean up.
- Remove woody debris from site
- Pick up garbage from the site
Debrief- Discuss with students their accomplishments of the day.
Day 6 - Classroom (Approximately 1.5 hours)
Discuss how the information that has been collected needs to be analyzed and interpreted
Explain how to analyze the data and what we are looking for
Project conclusion
Analyze and interpret data
Formulate conclusions based on data
Communication action plan
