Internship week 11:

For this class we looked at biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems. So at the start of class I went out the edge of the whitaker pond and set about 5 fish plexiglass fish traps. What happened next makes me the official king of fish trap setting; because within 15 minutes of finishing setting the traps, I had already caught 2 large-mouth bass, in traps designed to catch 1 inch minnows! :) Anyways, the rest of the class went great. The students used dip nets to screen the grasses and catch mostly minnows, but we did catch several freshwater shrimp and a dragonfly nymph.

Internship week 10: part 3

Helping with the campus trail cleanup is something I have done for the past four years anyways, so I definitely was going to help now that I was Sarah's TA. Other than the work I gave on the official clean up day, I also helped by making invasive species fliers to with pictures and descriptions; to help students who don't know how to accurately identify the main exotic species on campus. As I searched for exotics I continued to make notes about the campus trails for the trail mapping project.

Internship week 10: part 2

To get additional experience with environmental education, Sarah set up a time for me to volunteer with the 6th grade swamp walk, down in Big Cypress National Preserve. I was to assist as sort of a ranger in training. Basically by helping to keep things under control, and assisting with lectures when it was a subject that I knew more about.
 One teaching issue that I had yet to deal with, was teaching a class with a student who had a disability. Before heading out we were told that a boy in our group had asperger syndrome. But that he was very bright and just needed some extra patience, because he would want to answer all the questions. This was very true, but for the most part he was a pleasure to work with. He just needed to be gently reminded periodically that he needed to wait, so that others could get a chance to answer questions. I think this is a great program and I am definitely considering interning/working with the national parks program so that I can get paid to work with programs like this.

Internship week 10:

Helped guide the class to the Vester Marine Lab. Once there I did my best to explain the research projects available to see in progress. Then we unloaded the canoes and hit the water, for a tour around the mangrove inlets. I helped Sarah give a lecture about mangrove ecology and tried to link concepts back to previous examples discussed for freshwater wetlands. That day I definitely experienced both the pros and cons of trying to teach in the field. On the negative side, my mangrove lecture was horribly upstaged by a passing dolphin. But was brought back when I was able to let the students experience the way that black mangroves deal with excess salt, by excreting it through their leaves. I passed around handfuls of leaves to the class and told them to lick the backs...they all thought this was great :)

Internship week 9:

Spring Break -So nothing really to do but start work on the writing section of my poster.

Internship week 8: Part 2

Later in the week we met up with Mike Savarise to discuss the progress of the internship and to try to fix some clearer deadlines for some of the goals I was trying to meet through my internship.

Internship week 8:

This week we took the class to 6-mile cypress. I again met with students before class to make sure that no one got lost (somehow this still always manages to happen:)... and try to promote carpooling.
Once at 6-mile, I gave a talk to the class about green building and discussed some of the examples shown in the pavilions and visitors center at the site. This year the squeamish students are getting off easy, as only the boardwalks were open to the public, until a yellow jacket nest can get cleared away from the main trail; when my class went to 6-mile we were wading in water up to our chests!
    I was able to help Sarah out significantly with this trip, because unfortunately the board walk constricted the class into a long line, making teaching difficult. So while Sarah talked in the front, I was able to move in and out of the line and re-explain concepts as I went.
We also got really lucky with such a big class and still managed to see a mother gator, several wild boars and some giant alligator gar.

After 6-mile we then went to Estero Buffer Preserve and walked the trails. We again had great success with wildlife by spotting dozens of gopher tortoises and a bald eagle.

Internship week 7:

While the class finished their final exam, I worked on finalizing my lesson plan for the day later in the semester when I would teach the class while Sarah is out of town. I am definitely finding that I am a much better public speaker, if I first take the time to come up with a list of the points I want to make and the most logical order in which to present them.
I also met up with Sarah at 6-mile cypress later that week. In order to scout out the route we would take for next week's class and plan out my role in the discussion.

Internship week 6:

This week we took the entire class on a Wet Walk through the campus nature trails and into the heart of several cypress domes. This trip is always an "experience" because it is the first time the class is forced to truly get their feet wet...and they definitely let you know. It was my job to coax them along and make sure that nobody twisted an ankle or ran home at the first sign of mud. I swear that I would have been able to hear the girls shrieking bloody murder on the other side of campus. Of coarse once everyone got fully into the dome and discovered they weren't going to melt, they quieted down and started having fun.:)
    Throughout the walk I assisted Sarah with teaching about the adaptations of the various species we passed along the way; as well as giving longer lectures about the specific plants that I had researched  the previous week. Overall I think most of the class had a great time and no one got hurt.