Field trip to Claytor Natural Park. Here, we learned a lot about the wildlife in the local Lynchburg area and collected a lot of data for iNaturalist. In the evening, we joined up with the Eyes on the Skies class and went to a local river to further collect data samples and help their class analyze water samples. We were also able to enjoy the river!
We did a lab on classifying insects, accompanied by Mr. Dr. Strysky. We used microscopes to analyze the insects caught in set-up insect traps that we collected as a class during our field trip to Claytor. Once back in the lab, we sorted out the insects by their order and classifications, weighing out their subdivisions as we went to get accurate calculations.
We were able to meet with Michel and Morgan from Lynchburg water resources to learn about the wildlife that live in the local lakes and rivers and also about how they test the water to make sure it is clean. We were able to try and collect different types of insect larvae from the lake at Ivy Creek Park. Afterwards, we tested the ph, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, sulphate, and cholrine levels in the lake to make sure it was safe and clean.
Our last field trip was a trip to Hollins Mill Park, where we observed the river after a large rainfall. We wandered the trails trying to find wildlife, and we found two deer along the paths. We visited the Hollins Mill Tunnel, a scenic bridge, and the train tracks traveling through Lynchburg.