Science Camp

The first day of my first year teaching I went out to science camp. It was challenging being my first year teaching since I was hired as an expert in my field and I had no official training as a teacher. That came from being accepted in the teaching program with UAF. Every year since I have been teaching here I have taken my students to science camp. It is a week of living in a remote field camp getting a hands-on experience doing science. Every year but this one we have had experts and scientists join us. In this photograph my friend Cheryl a fisheries biologist is teaching the students how to capture and identify macro-invertebrate on the Egigik River. I also have had lots of experience doing field studies here on the Alaska Peninsula my speciality was birds. We study a variety of subjects from geology, fisheries, ornithology, mammology, and ecosystems while we are in camp.
Here students are conducting vegetation plot surveys. Students are determining percent cover of vegetation. Students need to be able to correctly identify the plant species then they dig below the vegetation to look at the soil profile. We spend a week out in the field doing hands-on science for science camp. Science camp is held near the mouth of the Egigik River by Lake Becharof. It was moved from the shore of Lake Becharof about three years ago when Bible Camp was declared unsave. These pictures are from last years camp I will post this years pictures once I get them downloaded.