Bennett’s
Millpond Academy Summer 2003
Reflective Comments and Special Pictures:
“This
week as a whole has been very very cool and exciting. I have
learned so many new things that could possibly contribute a
variety of tools that I could use on my project this coming
year. I thought yesterday, the soil day, was by far the coolest!
I learned how to use a really expensive GPS that could give
specific points along a transect of the millpond. It is amazing
how closely this corresponds to my upcoming project. I am so
excited because now I know how to use the GPS equipment, I know
the terminology, and I met two people who have expertise in
the area of using GPS equipment and I am sure I will ask for
help from them in our project.”
“I
would sayeth that the whole weeketh has been just marvelous.
Like getting water and oil to mix into a homogeneous solution.
The best part of the week was meeting new people, and finally
seeing everyone start to open up and express their true feelings.
As far as science goes, the soil science day was cool. Being
able to go out and identify the different parts of this area
as being clayey, sandy, or whatever the other one was, and being
able to tie it in back with the millpond.”
“The
thing that I enjoyed most this week was walking through the
woods and finding the snake and the turtle. I enjoyed that the
most because I’d rather be in the woods learning by hands
on experiments than sitting in a classroom and being taught
a lesson.”
“In
our project we want to find whether turtles have homing responses
we need to know our exact location to determine whether they
return to the original location or if they have a particular
area where they roam. We will use both GPS and GIS to keep track
of the turtles and their locations. This will actually be a
very important part of our project.”
“It
has been a wonderful experience. It got a little busy during
the year, because of all the schedules the team had to work
around. I felt the team did an excellent job and taught me many
new things. The most memorable part of the project was the cold
mornings we went collecting. My team learned how to dress very
quickly. I had never visited the millpond before this project.
It is a beautiful place and I it is full of information about
our environment that is waiting for us to find out. The togetherness
of all the teams has made this project special.” Sherlton
“I
marvel at the creativity of the students. I love to see how
people of different backgrounds (age, gender or cultural exposure)
look at problems and try to solve them. These students have
done a great job in researching their topics and presenting
their findings to a large group of people. Their research could
hold many important finds that could help not only the pond
but also the community (keep looking Sarah, I see a macro with
your name on it). I am very proud to have had this opportunity
and am looking forward to the new students that enter the program.”
Teri
“This
year I had the opportunity to explore the world of science--
I have always had a love of the environment and this has given
me the opportunity to explore it in a very interactive way.”
Robin
