A watershed education project located in the Pedlar River watershed of western Amherst County, VA.
Designed and hosted by One Source Graphics LLC
Fourth Grade (Class of 2007)-March 2006
Students investigated their adopted trees’ to observe the various members of its ecological community.
Students investigated their adopted trees’ to observe the various members of its ecological community.
They found organisms that played the roles of producer, predator, prey, and decomposer-- recognizing that some organisms may have two roles. While in the Forest Study Site, tree teams kept track of their observations on their data sheets. When back in the classroom, they made individual diagrams of their tree’s community, labeling the niche (food web role) of each organism in their picture and using dotted lines to indicate the interdependencies. The class discussed the relationships they had discovered and talked about how humans can and do impact the Forest Study Site.
Class of 2007 Says Goodbye to Their Trees
5th graders said goodbye to their adopted trees this June, marveling as they remembered the small
saplings they first met in kindergarten which now towered above them. What was even more amazing
were all the trees, flowers, and soil around their adopted trees, all a part of the natural succession
taking place in the young and growing forest.
saplings they first met in kindergarten which now towered above them. What was even more amazing
were all the trees, flowers, and soil around their adopted trees, all a part of the natural succession
taking place in the young and growing forest.
“Spinymussel Blues: one endangered mussel’s story”
4th and 5th graders learned about a special creature who lives in the Pedlar River, the federally endangered James Spinymussel. By singing a song and studying the Freshwater Mussel Fact Sheet, they discovered why sediment produced by erosion is harmful to aquatic creatures. They also found out that the James Spinymussel is dependent on the presence of certain kinds of fish in its neighborhood in order to be able to reproduce. Basically, juvenile Spinymussels need the “right fish to ride” to develop into free-living adults.
Like other freshwater mussels, the James Spinymussel lives on the bottom of streams or rivers. It moves up and down in the gravel, sand or sediment. Freshwater mussels are a living filter. They are called suspension feeders because they eat algae and other particles, such as leaf debris, that are suspended in the water. Since mussels help remove these particles, they help keep the water clear.
Students also investigated the Forest Study Site to answer the question, “How do forests help protect water quality?” Here are some of the answers to that question: Forests hold soil (prevent erosion “sediment load”); they contribute organic debris for food; they shade water to reduce temperature and thereby increase oxygen; they absorb and filter pollution out of the rainwater runoff from the land, helping to keep that pollution out of the water; and they help absorb rainwater to maintain our groundwater resources.
Students also investigated the Forest Study Site to answer the question, “How do forests help protect water quality?” Here are some of the answers to that question: Forests hold soil (prevent erosion “sediment load”); they contribute organic debris for food; they shade water to reduce temperature and thereby increase oxygen; they absorb and filter pollution out of the rainwater runoff from the land, helping to keep that pollution out of the water; and they help absorb rainwater to maintain our groundwater resources.
Class of 2007
“Spinymussel Blues: one endangered mussel’s story”
“Spinymussel Blues: one endangered mussel’s story”
Click Here For James Spinymussel Fifth Grade Fact Sheet
Click Here For More Information on James Spinymussel