Last week

Monday June 21, 2010 my soil class learned about soil fertility, ion exchange, soil pH, liming, soil fertility and fertilizers. On Tuesday June 22, 2010 my class was cancelled and my class decided to go white water rafting in Clayton GA. On Wednesday June 23, my soils class learned about Easter Island effects. On Thursday June 24, my wildlife class took trip out to Aiken State Park to participate in a form of management by fishing. On Friday June 25, my soils class learned about the Soils of South Carolina and Forest Soil and Lawns, Lakes and Lawns. On Saturday, my wildlife class took a trip out to Beidler Forest. We spotted an alligator and various other species of birds. The Francis Beidler Forest is managed and operated by the Audubon Society a private organization. Every donation and admission will go back into the forest and allow the success of the animals, plants and birds. Their success is based on private donations with no income from the state or federal government.
The following week we had finals. My soil final went really well. Hard work really pays off. In addition to this, my wildlife class will be going back to Silver Bluff tomorrow (Tuesday) and presentation our PowerPoint presentations. On Wednesday my soils class will be presenting our PowerPoint State Soil Projects. Then Thursday we start our new classes. My friend Allie from University of South Florida- St. Petersburg is now my roommate. I look forward to finishing this wonderful month and can’t wait to start my new classes later in the week.
Yours truly,
Brittany

Caesars Head State Park

On Thursday, my wildlife ecology and management class drove over 4 hours one way to see Caesars Head State Park. We originally were planning on visiting Joyce Kilmer which was much further than Caesars Head State Park but we realized the potential Caesars Head State Park had. It was a wonderful day hiking on the trails and looking at the amazing views. It really took your breath away looking down a few thousand feet. A beautiful hawk flew underneath us and a vulture got stuck in a thermal as it gained height rising barely using any energy to move. Jessica, Jasmine and I will be going Whitewater Rafting on the Chattooga River on Tuesday. I can’t wait!

On Friday, my soils class learned about Soil Colloids including Andisols, Ultisols, Vertisols and Oxisols. We were also assigned a group essay and readings based on the Easter Island event. I have learned about this before in high school but it will be interesting to write an essay as a group and learn about the soil problems this island had before the people ultimately vanished.

Yours truly,
Brittany

Week #3

The beginning of Week 3 (June 13- June 18) we learned about Soil Acidity, Spodosols, and Soil Organic Matter. Also, we conducted an organic matter and pH lab. The pH lab was very interesting and it made me think how important it is to test the soils, water, and other liquids to find how acidic or basic something is.
On Tuesday June 15, my wildlife ecology and management class took us out to Henderson Heritage Preserve and Hitchcock woods. We saw a female wood duck, common yellow throat, blue- gray gnatcatcher, and common nighthawk. The most important thing we learned about at this location was the type of management. Beavers created their own management by controlling the lands by stacking up mud, allowing vegetation to grow, and stabilizing the water levels. It’s important to know that the top part of Henderson Heritage Preserve is actively controlled by humans through forest fires. At the top of the hill, there were little animal action due to the increasing hot temperatures, limited shade/water, and little vegetation. Near the bottom of the hills and close to the water the beavers made 5 impressive dams to control water and give them a place to survive. Our group learned the difference between a swamp which is a wooded wetland and a marsh which is water soft vegetation. Hitchcock woods are 1200 acres of lands and Thomas Hitchcock and William C Whitney purchased the land to protect, provide recreational use and enjoyment of the people in Aiken. The foundation to this day has over 2000 acres offering people a unique southern forest in the urban area of Aiken. I really enjoyed this day and can’t wait to continue learning in this class.

Congaree National Park

On Wednesday and Friday, I learned a variety of soil order including Entisoils, Inceptisoils, Histosoils, Gelisols, Alfisols, and Aridisols. We learned about the physical properties including texture, buld density and porosity. Also, our class learned about the available water, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Permeability) concepts. We had our first exam this week.

On Saturday, my wildlife and management class went to the Congaree National Park. This is the 2nd national park I have been to and I plan on hopefully one day vising all the national parks. Some of the birds we say included the Yellow billed cuckoo, Summer tanagers, Easter pewee, Carolina wren, Acadian flycatcher nests, White breasted nuthatches, Swainson’s warbler, Northern parula , Prothonotary warbler, Eastern phoebe, Hooded warbler , White eyed vireo, Barn owl, Yellow throated warble , Great crested flycatcher, Great blue heron, Tipton mouse, Chimney swifts, Cowbird, Pine warbler and learned about the Scarlett tanagers. We had 3 sightings of a barn owl. Some of the trees we learned about included how the Yellow bellied sapsuckers make the holes on the trees, Mussel wood, American holly, swamp maple, switch cane, sweet gum, beach trees, air leaf, swamp chestnut oak and loblolly pines. Emergent trees is an important concept to learn about with the top layer of the forest profile as the trees try hard to get more light and air rather than the smaller trees and vegetation below fighting for sunlight. Each day, I love bird watching and nature more and more. I truly appreciate this experience. We met a lady on this trip that gave us some advice as we walked path on how we need to learn to appreciate the common species to truly appreciate the rare species because without the common species we wouldn’t know what was truly rare in the area to see. At one moment in time, we had many mosquito’s and flying bugs around us but as soon as we spotted an owl all those bugs just disappeared and all we cared about was watching the owl. It is so interesting to always look at the different types of people at national parks some people rush through the park and miss birds especially the owl and some people actually take time like that wise lady to enjoy nature and travel the world. This was an important learning experience for me to see the wide spread diversity and learn about the types of trees, management and birding in the national park.

Week # 2

On Monday, I started off my week in the Soil class learning about various physical properties such as the texture, bulk density and porosity. During lab, we went outside and tested soil compaction with a penetrometer. This penetrometer will test the soil and determine if the area is suitable for well, fair or poor plant growth based on the colors shown on the top of the gauge. From there, my partner (Jessica) and I were able to determine that the mulched area has better ranges for plant growth compared to the grass lawn area. We took samples at 3inches and then compared that to 6 inches. All the samples showed that at 3 inches would have more plant growth than compared to the 6 inches. This is an interesting concept. I really liked getting in the field and I hope that we can continue going outside more in this class. I know I learn better seeing things happen in front of me compared to sitting in a classroom.

On Tuesday, my wildlife ecology and management class decided to go out to the Silver Bluff Audubon Center and Sanctuary. We stopped off to the side of the road and took out the spotting scope to see the painted bunting, anhinga, and cattle egrets. From there, we went over to lake in hopes of finding a sight of the bald eagles and wood stocks. Unfortunately, the birds were not out today. Throughout the day, I spotted an indigo bunting, great egret, red shoulder hawk and a grackle. I saw two grackles chasing after the red shoulder hawk. (I hope that hawk got away) Some other species, our class saw was the red winged blackbird, brown headed cowbirds, northern rough winged swallow, red eyed vireo, and fish crows. It was a great day of birding. We saw our first mammal it was a fox squirrel. Throughout the car ride we continue to think and discuss our ideas regarding conservation ethic and the types of management various places use to control the lands. I am really enjoying this class and every day I continue learning from nature.

Aiken State Nature Park & Aiken Gopher Tortoise Hertiage Preserve

Today, we went to Aiken State Nature Park and Aiken Gopher Tortoise Heritage Preserve. When we went to Aiken State Nature Park we used waiters and nets to collect various species. Some species included Lesser Siren, Mad Tom Catfish, Red fin pickler, crayfish, and various frogs and tadpoles. We got to hold a corn snake and I learned the differences between various snake species in the area. Throughout the day, we saw a 5 lined skink, 6 lined racer runner and a brown ground skink. I was lucky enough to catch a red fin pickler and various frogs. Then later that day we went to the Aiken Gopher Tortoise Heritage Preserve and we learned about various snakes and plants. I made a butterfly friend that afternoon as it kept following me and landing on my hand. (VERY COOL) It was a very hot day but I learned a lot on this trip!

Birdwatching, Wild Turkey Federation and Soils

On Thursday June 3rd, my wildlife ecology and management class took us birding in the morning and later in the day we took a trip to The National Wild Turkey Federation’s Wild Turkey Center & Winchester Museum in Edgefield, South Carolina. Within the first hour of bird watching we saw 7 different birds and learned about the different bird calling sounds. Some of the birds we saw included mourning doves, house finches, northern mockingbird, brown thrasher, eastern kingbird, eastern bluebird and orchard oriole. I love bird watching and I had a great time with the class. We learned a lot about the wild turkeys from two of the tour guides that day as we adventured inside with their interactive activities and went outside for a hiked tour. I had no idea that turkeys population were decreasing due to land loss, hunting and human impacts on the environment but with the help of hunters and environmental organizations the wild turkey’s populations are able to thrive to this day. This organization is incredible and I’m glad that we got to spend the day learning about these birds. We ended our wonderful day at Pizza Hut for lunch and stopped at a local fresh fruit stand. What an incredible experience!
On Friday June 4th, I attended the second soil class and took my first quiz. I did well on the quiz and started learning how to classify my state soil. Our teacher assigned everyone a state to study the soil and towards the end of the month we will present a PowerPoint presentation. My state soil is Bayamón in Puerto Rico. I learned how to classify the types of rocks and minerals while gathering valuable information to prepare for my presentation. I still feel a little overwhelmed but plan on working really hard in this class to obtain as much as possible from this class.
Yours truly,
Brittany

First few days of classes

On Tuesday June 1, I started off the week with ENV 492: Wildlife Ecology and Management class. I absolutely love this class. Having only 3 students in the class is a major benefit. We get to speak our mind and share our experiences with each other. Dr Lanham is wonderful! He shares a lot of his past experiences and his career path with us. On the first day, I have already learned about conservation ethics and how we play a drastic part in the environment. I feel that everyone has their own views on conservation ethics but no matter how you feel about conservation you must always stand up for yourself and what you believe in.

On Wednesday June 2, I started my second class ENV 310: Soil Science. I felt a tad overwhelmed in this class as we had two lectures and did many assignments via computer today. I know I will have to put a lot of work and time into this class. We collected a sample of soil and sending it out to gather more information. (Will keep you posted about our results). We learned various types of soil profiling methods and we got assigned a state to do research over the course of the next month. Each student will later present their state at the end of the month.

Yours truly,

Brittany