Exploration of Hemlock Hill at the Arnold Arboretum
September, 2017
When we arrived at the Arnold Arboretum, we were greeted by Ms. Nancy, an educator who works with classes all around Boston to help children learn about the Arboretum and local ecosystems.
We began by walking up into Hemlock Hill and observing what we saw, heard, and felt. Then we broke into small groups with our guides and searched for interesting producers and decomposers. At school, we have learned that producers are plants that get energy from the sun, and decomposers are living things that get energy from breaking down things that have died. |
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After finding producers and decomposers at Hemlock Hill, we began our search for consumers. You wouldn't believe how many different consumers you can find around you when you take the time to look!
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Exploration of Hemlock Hill at the Arnold Arboretum
October, 2016
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"The field trip for me was so fun, even though it was very cold. I thought I was going to freeze to death. When we got outside I couldn't believe how tall the trees were, and there was so much wood on the ground. When we got to explore, I found a ton of millipedes in a small tree. I found a spider on the ground, but I didn't know what kind of spider I got. After I released the millipedes and the spider, we finally got on the warm bus. I was upset that the trip was over but I was happy wasn't cold." - Sibrina "On 10-14-16, the Manning Seniors went to the Arboretum. I enjoyed the trip because the Arboretum is BEAUTIFUL! We also caught bugs, saw different leafs, and identified life forms. It was cool to see so many animals, bugs, trees, fungi, leaves, rotting logs(!), and plants." - Vasi |
Our Class Trip to the Arnold Arboretum
by Bill Chen "Have you ever wondered what it would like to be in the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain? This was one of my favorite field trips. There were lots of scents and many things to explore. I even caught a little worm and they microscoped it into the Ipad! It was an amazing day for me, even though I worried for ticks and bugs! The first thing we did was go up Hemlock Hill. It was very steep and not what I imagined. What I imagined was a big, open, peaceful hill with a big hemlock tree in the center! Instead, my imagination had been blasted beyond space. It was just a dirt hill, with lots of trees and tree stumps. I nearly fell when I tripped over one! That made everyone laugh. I thought I was going to have a very bad day because I had a rocky start. We saw lots of green, ragged leaves, lots of pointed, green-blue narrow leaves, and lots of large, brown sticks. |
The next thing we did was find a place to put a mat on. We found a large, open clearing. Our tour guides were also very unusual. Both of their names were Nancy! We had trouble keeping track and calling to which “Nancy” we needed. First, we looked for producers. Producers are living things that take energy from the sun, and we usually refer them to as “plants” or “trees.” We found a lot of plants, such as the fern, the pine tree and cone, and some moss. Then we drew our plants on a sheet of paper. We had to list its texture, size, color, and more!
Next, we looked for consumers. The “Nancys” split us into two groups. Jaiden, Daine, and Macumar in one team, while Camila, me, and Kyizha went into the other side of the hill. Our “Nancy” said there was a secret place where every time they look for consumers in the arboretum. We dug and dug with our puny little wooden probers, but we didn’t find anything. Finally, Kyizha yelped. She had found a baby salamander! We quickly tried to probe it into the jar, but it was useless. The sly salamander slid under the jar! It took us about five minutes to get that thing in there! Next Camila found a baby salamander that looked like it was newborn! It charmed us all! However, getting it in the jar was fairly easy. The salamander wanted to see what was in Camila’s jar! Unfortunately for the salamander, all it saw when it went in was empty, clear abyss. And also unfortunately for me, I didn't catch any insects. We also didn’t have time to find any decomposers. Even though there were some rough times, one day I would like to go to the Arboretum again." |