I am in the middle of the training at Davis and am loving every minute of it.  I can’t wait to get back to my students and share all of this great material with them.   We are about 40 minutes northeast of Fairbanks.       We are a small school of 80-100 students surrounded by forest on all four […]

Testing of the time lapse camera – the beginning and end of the melting of an ice cube

Crop Production Study April 2017 to October 2017 In this study from April 2017 to October 2017, students conducted a crop production study using basil plants.  During this study, students from two different school years collaborated to grow, harvest, and process the basil while keeping data about the growth of the plants. The first step in the crop production study […]

Tree Growth Study 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 In this study over two school years, the kindergarten students monitored the changes in a sugar maple tree.  The students focused on making observations of the sugar maple tree during each seasonal change as phenophases changed throughout the year.  Additionally, the time lapse camera took a daily photo of the sugar maple tree to […]

Plant Phenology Study April 2017 and April 2018 In this month long study in April 2017 and April 2018, the kindergarten students compared and contrasted the growth of tulip and crocus bulbs in warmed and unwarmed plots.  Students learned and observed phenological stages, monitored and documented temperatures, recorded data in plant phenology journals, and made inferences about the comparative growth […]

            Blue Hill Consolidated School (BHCS) students have used used OTCs to determine the effect of slight temperature increases on goldenrod, common tansy and other wild plants, and are now using OTCs in studies in the flower garden. A recent study with iris plants demonstrated that OTCs do indeed speed up life cycle events of plants; […]

Student graphs of Dr. Post’s long term data from Greenland are shown here. Eighth graders created the graphs on their iPads, using the data shared on the APPLES website. Dates of emergence are shown for tundra plants from one of three study sites: Doc, Bashful or Dopey. Dates are based on the Julian calendar; for example, day 155 on the Julian calendar […]

Today 8th graders from Blue Hill Consolidated School examined long term data from Dr. Post’s study sites near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. The data set consists of annual observed first dates of emergence and leaf opening by various plant species. This is part of an ongoing effort to monitor the timing of plant emergence and species-level variation in emergence timing in relation […]

We are continuing today with our investigation of angiosperms. 7th graders modeled them and 8th graders drew them. Next week we’ll compare phenophases of angiosperms inside and outside warming chambers!

Spring has sprung in Maine! Eighth graders from Blue Hill Consolidated School are examining and drawing apple blossoms today to gain a deeper understanding of the life cycle of angiosperms.