Correct usage of binoculars is taught and used in the field. H While seeking out the big bluestem and the wood anemone students will discuss the differences between prairie, savanna and woodland habits. Restoration will be examined but so will identification, planting, management, prescribed burns, protection and extermination, and the importance of monitoring. Sugarbush E Students travel to an off-site sugarbush near Huntertown, Indiana. Students hike from the farmhouse to the sugarbush where they study the history of maple syrup making in Indiana.
Students learn techniques from the Amerindian hot-rock method to the modern evaporator.
They visit the sugar house where they focus on the process of syrup production, see a tree tapped, and collect sap from the woods. Merry Lea provides the cooking grills and maple syrup to top off the student's lunch of pancakes and sausage. Through sampling we will the importance of water in our daily lives, and human effects, including chemical pollution, erosion and siltation, and others. Wetlands E M,H Students are introduced to the remnant aquatic systems, which once covered much of northern Indiana. A slide show includes information on the various types and their importance.