Vernal means spring. They're small, and a few feet deep. As an academic team, we are studying Dunback Meadow, which is part of the protected land under the control of the Conservation Commission of Lexington, Massachusetts. The study site is a 100 meter by 100 meter quadrant that is marked off in a grid with transects running each 10 meters. These transects are evaluated during all four seasons to truly get a pulse of this habitat.
Students study one square at a time along each transect.
The abiotic factors and parameters, such as ambient temperature, soil temperature, ph, soil texture, soil moisture, daily weather, and time of day are looked at during each study period. Remote sensors provide a continuum of data allowing a prolonged evaluation assessment of the habitat. This year's project began with a research project. We split up into groups and were assigned different topics. We also took a boat ride to Deer Island with 3 other students and 2 teachers.