Bog Field Trip

As part of our Environmental Science program, the science department undertakes the planning and organization of our annual field trip to a local bog. The objective of this core lab is to ensure that students translate the learning objectives about bogs in the classroom in to actual field practices.

Students are organized into groups and six field stations have to be covered by each group. These field stations consists of:
 

1.    Journal Entry        We ask each student to find a comfortable location. They are to make a journal entry about this area, how they feel about this bog study and any other items that they feel is important to record at this time. 



2.    pH

At this station, each group must find a clean body of water, insert the pH probe and record the value.

 




3.    Dissolved Oxygen Concentration

Each group will use a chemical test kit that has a standardized procedure for measuring the oxygen concentration in the water. The procedure involves several steps leading to a titration for dissolved oxygen in mg/L.  


 

4.    Carbon Dioxide Concentration

Using the same chemical test kit, each group measures the dissolved carbon dioxide concentration in a sample of water.  

 
 
 
 
 
 

5.    Plant Density

We run a transact line across the bog. The group decided which plant they will examine on this bog and then a 0.3 x 0.3 m square is tossed randomly. The number of plants within this square are recorded. This procedure is repeated 10 time along the transact line across the bog.
  

6.    Bog Profile

Using a long metal rod, the group follows another transact line marked at 2.0 m intervals. The rod is pushed into the bog until it strikes the bottom of the bog. The depth is recorded and the values are placed on a grid. The students can then visually see the former body of water's profile that had undergone ecological succession.  

Not all goes well sometimes.
The rod breaks and the process of retrieval begins. In this case, the rod remains in the bog. Fortunately,  Mr. Spencer's Environmental Science class retrieved the rod the next day when they arrived at the bog. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

7.    Bog Sketch

Each group is required to provide a map of the bog from using measurement. On this map, they will identify the ecotone region, the predominant plants  and the areas of study.
 
 
 
 
 


 

The one thing we noticed on this bog was a trail made by an ATv. It was obvious the amount of damage that occurred because of this vehicle's operation.