Brisk desert fun at Knolls

Soft sand invites hard play!

This area is referred to as Knolls and is just south of the
Great Salt Lake off of I-80 West.
From here, we have a vast view of the desert's solitude.

Yes, in January, it was as cold as it looks in these photos,
however, that did not stop our fun on the sandy slopes!

Elise and Gabe give Knolls their full approval...
in their own way!

We have always appreciated the uniqueness of
the Great Salt Lake desert.

Snow shoeing

Upper Elementary & the 3rd years
went snowshoeing at the Swaner Wetland Preserve
in January.


Savannah showed us how to locate and
identify the animal tracks in the snow.

Many of the students took photographs of the wintery landscape:

(Above) Izzy took this picture of the edge
of the wetland from the paved trail.

Maddy's wooden fence.

Madison's patch of grass.

Gabe's angle shot.

Bjorn's lucky vole.

Tyler's mountain view.

Elise's icy close-up.

Allyson's pan view of Swaner.

We always enjoy our visits to Swaner!

Ensign Peak

UEM went to Ensign Peak on Friday, December 11th.




















Here, above
the smog, we
could see the entire Salt
Lake valley.
























Our focus for the day was adaptation to changes,
including environmental and social changes.

We used our experience of hiking up Ensign Peak in the winter as a creative writing opportunity regarding adaptation to changes.

Some of the students chose to share their writings.



Christina
Today, December 11, 2009, we went to Ensign Peak to hike. When we got there it was really cold. Since I haven't been in the snow or hiking in the snow for a while, I had to adapt to change because the elevation was higher and it was tiring. I had to take some time and get used to the change. It was hard but it was worth it, because people need change in their life or they are going to keep doing the same routine everyday. Some times you do need to adapt to change or your life will be boring. A lot of people, in fact, everybody in the world needs to adapt to change because in Utah we have the four seasons so you need to get used to or adapt to change or it can be life you are risking.

Nate
Adaptation is a very interesting subject. I sometimes wish I could adapt like a fox, so I wouldn't be as phased by the snow's cold or it's slickness or how deep it is. Plus I could hide when I felt like it. Or, if I were a cheetah I could run away. Living like that would be amazing and free.

Bjorn
I can adapt to change by changing with it. If it is cold, I would dress warm. If it were warm, I would not dress warm. I would wear pants and a t-shirt. I can be prepared before. I can look at how an animal would do it and bring water and extra food. Or I can over dress and be resourceful. Animals always have a way of adapting. Humans create gear to help us adapt. Animals adapt by hibernating or moving down from the mountains, or birds migrate to warmer places. Animals have evolved to adapt to there climate. We have not.

Gabe
Adapting is very hard. You can adapt to the weather or you can adapt to different climates, or anything else. Like a bear...they sleep throughout the winter and, then, throughout the summer they are active. So that is how they adapt to the cold. But we humans do a different thing. Like we wear warm clothing and we do not sleep throughout the winter. You also have to adapt when you are a baby. You have to adapt to life.

Nicholas
My body adapted to the cold by wearing six layers of clothing to stay warm. Some types of animals can stay warm with one fur coat. If I was like a deer, a bear, or a bunny...all of them can stay warm. I would like to be a bear, because then I can be warm all winter when I hibernate. Although in summer I would get very, very hot.
When I am cold, I always run around or just sit down and do nothing. It works for me. I always stay warm. Adapting was sort of hard, but I did adapt. At the start, I was cold, but when I started walking I started to get warmer. After I had lunch I was cold, but when I was sliding down I was steaming!

Camryn
Today, we went to Ensign Peak. First, it got very cold and then piping hot. Walking up was the hardest part. Me and Maddi did not like going up at all, so we went slow. We also got tired of crawling (that did not work). Then, Maddi, Ally and I got really tired of walking down to the vans, so we decided to slide. We slid most of the way and when we got up, we had to run because we didn't have much control of our legs.

Allyson
My body adapted to the change in weather when we got higher up into the mountains because I knew that if you get higher up it will get colder.
I adapted to the change in the weather when we were hiking because I had all of my gear to keep me warm and I didn't think about how cold it was outside.
Me, Camryn and Maddi adapted to the weather and the snow by siting down and pushing ourselves down the mountain.

Elise
Animals adapt to change by growing fur, hibernating and shedding. Humans adapt to change by wearing layers and not wearing layers. For example: today, we went to Ensign Peak. It was cold and we had to wear layers but some times it got too hot so then we took off layers. That is a way to adapt. For animals it would be different. For example: when it was hot, animals would shed their fur. But when it was cold, they would grow fur and some of them would hibernate.
If it is your first time, it can be hard. But when you are adapted, it is easy. And some people and animals adapt to it straight away.

Donda
One key in adaptation, I feel, is following the path of joy. It is more joyful to sled down the mountain on your bottom (as long as you have a good pair of snow pants!) than to walk down while straining to control your steps. I think other animals would agree...such as the penguin, the otter, the bounding deer, and the snow monkeys taking a dip in the hot springs within the mountains of Japan (as seen in the National Geographic). Having fun is the king of adaptation when faced with difficulty and changes!

October and November Outings

Upper Elementary & 3rd Years
Antelope Island

Several of the students took pictures of the natural beauty
that is so often missed by the eye of the common visitor.

We were fortunate enough to witness several herds of bison
on the island. The students even noticed a couple of calves!

We were very grateful to Adrian for bringing his set of binoculars
and was kind enough to share with the group!

There is such a fascinating menagerie of habitat forming
between the lake, the shore and the interior!
Jule`, one of the lower elementary teachers, is leading
us back to the vans for more adventures.

Another shot by a student which we
suspect is a deer footprint.

Eric was one of our photographers of the day, as well.

Tyler was relieved at the absence of
swarming brine flies at this time of year.

Another student photo...

We compared the sand from our school to that of
the rounded oolitic sand found at the Great Salt Lake.

Nicholas took this close-up of the foaming waters.

Nicholas discovers more fascinating features of the island.

We spotted two bison near the roadside, however
they refused to cooperate with the photographer!

The antelope graced us with
a warm farewell as we were leaving the island.

Gratitude to Antelope Island!

Upper Elementary
Look Out Pass
of the West Desert

The trail here leads up to a great view
of the basin and range!

Allison is signaling to the camera that she is finished
taking her photos, so we know which pictures belong to whom.

Students took turns taking pictures
of the area and, of course, each other!

Nicholas found a rugose coral fossil
in a piece of limestone.

We found the top of the ridge to be breezy and chilly!

Students are busy with their s.g.s. on the desert habitat.

Bjorn and Elise are prepared for the chill in the air.

Look Out Pass always lends us great inspiration!

Upper Elementary
Mill Creek Canyon

This outing was devoted to exploring our animal totems.
We discussed how Native Americans consider animals to be great teachers to us.
We also peered into other areas of life where people look to animals for inspiration and strength, such as sports mascots and symbols in countries. Then, we did a visualization exercise
in which we discovered what animals seem to add
inspiration and strength to our own lives.

It is always fascinating to see how each person relates
to nature in their own way.

We used sage to do the traditional smudging as we
prepared ourselves for our own inner journey and meditation
on this beautiful fall day.

After our meditations, we journaled our experience including our animal totems,
which some times, comes as no surprise to the children.

We also discussed the specific uniqueness and strengths of our animal totems as we considered how we might learn from them and integrate their wisdom into our own lives.

Gratitude to all animals of Earth!

We also took time to look for our own walking staff
amidst the brilliant tones of autumn.

There is so much to gain
when we observe nature closely.

UEM
Groundwater Study
with Shirley Steinmacher
(one of our many amazing parents at MCS!)


Shirley is a senior geologist at MWH and was kind enough to
share some of the process involved in investigating, as well as,
the remediation of groundwater contamination.

Shirley's project involves investigating for ground water contamination
in the seven communities surrounding the off-base Hill Air Force Base.
We got to see how they were drilling to install a ground-water monitoring well,
which enables them to sample ground water for contaminants.

Nathan holds a piece of bentonite which seals the monitoring well and prevents cross contamination between clean and dirty ground water.

The auger drill rig turns down into the soil and pulls it out, so they can install pvc casing with a well slotted-screen interval to sample ground water at desired depths.

She is unlocking the well vault to access the monitoring well
as she measures the depth of the water.

Here, we get to see how they log the soil types.

We learned a lot from this on-site experience!
There were many discussions of ways that our ground water gets
contaminated and ways we can prevent it.
Ultimately, we discovered it costs a lot more
(money, time, and energy) to clean up a mess than it does to
prevent contamination in the first place!

...because, we all live downstream from someone else!

Many thanks to Shirley!