The Lowland Group

1. The Lowland Group Governor's Institute of Science and Technology • Mission: Study of Botany, Wildlife, and Geology of the Lowland within the Audubon Preservation. • This slide will self destruct in 5 seconds... 5 4 3 2 1

2. You will now meet the team: Bruce the Brute Seagull Queen Ashley Jacob the Giant Treacherous Margot Little Jon the Pessimist Princess Leah Flexi-Tara Tool-man Mike Bruiser Ali

3. …And last but not least... “We love to see you smile” Shana We Love you Rick, Chris and Nancy! Cramped-up Kimmer Wildflower Nancy The Rickster Rock-Crusher Chris

4. Lowland Leaders Chris Geologist Nancy Biologist Rick Forest Ecologist

5. Sunday's Events And Scenes: -We investigated our field site for the first time. We discovered the beautiful parts of our lowland area. -There was an introduction to the computer lab. -We saw many new faces, that later became friends. This was some of the typical scenery that could be found on our site. We ate our lunch by this Beaver Pond on manydays. Here is one part of a trail that was often traveled. It was located near the Beaver Pond.

6. Tuesday: Pizza and Swim @ Shelburne Farms Students enjoy the private pebble beach. James and Liz scurry out of freezing cold water. Food, Food, Food! Throughout the week there was never a lack of food.

7. Tuesday: Fireworks atop of the Waterman Building Although they were a day early, the fireworks brought out everyone’s 4th of July Spirit!

8. Wednesday Wednesday morning was spent at our Lowland site. The Lowland team broke up and started individually researching their topics of interest. To the right is the beaver pond were many amphibians and insects were located for observation.

9. Wednesday Wednesday afternoon everyone ventured back to UVM and went to their desired elective courses. The electives were: Bubbles w/ Rick One in a Million w/ Nancy Art @ N. Beach w/ Alyssa The Whole Tooth w/ Pete

10. THURSDAY THE MELOSIRA

11. The Melosira • The Melosira is a research boat run by Captain Dick (Furbish) and his trusty sidekick Bob (a diehard Yankees fan who also likes to fish). These two fearless leaders took us for a tour of Lake Champlain, and even let some of us take a brisk dip in the Lake. We hope you enjoy our presentation.

12. Captain Dick (our Captain) • Captain Dick is showing us how a CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth) probe works. This probe measures these criteria in Lake Champlain so he can make sure it is OK for animals.

13. Bob (The Deckhand) • Bob (who has no known last name) helped Captain Dick operate the equipment we used on the Melosira. He also bragged about how the Yankees were in first place (by only half a game.

14. While on the Melosira, we participated in water quality tests with Captain Dick and Sidekick Bob. They helped us take the temperature of the water and samples of the water and the bottom of the lake, using special tools. With the help of Chris we were also able to analyze the different rock formations while parked offshore. After that, Captain Dick even let some of the brave members of our group take a dip in Lake Champlain, which according to the CTD probe was 62 degrees Fahrenheit. The Research

15. Memorable Moments from the Melosira

16. Thursday Evening at North Beach: We congregate at the beach after a long day’s work… and start up a brutal game of ultimate frisbee…. ...Allison grills up some food...

17. Jacob prefers the sand. Some students brave the chilly water. It was a great evening in beautiful Burlington!

18. While out in the field... Every day the group ventured out into our site. Often times we split up, each person would spend their time exploring special areas such as botany, geology, or zoology. Geology Zoology Botany Students interested with botany learned how to identify various species of vegetation, like ferns, wildflowers, and trees. We identified seventeen species of ferns, seventeen species of trees, and dozens of wildflower, mammal, amphibian, insect, and bird species.

19. Geology • The Lowland has a rich geologic history, from the 440 Million year old bedrock, to the reworked glacial till deposited in the bed of the Huntington River, there is plenty to keep a rock hound happy!! • Did you know that the bedrock you see in the lowland used to be sediment deposited in an ocean??

20. Wildflowers Many wildflowers were identified by using Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. A few of the wildflowers found within the Lowland site are shown here. Going clockwise from top right: Oxeye Daisy (Chryanthemum leucanthemum); Purple Flowering Raspberry (Rubus odoratus); Cow Vetch (Vicia cracca); Canada Lily (Lilium canadense);Common Wood Sorrel (Oxalis montana); Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannabinum). You’re likely to find these and many other flower species if you pass through the Lowland site in July.

21. Our site is part of a hardwood forest. These types of forests include mostly Hemlock, Red and Sugar Maple, Birch, and Elm. We learned how to identify these trees. These are two maple trees. The one on the left is Red Maple because of the smooth bark and the pointy leaves. The Sugar Maple has shaggy bark and leaves with lobes. TREES

22. Wildlife The wildlife in the lowland area is diverse and incredibly interesting. It may not be conspicuous to the naked eye, but wildlife is abundant and thrives within the ponds, forests, and riverbeds. Throughout our research we encountered the pickerel and the green frog, the American toad, stoneflies, hydromedias, eastern spotted newt and many more organisms. Although it may not be apparent, the lowlands is crawling with life, literally.

23. Fern Species • Maidenhair • Lady • Christmas • Sensitive • Ostrich • Hayscented • Royal • Interrupted • Cinnamon • Silvery Spleenwort • New York • Marsh • Beech • Marginal Wood • Oak • Evergreen Wood • Bracken Ferns Interrupted Ferns The fern species we identified are common to low woodlands and marsh areas. We found the ferns in places from low-shade woods to field sides to pond edges.