Whales Study Leaves & Trees
/Whales have been busy honing their skills in phenology and dendrology over the past two weeks. We started by noticing tiny details in the life cycle of three different trees in our new Cedar Classroom. We noticed where the trees were in their life cycle by looking for clues like needle and cone drop, leaf drop, or new growth. We talked about how a tree’s life cycle relates to the seasons. We sent our phenology findings to BudBurst, an online community of researchers, horticulturists, and citizen scientists working together to uncover the stories of plants and trees and how they are being affected by our changing climate.
Like true dendrologists, the Whales took long walks through the Pacific campus, examining tiny details in deciduous and coniferous trees. Working together, we spent time classifying and sorting a wide variety of leaves. At engineering carpet, we worked in pairs to plan, construct and test our handmade tree trunk. Our structure had to support branches, even in a strong wind!
Working like scientific illustrators, Whales sketched and painted a coniferous or deciduous tree, noticing detail in trunk, crown and leaf shape.
Whales talked about the process of photosynthesis, and the shared relationship between sunlight, trees, and all life on earth. We are so excited to be engaging in our first service project of the year next week. We will plant trees at B Street Trail!
In addition to all that learning, we celebrated Halloween together with a fabulous ELC parade! Happy Fall!
