Observation at Work

Today, the Urban Naturalists spent time visiting the Audubon Refuge in Smithfield, Rhode Island. We discussed the purpose of refuges and took a hike outside. We saw a few animals, but found a ton of animal tracks in the snow!

We found a type of canine track in the snow.

We were able talked about watersheds within the area and how they affect the local environment. We walked across bridges over dry areas of land and questioned why these bridges were there if there is no water present. One student made the astute observation that "higher land areas will dump their water onto lower land areas when it rains because of gravity." 

Why is this bridge here if we can simply walk over the land under it?

We then took some time to do some silent observations in the woods. Everyone enjoyed some quiet time observing  taking notes and drawing sketches about the areas around us!