2024 is off to a warm start! Enjoy our four student reports.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your observations, nature tales and insights! Get in touch with me (cmitchell@kaxe.org), John Latimer (jlatimer@kaxe.org), or text "phenology" to 218-326-1234.
Fort River School in Amherst, Massachusetts
Natalia: “Happy New Year from Mrs. Paul and Mrs. Fisher’s class! We haven’t had much snow at all this winter, but we are hoping for a snow storm this weekend!”
Jonah: “On Jan. 2, the day length was 9 hours, 9 minutes and 20 seconds. The high was 41 degrees and the low was 18 degrees.”
Walker: “We found Asiatic bittersweet [Celastrus orbiculatus] at the edge of the woods, and we are wondering if you have any in Minnesota. People have been trying to get rid of it for years because it strangles other plants and is very invasive.”
Lyrrin: “We discovered that the wild rose has sprouted red berries called rose hips. 85% of the grass is still green but some is yellow. And the sage is still alive and fragrant.”
Casey: “We learned that in the past 11 years our Plant Hardiness zone has gone from 5b to 6a. The USDA website tells us that there was an increase of 2 degrees between the years 2012 and 2023.”
Alex: “This week we have seen many birds. We saw Canada Geese migrating, but we are unsure which direction. We also saw many Blue Jays.”
Logan: “We also saw robins and chickadees. Natalia even saw an owl on the way home from school.”
Ame and Aya: “On Wednesday night, Mrs. Paul was awakened by the stench of a skunk that must have sprayed around her house.
“The striped skunk is a common animal found in Massachusetts, but not on the Elizabeth Islands and Nantucket. The nails are long and sharp. They are nocturnal and solitary. Their body length is 40 to 68 cm and their weight is .5 to 3 kg.
We also observed many active squirrels.”
Hank: “And that’s a wrap from the Western Mass Phenology Class!”
Roots and Wings Forest School in New York Mills
Students: “Hi, this is Hazel, Timmy, Rose, Finley, and Kip reporting from Roots and Wings Forest School in New York Mills.
“We found a paper wasp nest on the ground from a big tree and there was lots of fungus on the trees when we were climbing on the trees.
“This is the snow report today. The snow report would be that there were snowflakes falling but there was a little bit on the ground.
“We broke ice with rocks and then we measured it and it was about 3.5 inches and we measured with our hands. This was just an estimate.
“Timmy was walking and he said we found some deer tracks on the ground. Then I found some spread out ones. It was kind of like there were little cones in the ground. It was probably muddy out and then it got cold and then they froze.
“We found some deer ribs out...”
Teacher Leona: “...Like barbeque ribs?”
Student: “Yeah, barbeque. And I asked one of my friends, ‘Hey, you want some beef jerky?’”
Leona: “What?!?”
Student: “Yeah, and I actually took a bite out of it!”
Leona: “No, you didn’t!”
Students: <giggling> “Thanks for listening! Stay wild!”
Eagle View Elementary in Pequot Lakes
“This is the phenology report for Eagle View Elementary School for the week of Jan. 3-8, 2024.
“After a very rainy and brown winter break it FINALLY looks like winter outside! Last week we had rain, sleet and then snow. Over the weekend 5 inches of snow fell in Breezy Point. The ground is covered with snow and the trees are white again.
“Each day our 4th graders have been taking a hike down to the outlet of Rice Lake to learn about stream ecology in winter.
“We have seen lots of signs of animals: Downy and Pileated woodpeckers and the midden heap left behind after they make holes in a tree, lots of deer, squirrel and rabbit tracks, plenty of beaver activity and Mrs. Trottier even flushed up a grouse! We discovered that the ice isn’t frozen where there is moving water. We also had a flock of robins at our bird feeders on Friday!
“This week should be a good one for finding new tracks. We hope you make time to get outside and explore!
“This is Sawyer and George reporting from Pequot Lakes.”
Lake of the Woods School in Baudette
“This is Melody with the phenology report from Baudette for Jan. 1-5.
“On Monday, Athena observed a snowshoe hare while playing at the park in town.
“Wyatt has been noticing many red squirrels frolicking around in the forest while hiking around his land.
“Finally, Melody was lucky enough to witness a coyote chasing a snowshoe hare across the highway on Tuesday on her way from school.”
That does it for this week! For more phenology, subscribe to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.
Fundingfor this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
