UnSchool Blog

November: Rivers and Beavers

Continuing with our ecosystem theme this fall; this month we learned about and explored the wetland ecosystems at Audubon.  

We started our day as drops of water moving through the water cycle; from inside an animal, to in a cloud, to in a frozen glacier, and on. Students collected beads as they traveled around rolling dice to determine if they stayed at a location and took a bead or moved on. Many students got stuck in the lake or the ocean. If your student showed you their water cycle bracelet, they might have pointed out that they had a lot of a certain color of bead and very few of another. During our morning meeting, we discussed why water droplets spend more time in some places than others as they move through the water cycle.  

Several children walk along the rocky bank of a brook through a forest in late fall
Following Sherman Hollow Brook Photo: Emily Calder | Audubon Vermont

After snack, we went on an adventure to follow drops of water through the ecosystems at Audubon. We walked by the part of the river that eroded during the floods this past summer. Students commented on the piles of rocks built up in the middle of the river and how wide the riverbed was compared to the river itself. As we explored, we also found and picked up trash that washed up on the shore. As we continued, we climbed over fallen trees and logs that were built up in and around the brook. There was also a large pile of rocks at the mouth of the brook where it meets the river. Everyone was very excited about following the water so we continued along as it wound through the woods and up the hill, noting waterfalls and pools along the way.  

Several kids cross a brook on a fallen log in the forest in late fall
Crossing the Brook Photo: Emily Calder | Audubon Vermont

At Audubon, we are in the Huntington River watershed. The Huntington River flows northeast into the Winooski River which flows northwest into Lake Champlain. The outflow of Lake Champlain is the Rocheleau River in Quebec. This eventually connects with the Saint Lawrence River and meets the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. What watershed do you live in? Have your child use a map to follow your local river until it reaches the ocean. Ponds and lakes have outflows too. Following water through an ecosystem is a fantastic hiking activity, especially in the warmer months. 

Several kids stand along the muddy bank of a pond tossing ice and rocks across the mostly frozen surficee
Experimenting with the ice on Beaver Pond Photo: Emily Calder | Audubon Vermont

After following the brook for a while, we looped back and ended our adventure at Beaver Pond. There are currently no beavers living at the pond, but there have been several over the years. Most recently there was a beaver that moved in over the summer. It built a dam on the left side of the Beaver Pond mud flat and occupied an old lodge on the far side of the pond. This, and the rain from the floods caused the water level of the pond to rise significantly this summer. The beaver has since left the pond and the level of water has decreased, but the pond remains. Beaver Pond and other wetland ecosystems are teeming with wildlife from frogs and salamanders, to birds, fish, and muskrats. Many of your students have seen these animals at Beaver Pond over the past year and we even saw a fish and some newts when we were there in November.  

Three girls work together to build a dam out of rocks and mud in a small stream with a pond in the background
Building beaver dams Photo: Emily Calder | Audubon Vermont

To learn about the hard work that beavers put into creating these pond ecosystems, we spent time building our own beaver dams and experimenting with the best way to slow the flow of water. We used sticks, mud, and rocks as construction tools. When finished, many observed that the water was deeper on the upstream side of the dam. To see how beavers impact an ecosystem explore this visualizer: Beaver Habitat Interactive - High Desert Museum. 

To end our day we built a fire and ate lunch around it together. During closing circle, students shared their favorite parts of their day. They loved building dams, exploring, making bracelets, and sitting around the fire.  

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