A S'more Celebration

With the fall sampling behind us, the students got to work on putting the data together to compare  of the coastal areas in the study. Using information that Alaska and Georgia sent us, we organized a spreadsheet of our measurements and observations.

Organizing the data

We also had a really early SKYPE call with Georgia that only a few of us were able to get to. (Not because we couldn't get up, but because we had a lot of sickness the last few weeks!) Students led the call with questions concerning the results. ( See a video clip of the call on the Videos & More Page below!)

It was really neat talking to them. We had talked with Alaska a couple of weeks before that.
We found a lot of ways to improve some of the mistakes we made this first time. In January we'll do it again!

Right now SMORE Texas is working on making some podcasts. Maybe in the next week or so we can post our first one!

We celebrated the end of the first fieldwork with a S'more party!!! In fact, we also sent Alaska and Georgia all the supplies they needed to  make them too. We're wondering if they have made them?

Is it hot enough yet?

Principal Mrs. LeBlanc shows us the art of s'more making :)

We all had a good time eating!

Silly s'more smiles

Drought in Texas is Impacting the Watershed

    The drought that's plagued Texas since January of 2011 is evident in these images taken during the freshwater sampling several weeks ago. Grade 7 students were sampling in areas northwest of the Trinity River and Bay area. Their ClassEco Project compliments the SMORE Project because it gives us information about what's happening in the freshwater systems farther up the watershed.

In areas that are traditionally full of water, students found the profound effects the drought has had on these aquatic systems.  They're sharing their data with the G8 SMORE students to figure out what impact this has on the coastal areas in their study.

Meanwhile, SMORE students in Texas, Alaska and Georgia are holding teleconferences to discuss data from each of their samplings. Our next blog will talk about their ideas!

Ironically, shortly after the G7 sampling, we had our first significant rainfall! Measured 3-5 inches in different parts of the sampling areas. Wish we could have gone right back to see what was washing down! Within a day however, you couldn't tell it had even rained- hasn't since either!

    Cypress Creek behind our school- water level is only ankle deep midway!

     Lake Houston boat ramp and fishing pier- where's the water????

      We're standing where water should be over our heads!!

       Work goes on though....

                                      

The San Jacinto River didn't offer us much more !

                                                               Soil testing for nutrients.