ENV 101: ECOSYSTEMS

ENV 101 provided a hands-on approach to understanding and observing the ecological processes and to learning about the habitats and creatures that surround us. Scientific principles and concepts from biology, chemistry and geology were examined in the field in terms of their applicability to environmental issues in everyday life. (This course was first offered in the fall of 1997 and will be repeated in the fall of 1999.)
The course began with a field trip to explore four of the eleven ecosystems of the District of Columbia.
We all boarded the bus early in the morning and set out to visit Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. This park is made up of twelve ponds surrounded by 44 acres of tidal marshes and is the only national park devoted entirely to water plants, both native and imported species. Even Cleopatra’s favorite flower, the Egyptian lotus, may be seen here, as well as over forty varieties of tropical water lilies. Obviously, the more than 100,000 species of water plants provide homes to numerous insects, amphibians, snakes, fish, a wide variety of migrating waterfowl and numerous small mammals.

Here we are, getting ready
to explore Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens!

While at Kenilworth Gardens, we learned to classify paludal environments (swamps, marshes, bogs and tidal flats) by scientific characteristics, to auger and core soil samples from each environment, to prepare inventories of the flora and fauna, and to decipher food and energy chains in the microenvironments.

Note the elegant egret perched among
the water lily pads on a pond
in Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

After moving along the Anacostia Watershed and examining the tidal systems for Washington, DC, as well as characteristics of watersheds, we arrived at an urban forest right in the center of the city! At this site, students learned about trees and insects... and their interdependence on one another.

Getting down and familiar with some
of those green things!

One of the last ecosystems we visited was Rock Creek Park to study stream ecology. As you will see below, not only did we have fun skipping rocks, but more importantly, we investigated the biological aspects of water quality by identification of the aquatic macroinvertebrates that were present and the chemical aspects of water quality by analyzing the dissolved oxygen and pH of the water.

Searching for those elusive
water critters in Rock Creek

Using a long handled net
to capture... um... "something"...
for study

A long term project of the program was to create an urban wildlife habitat, using local plants to attract birds, butterflies and other animals. This class began the project by spending two days planting shrubs, trees and smaller plants recommended for such an area. An ongoing project of the program will be to monitor the grown, changes, and "visitors" to the area.

Not all of the lab work is inside!
Members of the ENV 101 class dig up a little dirt
and create their own ecocenter

We will tell you more about this course on July 8... be sure to come back!

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