Making Connections

The Green & Grow Apprentices visited Ferry Beach Ecology School to discover more about healthy water systems, ecology, and the role humans play in protecting our natural resources.  We made many connections to the Greenway and to our winter curriculum during our trip, here are just a few:

Ursile, comparing and contrasting abiotic and biotic features of the coastal ecosystem.

All ecosystems are made up of living and non-living things.  Above, Ursile is shown grouping these items; and below, the Apprentices discover the role that erosion plays in shaping the coastal ecosystem.  We compared this to high-traffic areas on the Greenway, and the wind-tunnel effects from the high buildings that surround us.

Studying the effects of wind, water, and humans on a sandy beach.

We learned that, just like on the Greenway, the substrate is made of three different types of particles: sand, silt, and clay.  Sand is the largest particle and clay is the smallest.  The ratio of these particles determines what kind of plants and microorganisms can survive in the substrate.

Investigating the different layers of sand sediment using our sense of smell.

And, one of the best parts of the trip was getting up early to observe the beauty of the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean–something we don’t get to do often enough.

We had a blast at Ferry Beach Ecology Institute, special thanks to the National Forest Service for sponsoring our trip and to the Ecology School for laying some awesome new knowledge on us!