Wordle

Posted November 1, 2011

Susan Watt, our Technology Support Teacher, has begun an “Idea a Day” thread, and her first suggestion was for the creation of “Wordles.”  So I have.  This is what was created when I pasted the text of the Water World 2 blog entry from outdooredguys into Wordle.  Pretty cool.  Thanks, Susan!!

Reduce, Re-use, Upcycle

Posted October 24, 2011

Upcycling is creative re-using, where someone turns something old, worn-out or unused into something useful or valuable.  Earth Day Canada is holding an upcycling contest.  Here are the guidelines: Projects will demonstrate the importance of re-use and waste reduction with adherence to good safety practices. Projects will be filmed or photographed as tutorials to help […]

Water World 2

Posted October 19, 2011

You’ve just seen some of the amazing micro-organisms found in pond water – here we see a few examples of the equally awesome macro-sized pond animals.  While grade 6 students manned the microscopes, grade 4’s studying Habitats and Comminities handled the pond nets In the video, a teacher and her students take inventory of the […]

Water World

Posted October 17, 2011

The video below is of a tiny rotifer called Conochilus.  It was taken through a microscope with a digital camera, while also being displayed on a SmartBoard for students to see.  This is a very engaging activity for Grade 6 students studying Biodiversity at the Blair Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre – you can hear […]

We’re back…

Posted October 11, 2011

We’re back!!  The “outdooredguys” have let our blogging lapse a bit, what with summer holidays and the busy return to school everyone has experienced.  But we’re back, the new year is well under way with class visits to the Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres, and there are lots of things going on in the natural […]

And they’re off…

Posted October 10, 2011

It’s fall, and that means migration time for many birds and insects.  Migration is a strategy for dealing with harsh or inhospitable conditions – in our case, winter!!  Birds like robins eat worms, and that’s a pretty difficult meal to secure once the ground is frozen and covered in snow.  For the insect-eaters, it’s the […]

Don’t look now…

Posted October 10, 2011

Insects visiting fall flowers for a last round of nectar or pollen would be wise to look twice before landing.  There are a number of predators from spiders to the well- known praying mantis awaiting their arrival, and their weapons are formidable. Camouflage is the number one adaptation working in favour of the predators.  Some […]

Entertaining Climate Change Argument

Posted September 16, 2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2011/sep/15/david-mitchell-soapbox-climate-change-doubters-video

Big Fish

Posted July 18, 2011

Last weekend, my brother-in-law Steve and I were fishing on Shadow Lake near Coboconk.  Steve landed this muskie after an exciting fight that saw the fish jump out of the water three times.  We had a scale, but there seemed to be no way of hooking it into the muskie without having the scale cut into it. […]

Carpenter Bees

Posted July 5, 2011

My last program at the Laurel Creek Outdoor Education Centre this June was Honey Bees for grade 4 students. We have four hives here that students get to visit. We put on veils and gloves and generally look pretty nerdy. There would be lots to blog about that. A lot of parents wanted to know, “What are those big bumble bees […]

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