Bio Inventory - Field Station Pond

In our continuing effort to assist Dr. Oktay in putting together a complete inventory of the fish living in the fresh water pond at the field station Jr. Rangers Orion and Raymond spent Monday doing some research (some people call it fishing) and report that science is very cool.  Here is a portion of the report Raymond wrote about that experience. 

On Monday we mostly fished in the Field station pond for sunfish also known as pumpkin seed or bluegill . we used an assortment of worms from Bill Fishers tackle we just placed the on the hook and let the sunfish do there work . sunfish are a very common species of fish on Nantucket. I learned that because fishing is a hobby of mine and I have been doing for a while.when we went I literally jumped out of my shoes . when we went we used an assortment of lures . I my self really thought that was cool the pond at the field station was originally a pond stocked with bait witch we think was because the man who owned it was a fisherman. 

Raymond M.

My Favorite Pen by Molly A.

From Molly A.

Today I lost my pen :( The day started out fine. A bit windy, but fine. My friend Avery and I biked to the Field Station, and met Lenny and Ed there. Lenny had to do something, so he sent us girls out to the Sandplain Grasslands with a camera and tripod to observe and take pictures of birds and other things we saw. We did just that for a while after Lenny left, but then we tried to angle the camera to take a picture, the tripod would not move up and down. Ed and I tried to fix it, and in the process of jiggling it a bit, a tiny little washer fell into the grass. We both stared at it a second, and then started to panic. Uh Oh.  We then spent about 15 minutes working on figuring out where the little washer went, before Avery came over and gave the tripod arm a good yank down, determining that the tripod was not broken at all and we were making a fuss over a little washer. We then tried to resume our work, but it started to sprinkle... The sprinkle turned into a quite formidable, bucket pouring storm quickly though, and we were forced to dash for the Field Station. I Was just about to start writing about this day when I realized that in my mad dash I must have dropped my pen, which happened to be a favorite pen, given to me by a friend. Of course, the only sensible thing to do, in my eyes, that moment, was run out into what had become an undeniable downpour to look for my beloved pen. I am quite loyal to things that are important to me. After about 5 minutes of retracing the steps our walk took, I was drenched though, and had not found my pen. I returned to the Station, and started to write with a foreign pen. I was quite desolate, but my tale was not over yet... After the rain cleared, Ed just happened to glance at the ground, and notice my pen just sitting underneath Lenny's grill; I had been sitting 3 feet away the entire time. So a rainbow and a found pen is the end of a story that started out quite rainy. 

The Station – Day One

The Station – Day One

Raymond McClure

I would like to tell you about some of the plants you can find at the Field Station.

The first to talk about is St. John’s Wort. It’s a perianal flower that has medicinal qualities. You pick the plant when it’s flowering and put the flowers and stems into a jar of oil (olive oil) and place the jar in the sun as if you were making sun tea. The plant will turn the oil a reddish color. The oil can be used to rub onto sore muscles and for minor abrasions.  

Juniper bush or Red Cedar (the same plant with two different names) berries have a medicinal quality as well, the berry can be made into a tea which is good for you if you have a sore throat, it’s also a cure for dysentery.

 I’ll write about fish and other things next time.  Next week we’ll begin exploring the fresh water pond.

New Jr Ranger

This is Raymond M.  One of our newest Jr Rangers.  Raymond lives on Nantucket, he attends The Light House School.  Raymond enjoys fishing and science and we think he's going to be a great addition to our staff.  later today Raymond will post his first report on this blog page.

2013 Schedule of Guided Family Nature Walks

This year the Jr. Rangers offer Guided Family Nature Walks Monday through Friday at the Field Station.  Other times by appointment.  Come out a take a walk with us.

Guided Family Nature Walks
UMass Nantucket Field Station
180 Polpis Road
(508) 228-5268

Look! Up in the sky.

Uncovered and windswept