Save the Bay POST-trip Blog

Today, my Ap bio class went on the field trip toThe Palo Alto Baylands Reserve. As I got off the van, I was soon drawn into what appeared in front of me. The sky was cloudy and blue. the stream extended towards the mountains afar.

Memorable experience: We were divided into 3 groups and had our own task. We were asked to measure the salinity, PH and moisture of soil in different spots labelled with yellow flags. As our task processed, I found out that digging a 6-inch deep hole was actually a difficult job to do, because underneath the soil there were hard rocks and minerals. However, working with my friends was fun! I was exposed to nature and got to see different plants.

Connections with class:  I bit the pickleweeds that located close to the stream, they were crispy and super salty. The reason that piclkeweeds are salty is due to diffusion. When tide rises, the water contains salt will cover the pickleweeds and salt will diffuse into pickleweeds through their cell membranes. Further more, Palo Alto wetland provided space for birds and other species to live, it reminded me of what I learnt in bio about community, which is defined in the textbook as “All the organisms that inhabit a particular area; an assemblage of populations of different species living close enough together for potential interaction.” And Palo Alto Wetland is a great example of community, it contains various kinds of elements: Birds, trees, soil, crabs and plants.

What scientific information I learnt: 

1. Wetland is an area that is seasonally covered with water, and I previously thought of it as a region always filled with water. Wetland can function as an “aquifer” to store water. Palo Alto Wetland is home to various birds and fish due to its unique environment.

2.  The data our group collected suggests that as we got closer to the water, the soil we examined contained lower PH; meaning soil close to water is more acidic.

3.  Native and foreign plants can live together. For instance, the instructor helped us find a grass that did not belong to the California buckwheat. I learnt the diversity of plant species in Palo Alto wetland. Such example showed me biodiversity in Palo Alto Wetland.

Citizen science and its importance

According to the dictionary, citizen science (CS) is a “scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessional scientists.” It is important because CS popularize the concept of a certain scientific subject and thereby bringing citizens’ awareness. What impact I did during the field trip was that I collected data and measured the moisture of soil. At first, the moisture of the soil (mineral part) remained 0, as I started to doubt whether the tool was not working, I detected that the moisture of soil reached a very high number(50!) when I approached water.

Improvement?

I think before going on the trip, everyone should pre-read the instruction. Today I got utterly confused on how to measure the data using the tools they provided. If I had the chance to study the tools we would use, I believe our group would be more efficient!

Feedback:

It was an absolutely enjoyable day! I was able to observe the beauty of Palo Alto wetland and have a day off school. On the way back to school, we even saw a perfect rainbow! I also figured that my friend Amanda is a very dramatic person 🙂. All in all, I would certainly recommend to go there again!

Source:

pictures by Meichen Li

Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 
Citizen_science>.