Using Clues to Find Out Who Lives in the Park...Day 4!

This morning Ms Jeanne joined the class to tell them about how biologists use clues such as sounds, tracks, scat, and body parts like bones and skulls. Once we had looked at and talked about examples of these, it was time to go out into the park and put our detective skills to the test. We heard cicadas, ospreys and squirrels; we saw snake and racoon tracks; we found gopher tortoise and coyote scat...and we saw alligators, wading birds, gopher tortoises, a southern black racer snake, a southeastern five-lined skink...and much more! It is a magic place!

Once we returned to the centre, the class helped Mr George to look after the box turtle enclosure. Often conservation projects, such as this one, are supported by volunteers. So, we became voluntreers for a while and we helped to ensure that the turtles were being properly looked after by clearing the weeds and overgrown bushes in their enclosure so that they had a sunny spot to lie in the sun.