Nature Observation

For this week’s assignment, we were asked to go outside and find a little nature while sitting quietly on the ground as quietly as possibly for 20 minutes. I choose to do this assignment in Silverado Canyon. This is such a gorgeous area, and everywhere you look nature is definitely present at every moment of the day.

I began this assignment on Monday morning around 8:30 in the morning, and let me just add that it was freezing outside. The clouds were a deep, dark grey which showed very high signs that rain was on its way. Every now and again the sun would shine through letting a little bit of heat out, but never lasted more then 30 seconds. The clouds were constantly moving the entire time, and about every 2 minutes a gust of wind would come through the mountains causing my body to tense up. By the end of the assignment my fingers were frozen, but all in all it was very liberating.

 During my observation, the first thing I noticed was the hawks in the sky. At first there were four flying in circles above the open mountains in search of their prey. But as time went on, and as their luck ran dry, one by one they eventually moved further and further away. Next my attention was drawn towards the bushes and shrubs surrounding the lower area of the mountains. At least twenty birds, which I believed to be sparrows of some kind were acting quit skittish. They kept a constant chirp going as they hopped and flew in and out of the bushes and shrubs, but I was never able to figure out what exactly they were doing. Although I did notice a few on the ground pecking at what seemed to be a mixture of grass, seeds, and small twigs. Throughout the entire 20 minutes, I believe I was actually able to distinguish at four different types of songs from the surrounding birds, most of which I never saw.

 About ten minutes into the assignment, the gnats (which is what I thought they were) decided that they were very interested in me. A couple of times I couldn’t take it anymore and had to shoo them away. I noticed that they never landed on me, but they sure did like to “bug” me. Taking my attention away from the gnats was another hawk. It flew directly over my head and landed in the pine tree that I was sitting under. It looked as though it was carrying a rodent of some sort because I could see a long string-like tail. I’m guessing it was a field mouse or a rat. I tried my best to get a better view but I was unsuccessful since the hawk was so high up. Plus, I didn’t want to move a lot and scare it away. With this though, I was able to distinguish one type of interaction known as predation. Predation can be defined when a member of one species preys/feeds directly on all parts of a member of another species. So in short, the hawk was the predator while the rodent in its mouth was the prey.

On the ground I noticed that there were a lot of owl pellets, which is proof to show that owls or an owl had been present in the pine tree. For those of you who don’t know, owls, just like many other birds eat their prey whole. The owl is known for slowly digesting its meal and then regurgitating it, which is then referred to as a pellet. There had to have been at least ten owl pellets on the ground.

Looking up at the pine tree, I was also able to distinguish the female pinecones from the male pinecones. I remembered learning about the differences of the two when I took a Biology class. If you are interested in learning more about female verses male pinecones you can check out this website which can elaborate more.

 http://web.gccaz.edu/~lsola/NonFlwr/conif105.htm

                                                   

“The large, single pinecone on the bottom of the picture is a female, while the cluster of little pinecones located at the top are the males.”

While wrapping up my observation, light raindrops began to fall from the sky and I could hear the sound of what seemed to be a huge toad. For a couple of minutes the croaking was pretty loud and consistent, like a mating call. Never catching sight of the toad, I packed myself up and headed home. Of course then the croaking stopped so I am guessing he was close by. By the end of this assignment I was really surprised that by sitting on the ground I didn’t encounter more insects. Maybe this was due to the fact that it was so cold outside. Instead there was just a bunch of dead leaves, branches, and twigs. I even turned over a couple of them to try and catch a sight of something, but I never did. Just those pesky gnats, and maybe mosquitoes.

Until next time, try taking a couple of minutes to yourself and find a peaceful spot in nature that you can observe. I bet you too will find this a bit invigorating!!

Websites related to Environmental Science

http://www.sciencedaily.com/
(This wesbite has a ton of articles related to Environmental Science)

http://news.discovery.com/earth/

http://www.mastersinenvironmentalscience.org/top-50-environmental-science-blogs.html

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/earth/index.html

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cypresscreek/news/nasa-science-aircraft-to-travel-the-globe-in/article_a4f9c1d8-5d72-11e1-91eb-0019bb2963f4.html
(NASA: Science aircraft to travel the globe in 2012

http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/Science_Environment_.aspx

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/environmental-science-technology/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3033055/ns/technology_and_science-science

http://www.usfca.edu/Library/research/environmental/Environmental_Science__Journal_Articles_and_Reports/

http://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-science-and-policy/

http://www.chevron.com/globalissues/environment/?utm_campaign=Environment&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Bing_Yahoo!&utm_term=environmental_issues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTurihxSTnI&noredirect=1

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm

Ecological Footprint

For my Environmental Science class, we were asked to calculate our ecological footprint using the website www.footprintnetwork.org/calculator. After taking the short quiz, I was sad to read that if everyone on this planet lived like me, we would need 5.1 planet Earths to supply enough resources. Looking at the pie chart, services account for the largest part my ecological footprint at 39%, while shelter on the other hand accounted for the smallest part of my ecological footprint at 9%. I also noticed that this website stated it would take 22.7 global acres of the Earth’s productive area to support my lifestyle. When it comes to exploring other scenarios on how to better my ecological footprint, it was mentioned that I should pledge to reduce the amount of animal products I currently eat by half and to try purchasing products that used less packaging or were made out of 100% post-consumer recycled content material. As for my home, it stated that solar panels would be a better choice to help conserve electricity, and as for driving to work each week the website stated that I should consider using public transportation one or more days a week. By looking over the stats on making positive changes, one can really see how cutting back on the use of global acres can really help better our Earth tremendously. Bottom line though, one of the best ways to reduce our ecological footprint would be to improve on the efficiency with the goods and services that are provided to us, along with reducing per capita consumption of these goods and services. We also need to focus on increasing the overall biocapacity by conserving and restoring ecosystems before all our resources are destroyed for good. Just for clarification, the world’s biocapacity is determined by the amount of water, food, fiber, timer, and carbon restoration provided by the Earth in a single year. This is then measured and converted to a land area in which we call global acres, which is then used to generate our ecological footprint here Earth. Calculate your ecological footprint and see what you can do to help our Earth!!

Casey's Biography

Hello Everyone!!

My name is Casey Blakemore, and I am a 27 year old Math/Science major at Riverside City College. Although I have lived in Riverside my entire life, I was born at St. Josephs Hospital in Orange. Being completely honest, I have to admit that I really do love Riverside. I’m not sure if it is because I am super familiar and used to it, but I love the area I live in, and I love the fact that I am only an hour from the beach or an hour from the mountains.

As of now, I am currently working at Silverado Children’s Center, which is located in the gorgeous Silverado Canyon, as the leading pre-k teacher. I absolutely love working with kids, but the older I get the more I am noticing my love for science, which is why I am now majoring in math/science. However, when it comes down to choosing a career in the science world in which I am so very fond of, I am still uncertain of what to pursue a career in. But I can say that anything to do with biology or environmental science seems to be catching my attention the most, which is all the more reason for me to be taking Dr. Huff’s Environmental Science class. Of course this class does go towards my degree, but I am taking it more for my interest in the subject. Last fall when I took Bio 1 my group and I did a small project on the Great Pacific Garage Patch. If you haven’t seen or heard of it, please check out this video clip on youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTurihxSTnI

This project was very eye opening for me and had a lot to do with sparking my interest in biology and environmental science. Therefore, I would really like to gain more knowledge and input on how to help better our earth. I know this is a broad category since our earth needs to be helped in so many different ways, but with a little bit of extra knowledge and a push in the right direction, maybe I can finally figure out what and where my place in the science world should be.

Aside from work and school you can usually find me at my most favorite place to be, home!! I recently got married last June and moved into a new house with my husband and three dogs; a dachshund, jack russell, and a boxer. They are my life! Nothing makes me more excited and happy at the end of the day then they do. I honestly don’t know what I would do without them. Aside from my husband, dogs, and love for science, my favorite thing to do is go to baseball games. GO ANGELS!! Baseball has always been another big part of my life. Growing up I played softball for twelve years, so I have always had that natural love for the game. I can’t wait until opening day! I already got my tickets and I am ready to go! This season should be an interesting one! Lastly, I can’t forget to mention my friends and love for music. Other then my husband, these two things are the glue that keep me together when I feel like things are falling apart. No matter what, I know they will always be there, and that I can say is a comforting feeling to have.