Last week I got to go on a field trip to Utah Lake with my favorite 4th grader. I have to confess I wasn't that excited about going because it sounded like it would be boring but it ended up being quite interesting to me.
Every spring, the people in charge of Utah Lake sponsor 4 days where selected elementary schools can come and learn about different aspects of Utah Lake. They have 12 stations and our class got to go to 6 of them.
Our first station was about invasive plants at Utah Lake. The presenter was not the most interesting for the kids with absolutely nothing interactive but I found the subject fascinating. One very invasive plant is called phragmite also known as the common reed. The invasive species came from Europe and they're working pretty hard to get rid of it. The way they do this is by spraying "Aquaneet" (aquatic Round-up) and then later using big tank-like vehicles to mash it down so they can spray the weeds that haven't died.
Our next station taught us about native birds and animals that make Utah Lake their home. This guy was able to point out quite a few different species while we were at his station, mostly birds. He seemed like a good person to have along if you were birding. He told us about the killdeer which is a bird I have been noticing lately around my house. It makes its nest on the ground and will pretend to be hurt to lure predators away from its nest.
Station #3 was sponsored by the Living Planet Aquarium who taught us about carp (bad non-native fish) and the June sucker (native good fish). Some years ago the state decided to be aggressive about getting rid of the carp which were taking over the lake so they could save the June sucker, an endangered species. So far they have removed over 25 million pounds of carp, The carp destroy the lake-bed vegetation that the June suckers need to survive. The June sucker is making a comeback but are still considered endangered. The Aquarium workers did a good job making the station fun for the kids.
Station #4 was a nature walk. We walked partway down the Provo River Trail looking for signs of beavers, certain tree species and other things. I was quite interested in talking to the ranger about how they are going to dam up a portion of the Provo River in that one spot and divert the river through what used to be farmland in an effort to make the river more like what it used to be, which should also help out the June sucker.
We enjoyed lunch and then went to Station #5 which was learning about water safety. This guy (who owns the rental place for paddleboards at the lake) hammered these four points home:
1. Tell someone where you're going
2. Wear a life jacket
3. Be aware of your surroundings
4. Stay hydrated
He was full of amazing stories including one about how Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer, almost drowned once because he wasn't hydrated when he went out in a lake to swim his laps. He started cramping up and would have died if someone hadn't noticed his distress. The teacher also told us about how he (the teacher) broke his neck and was paralyzed for 60 days because he landed on his head wakeboarding in a small part of the lake that was only 1.5 feet deep. He wasn't aware of his surroundings.
Station #6 was probably the driest presentation of them all. But I still enjoyed it even if the kids didn't. We learned why Utah Lake water is murky. The answer is calcium carbonate. The Provo River starts up in the Uintahs and collects calcium from the limestone there. It carries the calcium down to the lake and the calcium accumulates there. The river water is clear because it isn't concentrated like it is in the lake.
It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the day there. The bus ride there and back with very noisy kids, not so much.
Every spring, the people in charge of Utah Lake sponsor 4 days where selected elementary schools can come and learn about different aspects of Utah Lake. They have 12 stations and our class got to go to 6 of them.
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| Phragmite can get very tall and spread quickly. |
Our first station was about invasive plants at Utah Lake. The presenter was not the most interesting for the kids with absolutely nothing interactive but I found the subject fascinating. One very invasive plant is called phragmite also known as the common reed. The invasive species came from Europe and they're working pretty hard to get rid of it. The way they do this is by spraying "Aquaneet" (aquatic Round-up) and then later using big tank-like vehicles to mash it down so they can spray the weeds that haven't died.
 |
| This is one of the tanks they use to mash down the phramite |
Our next station taught us about native birds and animals that make Utah Lake their home. This guy was able to point out quite a few different species while we were at his station, mostly birds. He seemed like a good person to have along if you were birding. He told us about the killdeer which is a bird I have been noticing lately around my house. It makes its nest on the ground and will pretend to be hurt to lure predators away from its nest.
Station #3 was sponsored by the Living Planet Aquarium who taught us about carp (bad non-native fish) and the June sucker (native good fish). Some years ago the state decided to be aggressive about getting rid of the carp which were taking over the lake so they could save the June sucker, an endangered species. So far they have removed over 25 million pounds of carp, The carp destroy the lake-bed vegetation that the June suckers need to survive. The June sucker is making a comeback but are still considered endangered. The Aquarium workers did a good job making the station fun for the kids.
 |
| A June sucker--they're called this because they spawn in June and their mouth looks like a sucker--or something like that. |
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| A company was hired to harvest carp in Utah Lake. It's apparently a fairly worthless fish which spoils quickly. |
Station #4 was a nature walk. We walked partway down the Provo River Trail looking for signs of beavers, certain tree species and other things. I was quite interested in talking to the ranger about how they are going to dam up a portion of the Provo River in that one spot and divert the river through what used to be farmland in an effort to make the river more like what it used to be, which should also help out the June sucker.
We enjoyed lunch and then went to Station #5 which was learning about water safety. This guy (who owns the rental place for paddleboards at the lake) hammered these four points home:
1. Tell someone where you're going
2. Wear a life jacket
3. Be aware of your surroundings
4. Stay hydrated
He was full of amazing stories including one about how Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer, almost drowned once because he wasn't hydrated when he went out in a lake to swim his laps. He started cramping up and would have died if someone hadn't noticed his distress. The teacher also told us about how he (the teacher) broke his neck and was paralyzed for 60 days because he landed on his head wakeboarding in a small part of the lake that was only 1.5 feet deep. He wasn't aware of his surroundings.
Station #6 was probably the driest presentation of them all. But I still enjoyed it even if the kids didn't. We learned why Utah Lake water is murky. The answer is calcium carbonate. The Provo River starts up in the Uintahs and collects calcium from the limestone there. It carries the calcium down to the lake and the calcium accumulates there. The river water is clear because it isn't concentrated like it is in the lake.
It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the day there. The bus ride there and back with very noisy kids, not so much.
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