Today our class went on an AMAZING field trip to the Save The Bay site in Palo Alto. What is this organization, you may ask? Well based on their website (https://www.savesfbay.org),
Save The Bay is the largest regional organization working to protect, restore and celebrate San Francisco Bay since 1961
This organization works to restore the area, protect from pollution as well as make it cleaner and healthier for people and wild life. The leaders who directed us today taught us much about the environment. I learned quite a lot, but to list some…
- Simpson’s Equation determines how diverse an area is. This is done by looking at the number of individuals of a species also by looking at the number of different species. If your number is zero, this means the area only has one species. If your number is closer to one, then the area is more so biodiverse. However, a biodiversity score of one is virtually impossible being that this would indicate infinite diversity.
- Salinity levels are higher near the bottom of the hill as opposed to the top. This is because the bottom soil is affected by the large amounts of salt in the water while the top soil is not.
- Within the five tested areas, the soil texture greatly differed between clay-like, gritty, and smooth. Even though this dirt was only a few feet apart, these differences occurred partly because of the amount of water that directly affects the soil. The dirt near the water was more clay life and the dirt at the top was drier and more gritty. This is also because the plants affect and change the soil which then affects and changes the plants!
In class, we had been learning about Chi-Square statistics. This formula is as follows, and is another way for us to determine something based on our data and a set of numbers. Both of these equations look complex, but in reality, they are super simple once you understand what you are being asked to do! Also in class, we learned that sometimes experimental error can occur as we discussed in our previous lab. My group’s salinity data had one outlier that threw off our data, and we had to acknowledge that this could have possibly been a human error or a device error.
A memory I want to share is that eureka is California’s state motto which means,
“I have found it!” Mrs. Girard disclosed this information to me as we were discussing the state flower and the legality of picking it. The service learning aspect of the trip enabled me to not only learn with my hands, but it also made me proud of our class and the little ways in which we helped! Knowing we are part of aiding Bay area restoration, even in smaller ways. I quite honestly feel as though I would not change anything about the program, I had an amazing time but those who come after my class should wear many layers, running shoes or rain boots! Attire is crucial.
This field trip was truly awesome and the time sped by! The field ship should definitely be done again in the same location. This trip taught me a lot about the environment and much more.
I made a video, watch it below!