The Adventures Ends

Today I woke up and needed to say good bye to the wonderful the fantastic team members I have been work with. Over the past 10 days, we have grown to be good friends and I will miss them very much. With a heavy heart, we promised to keep in touch and exchange more pictures and videos of our time together.

About 11:00am, headed for the airport feeling very mixed up. I miss my students, friends, and family, but I will also miss the crazy adventures, swamp exploration, and friends here in Louisiana. This experience had helped me as an educator understand what real science is. Now, I wonder how I can teach my students to conduct science as real scientists do…. Hummmmm…
See everyone on Monday!

We’re Leaving?

Today we began early. We needed to check, feed, and inspect all of the caterpillars one last time. We worked together as a team to classify the new caterpillars we found the day earlier and take each one’s picture. Once this was done, we packed up and headed back to New Orleans and back to the haunted guesthouse. Ahhhh, the comforts of home.

While we were here we went out to dinner and saw a friend sing and play guitar. We all kept 1 eye glued to the television to watch who would be our next president. When news that Obama won the election, we heard cheers and screams in the streets. It was a fantastic day as we wrap up our adventures.

Professional Caterpillar Hunts

Today we got right to work blogging, web camming, and identifying our newly captured caterpillars. It was neat for we found a few new caterpillars we haven’t seen before. I feel we are becoming professional caterpillar hunters. We have also found some caterpillars that have parasitoids. These are insects like wasps and flies that lay their eggs on or in the caterpillar. Then when the eggs hatch, they eat the caterpillar. While this sounds

gross, it is an important part of keeping the food web balanced. Check out these pictures.

Then after lunch we trudged back to the swamp. Sometimes even tracking across a swampy area can be an adventure. Click the play button to see a short video of tracking across a creek.

I cannot believe that in a few days, my adventures will be coming to an end. But back to work we go.

We're Off to Work!

After being in the comfortable beds and the yummy breakfasts, we did not want to return to the bunkhouse, but the work needed to continue. We packed up our bags and we traveled back to the swamp at the Pearl River.

After the past 2 days, the caterpillars needed to be changed, checked for changes, and given fresh food. I was sent into the swamp to find more food for the caterpillars. We have over 300 caterpillars to feed and take care of. That is a lot of work! I felt like I was exploring a hidden rainforest with all of the trees, plants, and water. I wonder if this is how the early explores felt.

After we gave the caterpillars lunch, we snacked and took off for the forest/swamp to search for more caterpillars. We are so tired today, I think even our old squeaky bunk beds will be comfortable. I cannot wait to chat with my students back at Fernbrook tomorrow morning. I hope they are earning homework passes. I’ll have to check soon!

Our Day Off

New Orleans is a wonderful place. It is a spooky city filled with scary stories about its past. We went to the Audubon Zoo and went to the Swampfest celebration. There was dancing, exotic food, and swamp items. I was able to touch and hold a baby alligator.

Then we went downtown and explored the city so more. Cajun food like gumbo, jambalaya, and alligator wraps was what we ate. It was spicy and yummy.
Tired and wanting my bed, we went home to enjoy the last moments of our only day off

Happy Halloween

Wow! What a busy day. As we woke up, we were told that we needed to finish everything quickly to get into New Orleans by the afternoon. This meant that we had to clean the caterpillar’s bags, give them new food, inspect each caterpillar to make sure they were doing well, and clean the bunkhouse and pack. It was a very busy day.

After a late lunch we packed up our bags and traveled about 1 hours south west to New Orleans. The Park View Guest House was the awesome place we stayed. It has been on television for all of the paranormal activity. That is a fancy way of saying ghosts!

We walked the city exploring the restaurants, parks, and little shops. Then we went back to shower and dress in our costumes. I was a vampire from all of the books I read by Anne Rice. Don’t I look scary?

We went by trolley to the French Quarter. This is where there was thousands of people all dressed up dancing, singing, and playing instruments. It was an incredible time and place.

Getting Into a Routine

With a nice late start (7:00am) we started the business of classifying and categorizing the newly found caterpillars. While some of us checked in the new caterpillars, other took care of the caterpillars on the rack. This took a while and a good part of the day.

About lunch time, I was able to talk to some wonderful second graders. J I hope they earn some homework passes by responding to the blog questions!

Later we went into the deep forest to search for more caterpillars. This was by far the hardest forest to move in. With clippers, machetes (large knife), and many ouches, we went into the forest. On the way we found and caught a baby snake. Isn’t he cute?

With dirty clothes, scratched up hands, and tired bodies, we slowly walked into the bunkhouse. I am ready for bed!

Tomorrow we start searching the spooky city of New Orleans on Halloween. I am certain to have some stories to share after our weekend stay in a haunted hotel. Stay tuned to hear more.

Kayaking Down River

Today we packed up a lunch and some supplies and we kayaked down river to a new location to hunt for the elusive caterpillar. When we entered the river, all three of us quietly glided downstream with all of our supplies. Our job was not only to find more caterpillars, but to scout out a new location down river. Upon landing at the site, one of the researchers almost got their leg stuck in the mud. I guess it is good to have big feet. You don’t sink as much.



We scouted the area for about 45-minutes. Hacking the machete through the briers, and underbrush, it was a slow trip. We encountered golden and blue skinks (lizards), a bald eagle, and tons of weird looking spiders. Creepy! Look at the video to see where we hiked.



After we had our yummy lunch, we found a spot to search for caterpillars. To carefully find the caterpillars and classify he plants in the plot, it takes a long time. Packing our supplies back on the kayaks, we started back. Our research leader, Mike, slid his kayak into the river and sunk! It was so funny. After we emptied his kayak, we raced back to the truck because Mike was getting very cold.




Upon arriving home, we quickly took our showers and got dinner ready for everyone. After dinner, we had a campfire and had a few laughs telling our adventures. With tired and sore arms, I climbed on the top bunk and went to bed.

It' Time For Work!

We started early again today. After breakfast, we began to look at the caterpillars we found the day earlier. Slowly we marked, examined, and classified the caterpillars. It was a long process, but this data is used to understand the impact of caterpillars have on the ecosystem. After we examined the caterpillars, we hung them onto a rack to save and watch them turn into butterflies and moths. The picture is of my coworkers examining the caterpillars




After lunch, we left the bunkhouse and we went into the field. We walked trough swampy areas until we found a great spot to hunt for caterpillars. We marked off the area and began searching. I found a caterpillar that can sting you. We were very careful putting him into a bag. After a few hours, we trudged back to the truck and headed for the bunkhouse.


We learned about the ecology of different parts of the world by having a college professor teach us about how their research is helping the world.


I learned a lot of things today. I cannot wait until tomorrow!

Into the field we go

6:00am came early today. With the sun not even out, we logged onto our computers and began the quest for food, knowledge and the ability to connect with our schools. I was able to briefly chat with Mrs. Connolly’s Class today.

After a shopping run to the food store, we went into the swampy forest to hunt for caterpillars. I was taught how to look at the plants and check for evidence of caterpillars. After what seemed years, I was able to find my first caterpillar. This type of caterpillar has hairs to prevent predators such as wasps from using it for food.

While in the forest, I saw turtles, an alligator, frogs, and lots and lots of trees. Click on the movie to hear about the clothes we needed to wear while going out into the flied. Tomorrow is a day of collecting caterpillars and exploring the great Louisiana wilderness.

The adventure begins…

I cannot believe the day has already come when I am to leave for New Orleans. I am very mixed over not being at school with my students and the adventures that lie ahead.

I was able to meet the rest of the team as we went out for Turkish food. It was wonderful and so was getting to know the other members of our team. Afterwards, we piled into a cargo van and headed off to the swampy bayous out in Pearl River Forest.

We are all staying together in a single room bunk house. Here is a picture to show you where I will be staying.

With an exhausted body, buzzing mind, and a mixed heart, I headed to bed waiting to see what adventures tomorrow lays ahead.

My Journal

This is going to be the blog that gives a day by day narrative of my adventures in New Orleans. Feel free to leave comments or questions.