Mosquito bites, searing temperatures, rain and
a menacing mother bird.
For
the handful of college students that signed up for Prof. Albert
Burchsted's summer class, those outdoor elements have been par for
the curriculum.
Throughout June, five College of Staten Island
students led by "Doc" Burchsted have been trekking through tall
grass and paddling through the four bodies of water that make up
Eibs Pond in Clifton.
Their syllabus calls for turning the 17-acre
freshwater wetland park into a field biology classroom. But their
four-credit course will yield more than grades. It will also create
an ecological survey for Community Board 1.
The
survey is part of the Willowbrook college's
Staten Island Project ,
which uses college resources to study issues such as transportation,
the environment, business, and health.
Led by Mirella Affron, director of the project,
the survey required students to measure the depth of Eibs Pond. This
was done by setting up flagged poles at 20 foot intervals on
opposite sides of the pond and stringing rope between them. Pulling
themselves along the rope in a canoe, students dropped weighted
string marked in 6-inch increments. The average depth recorded was 5
1/2 feet.
"We learned a lot about teamwork," said student
Dina Weiss. The 22-year-old Bulls Head woman also acquired an
abandoned orange cat that had been battling for survival among wild
cats and raccoons in the area.
During the 10 days students were at the pond,
they checked on baited traps for turtles in order to do research.
With excellent eyesight and a keen sense of vibration, the turtles
were not an easy prey.
"They can detect the movement of paddles from
about 50 feet away," said Burchsted, who managed to snare a snapping
turtle that had been basking on floating vegetation. Because
snapping turtles have a fiercer temperament than other smaller
turtles, they are generally not worried by unexpected guests, he
said.
Expeditions by students also yielded six
painted turtles.
Each reptile was returned to its habitat after
a tiny microchip was inserted under the skin of its abdominal
cavity. The chips will help create an ongoing database to track
growth, reproduction and longevity of the turtles.
Species and behaviors of fish, frogs, birds,
insects and other wildlife were documented in writing and with
video.
While videotaping a nest of brown thrashers, a
relative of the mocking bird, things got a little hairy. As student
Liz Dluhos held back branches along the pond's banks to expose the
nest, the mother bird suddenly appeared.
"She was right there and she was not happy,"
said the 21-year-old Eltingville student. The protective mother bird
flew straight towards Ms. Dluhos' head sending her ducking for
cover.
A study of vegetation in and around the water
found more than 90 forms with crispy pond weed as the dominant plant
type.
To give his students a comparison with another
ecosystem, Burchsted took them camping in Lebanon State Forest in
Burlington County, N.J., during the rain-soaked week of June 16.
The students discovered that although it was a
similar ecosystem it produced totally different plant life.
Despite the unusual course requirements,
Burchsted has had no complaints about the open-air classroom.
"I've had perfect attendance," said Burchsted.
"This is one of the few courses where you can get that."
