Grade 8 Field Trip

AvereyMay 25-262011

TGMS

Table of Contents 1. Learning about the Red River2. Oak Hammock Mash3. Fort Whyte Center4. St. Leon Wind mills 5. Evaluation of my Experience

Learning about the Red River

Red River Pembina River

Soils of the Red RiverThe soil around the Red River has lots of clay,

which doesn’t soke up much water so the water flows over the bank flooding. and high levels of alkaline, making it useless for most plants, because there can’t grow with the alkaline levels that high.

Red River WatershedWatershed is a natural point in which the

water flows too. All the water in a surrounding area flows to a certain point, that point is called a watershed

Lock and DamThe lock and dam is located just north of the city

of Winnipeg, in a town called Lockport in the R.M of St. Andrews.

The real name of the lock and dam is St. Andrews Camere Curtin Dam.

The Dam was completed in 1910. It is owned by the Canadian government.

The purpose of the dam is to slow down the Red River so it doesn't flood as much as it would by lowering the curtains, or raising the curtains to allow the water through.

Red River Flood WayIs an artificial floodway used to control to

water flowing through Winnipeg and making the Red River flow around Winnipeg.

It is located on the East side of Winnipeg. The purpose of the flood is another way of slowing down the floods.

My thoughtsThe Lock and Dam and Floodway have helped

Winnipeg a lot because they are able to control the flow of the water, avoiding floods. With the Floodway controlling the path of the water and the Lock and Dam speeding or slowing the water they can avoid floods and save a lot more money, its has already been estimated to save 10 billion dollars in damages.

Oak Hammock Marsh

History and Purpose of Oak Hammock MarshThe original marsh cover 470 square kilometers.

Then it was drained for farm land. The marsh now covers only 36 square kilometers.

Between 1940-1945 it was a bombing range for the Commonwealth Air Force.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s the Manitoban government acquired 3,450 hectares of land to start FRED program (Fund for Rural Economic Development). Manitoba Conservation began constructing 22 kilometres of earth dykes to restore a small part of the original marsh.

History and Purpose of Oak Hammock MarshThe purpose of the marsh is to provide a

wetland habitat for many animals and to inform others about the environment the marsh also helps clean the environment by sucking the c02 out of the air and giving out oxygen.

It was original drained to use the land for farms, then restoring some of the land with the F.R.E.D program.

The opening of the new building took place 20 years after restoration.

Programs of my learning I went to the constellation program and

learned about the stars and where the constellations are.

Another program was the history of oak Hammock Marsh and the tour around the interpretive center.

My thoughts My adventures at Oak hammock marsh were

fun. I enjoyed the bon fire and walking around. The sleep could have been better. Canoeing was fun but it was little to cold. The interpretive center was fun, I liked learning about the constellations.

Fort Whyte Center

History and Purpose of Fort Whyte CenterHistoryAll the lakes are man made because it used to

be a coal mine. In the early 1900’s there was lots of picnics because the public, in 1950 it was bought for an environmental education center. The purpose of the center is to provide a safe habitat for animals near Winnipeg. The wet land clean the water and the plants take the Co2 out of the air and produce oxygen

10 species that live at Fort Whyte Center1. fox2. geese3. mink4. ducks5. pelican6. midge or fish flies7. deer8. coyotes 9. cat tails10. fish

St.Leon Windmills

WindmillsA wind mill roughly cost 3.2 million dollarsThe wind farm in St. Leon provides enough

power for the city of Brandon.The wind turbines are more efficient than

coal mines because it reusableThe wind turbines spin 14 times per minuteTo spin the turbines the wind need to be

20km/If the wind speed reach over 94km/h there is

an emergency stop on the turbines so it doesn't break.

Windmills The turbine blades made of carbon fiber are light weight, and has

a razor sharp edge which allows it to literally cut through the wind and makes it almost silent. This material is preferred and is used in most wind turbine machines sold today.

Lighting strikes the turbines a lot because of their height. The blades are difficult to fix and time consuming .

A lighting rod at the top of the windmills helps prevent damage. The power is sent to a generator where is exported from there. Hydro power is the biggest source of power in Manitoba I liked going inside the windmill because I’ve never been in one

Summative evaluation

Favorite activities My two favorite activates were; The bonfire, because we got to sit talk around a

fire and hear the worst story ever.My other favorite activity was swimming

because I haven't gone swimming in a long time and I enjoy swimming but the change room was a little awkward.

two areas of improvement would be make sure they would be having a fire so you could prepare and a little longer at the museum so we could see more of it.

Some things I have learned I have learned a lot from the programs and contests that I been in about

river. I did not learn much from making the power point presentation because that was all common knowledge , conserve water, use different ways to conserve water. I wish there were more PowerPoint's to do because I really enjoy working on power point and computers.

Doing the river watch program, I have learned only how to use the equipment, and that is something I would not do when I am older because I think it is boring.

The web quests were kind of interesting find out the amount of flooding there has been in the years and what is causing it.

Creating the wiki was also fun because I enjoy working on computer and I enjoy working with pictures. I liked working in a group, but I only was in a group for 15 minutes.

The field was one of the highlights of my year because we got to do a few fun things and I love photography. I learned a lot fort Whyte and got refreshed about Oak hammock marsh. The field trip was one of the best way I learned new things because we were out of school learning new things. If I could change one thing form the field trip I would take more pictures and that’s it.

All in all I had a decent time on the field trip