Teachers in the Field

Yesterday, nine South Carolina teachers participated in the South Carolina Geographic Alliance's (SCGA) Teachers in the Field program at the Audubon Center at the Francis Beidler Forest.

The teachers spent two hours paddling on the canoe trail through the virgin, old-growth cypress-tupelo swamp and two hours walking the 1.75-mile boardwalk through the same virgin, old-growth swamp. While touring the boardwalk, teachers used Global Positioning System (GPS) units to navigate to various waypoints. At the waypoints, teachers discovered hidden containers with information or used objects in the environment (mainly signs) to obtain digits for the coordinates of a hidden container holding a collection of Francis Beidler Forest goodies. Additionally, the teachers received a packet of materials demonstrating how GPS can be incorporated into the classroom.

Between the canoe trail and the boardwalk, teachers saw several alligators, 8 wood ducklings, several flocks of White Ibis, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Prothonotary Warblers, Brown Water Snakes, Eastern Cottonmouths, Red-bellied Water Snakes, Green Treefrogs, Great Egrets, Belted Kingfishers, and the Gray Treefrog shown relaxing in the image.