Honors students enjoy field trip to South Manitou Island
The trip was made possible by a grant from MEEMIC Insurance
October 17, 2008
Advanced Placement and Honors Biology II classes traveled to South Manitou Island on Friday, October 10th. The bus departed the high school at 8:00 am, and almost immediately Dean Farrier, a local surveyor and Biologist, began a presentation on topographic maps. We traveled to Leland where we awaited our ferryboat to the island. While waiting, some of our students spent time enjoying some local culture at “Fish Town”, while others were amazed by the size of the Salmon attempting to swim out of Lake Michigan and into area streams. The Manitou Ferry departed for the island around 10:00 am and our students enjoyed a beautiful ride across Lake Michigan. While en-route we were treated to the passing of a Coast Guard ship and a great lakes shipping vessel.
Manitou Visit - Click for slide show!
Once on the Island we enjoyed our sack lunches on the shore of Lake Michigan, and then began our real work of the day. Our class trekked the two miles out to Lake Florence on foot where we performed water tests to evaluate the quality of the inland freshwater lake. The purpose of these tests was to draw comparisons between the water quality of lakes in the Kalkaska area, which are heavily influenced by the presence of humans, and the water quality of a lake that is rarely disturbed by humans. Our findings suggest that human activities such as fertilizing lawns, draining wastewater from sinks and washers, and feeding waterfowl have a negative effect on overall water quality.
When our water testing was complete, we hiked an additional mile to view the shipwrecked Morazon, which lies just off the southern tip of the island. Many students truly enjoyed this historical adventure. Along the way, Mr. Farrier gathered students into small groups and discussed different types vegetation that we found along the way.
The hike back to the ferryboat was a three-mile walk, but the weather was glorious and Mrs. Short was busy, quizzing students over material learned in class that could be applied to the Manitou landscape. After the hour and a half ride back to the mainland, the overwhelming thought was “Boy, are we glad it is Friday, it would be hard to get up early and go to school tomorrow.”
Many students commented on the field trip and all were positive. Senior Buddy Ross said, “It was the best field trip I’ve ever been on.” Junior Nick Horner-Becker added, “I enjoyed seeing the shipwreck.” Senior Evan Smith put his two cents in, “It was awesome.” Our field trip was paid for by a grant that Mrs. Short received from the MEEMIC Foundation for the Future of Education. Out of the 300 teachers that applied for the grant, she was one of the twenty-five to receive it.
