Today was a field trip day for our 7th graders. I was lucky enough to get to tag along on what the students said was "the best field trip ever!".
We began the day by touring our local power plant. The engineers who gave us the tour sat and talked with the students and adults for a bit about what the plant does, how much energy it produces, it's environmental record and improvements it is making to the plant. Then we split into 3 groups and were given the tour of the plant. The students thought that the hard hats and ear plugs were awesome. We saw many of the inner workings, looked from the roof to the reservoir they use to cool the generators, the power grids and the train yard. I have been looking forward to this trip for a while and I really enjoyed it!
We got back on our buses a couple of hours later and drove to Gurnsey State Park. After eating our sack lunches by the lake, we helped a group of rangers and Americore volunteers plant trees. Many of the trees in our area have died due to the pine beetle. One of the things the park is doing to rehabilitate the park and keep the pine trees healthy is planting trees. As a group we planted over 600 trees. The leader of the group said that they hope at least half of these trees survive. They were itty-bitty, baby trees - about 6-8 inches high with a 5 inch root system. It was hard work, but it was fun.
The weather had been perfect for us all day. Sunny. Not too cold or too hot. Light breeze, but not howling. Great weather to be at the park and planting trees. When our groups had finished with our planting, we let the students hang out by the lake. They were soon all in the lake splashing each other and swimming. Most did not have swimsuits on and were not prepared to be soaked. No one had towels. Swimming in the lake was not on our plan. But they had a blast. There was lots of laughter, pictures and tons of splashing going on. We let them sun-dry for about half an hour before we got on the bus and headed back.
It was a full, tiring day. I had fun and I know the students had fun (the students kept saying it was "the best field trip ever"). When I got home, I took off my shoes outside (too much sand/dirt) and took a long shower. I'm tired and sore, but glad I had the opportunity to go on this trip with our 7th graders.
