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Friday dawns with bright blue skies and crisp cool air. We head out at 7:45 AM for Creamer’s Field, a local bird sanctuary that was a one time dairy barn. Given the perfect weather, we spend time with a wildlife specialist there, Melissa Sikes, walking through the pasture area and boreal forest

Bright and early this morning, we piled into the "white van" with our trusty driver, Reija. We were headed out for a day of field excursions. First stop, Creamer's Field. We have already driven by Creamer's Field several times this week. We noted the birds and cranes that seemed ever present in the

So I get to go to Antarctica to study the seafloor communities. Where are the other PolarTREC teachers going and who are they? There’s 13 of us this year and we’re from all over the U.S. teaching anything from 3rd grade to community college. Three of us are going to Antarctica, three are going on

While up in Alaska, I've seen a couple of animals that I haven't seen (other than in zoos). We went to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Large Animal Research Station (LARS). While there, we saw musk oxen. They are much smaller than I thought they would be. They were only about 5 feet tall at the

Check my audio journal below- click the play arrow and you should be good to go:[swf file="members/bill-schmoker/files/journal_11794_bschmoker050710.mp3"]Visiting the permafrost tunnel was an amazing experience! Here are some pics from our visit. Being immersed within the permafrost gave me a whole

In search of Large Animals...destination University of Alaska Fairbanks Large Animal Research StationThis afternoon we had the awesome opportunity to go to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Large Animal Research Station (LARS). Lindsey Blaine was our very informative tour guide. LARS is managed by

So I’ve been in Fairbanks for almost a week now and yes, there are things other than trees here. Besides being cooped up in a windowless room at the bottom of our hotel with eyes glued to our computer screens while our ears are straining to absorb as much information as possible, we’ve been getting

We began our 4th day of PolarTREC Orientation Week with several presentations focusing on communication technologies, including posting journals, resizing and storing photos, and planning for 'real-time' events from the field, like live calls and webinars. After lunch, former PolarTREC teacher Ute

What would you bring to the desert? Thirty glass squares and thirty marble squares, prepared by Drake students Ceramic sign prepared by a Drake student One square meter of shade cloth Landscape fabric pins to anchor shade cloth Diamond tipped engravers, soil scoops, knife and other tools Light meter

We went to a large animal reserve at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. The facility, Bonanza Creek, Long term Ecological Research had muskoxen and caribou held in captivity in their natural habitat, for research purposes. We first looked at caribou who are a close relative of the reindeer. We