Assignment 8 -ld

In 1929 the City of Vancouver drained the bog because a house was encroaching into the once beautiful bog and dried it out. 5000 years ago the Camosun bog formed when a heavy block of ice started a depression in the land. First it was a lake then a swamp and lastly a bog. 

Hemlock trees started growing and many trees got taken down in 1991. Sphagnum moss got planted and maintenance improved greatly. Soon recruits for volunteers started piling up and students from schools visited the bog more and more. Age is no limit to visit this bog many come to check it out. An estimated 30,000 hours has been put into the restoration to this bog and many more to come. 

One man states “ it’s actually essential to have the assistance of the metro Vancouver for the bog.” Metro Vancouver provides a lot of help into the financial support for tea breaks for the workers and visitors to the bog. The volunteers play a huge role in helping people appreciate nature and the Camosun bog.

Source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSrEhGSnhiY

Elder Larry Grant's is a language keeper of the Musqueam People. Larrys parents are Chinese and Musqueam. 

He says that the Camosun bog reduced in size because of people draining the bog for urbanization and non cultural activities. Larry grant is sad that such beautiful life was destroyed and that erases all evidence of story from the Musqueam peoples. Larry says that “it’s another step into removing First Nations Peoples.” Larry grant also wishes that the bog will grow and expand in size so it can become a universal teaching tool with so much value in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6K7jASVzl8

This is a pole carved by a Musqueam artist placed at UBC. The pole tells a story about the Camosun bog. 

The elders warned people of a small lake where the serpent lies and slithers. They were warned as youth to be cautious and not go near or they would be killed instantly. The serpent passed over died and from its droppings bloomed a new plant, the məθkʷəy̓

For this reason the people of long ago named that place xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam – place of the məθkʷəy̓)

https://fnel.arts.ubc.ca/the-musqueam-sʔiɬqəy̓-qeqən-double-headed-serpent-post-dedicated-at-ubc/

Assignment 7: Camosun Blog

LD

1.  How was the bog formed?

Thousands of years ago, the Cordilleran ice sheet stretched out toward the southern end of Puget Sound, overlaying the vicinity presently called Vancouver with a kilometer-thick layer of frosty ice. 12,500 years prior, as the ice withdrew, it deserted a scarred scene, thick with frigid till. A colossal bit of ice stayed in the territory which is presently Camosun Bog, as the ice dissolved gradually, a lake slowly formed.

2. What is the keystone species of a bog?  Read about Sphagnum moss.  How does Sphagnum maintain the acidic conditions.


Low oxygen, low nutrients and acidic conditions are favoured by sphagnum moss, the keystone species of any bog.  Also named peat moss, without Sphagnum , the bog would not exist. Sphagnum maintains the wet and acidic conditions favoured by bog plants.  It has the incredible ability to absorb water like a super sponge and it pumps hydrogen ions into its surroundings, thus creating a very acidic environment. Sphagnum cells selectively absorb mineral ions from and release hydrogen ions into the surrounding water. 

3.  What is peat?  How is it different from soil?


Peat moss is acidic, so depending at the pH stage of your soil, it is able to boom its acidity. The pH stage of peat moss is around 4.4, while neutral soil can have a pH of round 7. The biological functions of Sphagnum mosses act to create a habitat helping peat formation, a phenomenon termed 'habitat manipulation'. Soils consisting usually of peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland situations, in which flooding or stagnant water obstructs the flow of oxygen from the ecosystem, slowing the decomposition.

4.  Why is digging through a bog like digging through time?

Peat decays so slowly that digging through Camosun bog is a bit like digging through time.  Each metre below the surface represents about 400 years. The bog has so many layers to it and years and years pass by so it would take forever to dig through each layer. A metaphor would be like a bog is a book and each page has a certain depth to it taking a lot of time to uncover and reach the very end.

Earliest Animal Assignment 3pgs -ld

 Page 1
   Page 2

Page 3



Unlike us humans’ sponges are different

Sponges retain freedom

For the cycle of life, we need ‘em

Sponges tend on re-invent themselves

They assemble and get sent in bundles

Finally separated by a single sieve

They break

Lost alone they cannot mingle

They flake

Several hours pass and

They slowly begin to clash

Finding one another and reconnecting

New sponges form and life begins again

Life like no other sponges win!

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Assignment 4 - ad

Sponges Assignment- ad

Nature Notes Reflection with Senses -ld

REFLECTION WITH ALL YOUR SENSES

1.  The day is May 10^th and me and mom decided to take a refreshing hike in North Vancouver. The air smells new especially since the lockdown has happened so I have not got to experience going out often, so it smells like freshly cut grass. There is a small creek near me so I also can hear the water flowing and can see small little fish swimming down stream. I feel so at peace here and often hear birds chirping off in the distance I think they are communicating to each other. I feel so peaceful in this forest like I cold just stay here forever and be in my own little world. I see a wooden bridge that smells like fresh cut wood and makes me reminisce when I went camping with my family. The sky is so blue today and the clouds are as white as snow peeping out from the tall trees while I walk down a path. I can hear the rocks and gravel underneath my shoes crunching and leaves getting crinkled. Often there are bikers that zoom y me and they are going full speed down the trails with no setbacks. Many dogs are here with their owners and they bark at each other while passing by greeting one another. This place is so silent but so loud, you can only hear the sounds if you stop for a moment and actually concentrate to nature around you and it’s a beautiful feeling. No man-made machines around an no artificial noises from this place. I feel so calm and at peace with nature. After seeing and experiencing this place I will definitely come here again to clear my thoughts and take a day to relax and get away from technology for a bit.

1. This place is in North Vancouver, BC. A hiking trail. My observation time is 5pm and the weather is very sunny out and warm.

2. My mom actually found this place because I told her I want to go on a hike and its not to far out from home. There are so many great qualities of this place like the quietness you cannot achieve while living in the city and the smell of nature all around you. This place also allows pets if you have so we brought my dog.

3. My senses tell me that this place is safe and calm and not many humans are here so it’s a kind of get away place to clear your mind.

a. I see a wooden bridge and lots of trees and plants everywhere, the sky is also very blue and pretty.

b. The sounds I hear are very quiet, but I can hear the stream of the river flowing and crashing into the rocks and birds chirping.

c. The mood of this place is super relaxing, and it feels like I am on a different planet I recommend this place it is very soothing and destressing.

d. I smell the bark for the trees smell and dirt but also the strong scent of all the plants around me.

e. The air feels humid and hot, but it also has a subtle breeze of wind that comes by.

f. The living things around me are squirrels and fish and also plants and fungi.

g. We had to drive to get to this place it took about 30 minutes but once there you can walk like me or bike even.

h. This is a path so there are a few people that pass by every so often, but it is pretty empty here.