Trip to VINS a Lesson in Ecology For Enthusiastic WRVHS Students
During the first live raptor flight program of the year, a Harris’ Hawk named Chesterland flies over a group of girls from WRVHS. He was bred by a falconer but was brought to VINS 21 years ago and is one of two hawks that does the flight program.
All photos by Madeline Waterman
Friday, a group of White River Valley High School students interested in the natural world paid a visit to the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences (VINS) in Quechee. For some students, it marked the first field trip in two years of pandemic lockdown.
“This was the best field trip I’ve been on,” said Shannon Hadlock, a junior at WRVHS. “It was super educational and everyone was engaged in the experience.”
The day began with a nature hike through the forest as students learned about geology and how the Quechee Gorge was formed. After a short lunch break and a wild playground session, the group headed to the VINS forest canopy walk, where the they were able to look out over the Ottauquechee River from a vantage point far above the treeline.
The last event of the day was a favorite for many students, as they experienced a hawk flying close above their heads during the live-raptor flight demonstration.
The group descends to the Quechee Gorge, ducking under fallen trees and slipping on wet rocks.
Laurie Goldsmith, the science educator who took the WRVHS students out, breaks into a grin as she watches students exploring next to the Ottauquechee River.
WRVHS Principal Reed McCracken came along for the field trip and was challenged by the students to crawl through a long, mud-filled tunnel.
A group of students poses for a selfie beside the Ottauquechee River.
In their free time between the geology hike and the live raptor demonstration, students had a blast rolling around in a giant spider web-like net suspended far above the forest floor.
Camden Stevens proudly displays one of several cards portraying big geologic events in the region.
A resident male snowy owl gazes up at the sky. VINS tries to rehabilitate all the birds who are brought to them, but some are too injured to be released. As one presenter put it, birds that don’t make it in the wild get a “career change” and become ambassadors for their species at VINS.
Original story can be found at The Herald.
