A Summer At Grove

 Identifying and Protecting the Project  While all of my identification and data collection is going on, I am working at the Army Corps of Engineers as a Park Ranger. Around this time, we have completed all of our training and are starting to go out and patrol in groups of two. Though most of my job is law enforcement, my favorite part of the job is being able to have meaningful connections with regular campers and learning about the history of the lake. This job feels like everything I've always wanted to do rolled up into one position, education, safety, research, and great superiors who are supportive and patient with all of us new-timers.  I am continuing to identify plankton from our first round of sampling. 

  First Day Out Autumn and I went out on the boat on Tuesday and were able to, surprisingly get all 10 samples within a day's time. This is a huge accomplishment and now we can spend the rest of our weekend identifying.  In the Lab I greatly underestimated the amount of phytoplankton that there is in the lake. I spent about 4 hours identifying and recording around 54 different kinds of phytoplankton. It was immensely exciting to finally see my project under a microscope. In the upper half of the circle (photo above), you can see the larger shadow figures, those are zooplankton. I was ecstatic to finally see my phytoplankton and be able to start this project I have been planning for months. 

              First Day Experiments Dr. Merovich, Autumn Holdsworth and I went out on the boat and went to a couple of our sample sites to go over methods and proper ways of setting up our project for the Summer and the rest of the year. We decided to do sampling for the seasons; during the late Spring, early Summer, late Summer, early fall, and late fall. I reviewed how to work all of the equipment and ensured that I had all of the necessary materials needed for our first sampling day that next week.  In the Lab I was very excited to organize my space, label, and make sure I have a list of everything that is needed to complete this project this summer.