November was a relatively quiet month at the office. A large rainstorm hit the Pacific Northwest late in the month, and Eugene became a bit flooded. This led to quite the change in the West Eugene Wetlands (WEW); our vernal pools have filled up, and ducks and other waterfowl can be seen gallivanting in their depths.

Two months ago, this was all dry!

Earlier in November, I assisted the Willamette Resources and Education Network (WREN) with one of its student fieldtrips. Although earlier in October, I had aided WREN with a student ethnobotany/seed-after-burn project, this was trial by fire: leading my own group of second graders through the trails that surround the WEW Partnership office. The students were excited to be out of the classroom and full of energy; I was terrified. However, it turned out to be tons of fun! The kids learned about Queen Anne’s Lace and Pennyroyal (which, although a non-native species, is a good indicator of vernal pools), and enjoyed seeing ducks and other animals in the wetlands.

In addition to my short adventure outside, I also started training in GeoBOB (Geographic Biotic Observations). The GeoBOB database works in conjunction with ArcGIS, so I’m getting to brush up on the new GIS skills I acquired during the summer.

Anyway, November was a rather quiet month. I”m looking forward to things to come!

‘Til next time!