The new BFA Fairfax High School end of year Mini-mester has enabled Science Teachers Thomas Lane and Thomas Pfeiffer to engage students in a unique field experience. Nearly 20 students and teachers Lane and Pfeiffer are currently transecting Franklin County from east to west.

(Map of Transect Franklin County Field Team route.)
(Map of Transect Franklin County Field Team route.)

This field assessment has not been done by anyone in this manner before.

(Field Team at the start of Day 1.)
(Field Team at the start of Day 1.)

The students and teachers are collecting baseline data to establish existing aspects of the environment and hopefully monitor change in the future.

(Moving through a beaver dam in the first minutes of Day 1. Wesley in the foreground.)
(Moving through a beaver dam in the first minutes of Day 1. Wesley in the foreground.)
(Left to right Jackson, Sky, Jaxon and Michael at Branch Creek near the eastern edge of Franklin County southeast of Bakersfield, VT.)
(Left to right Jackson, Sky, Jaxon and Michael at Branch Creek near the eastern edge of Franklin County southeast of Bakersfield, VT.)
(Eastern boundary of Franklin County southeast of Bakersfield, VT.)
(Eastern boundary of Franklin County southeast of Bakersfield, VT.)
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(Left to right, Eli, Shane, Luke, Devyn collecting data during transect.)

Students and teachers stopped to collect data using observation and Vernier sensors every 15 minutes during the transect. Types of data include; air temperature, humidity, soil moisture and type, numbers and types of birds, animal presence, human presence (current and historic), land use, reptiles and amphibians, tick numbers, tree types and background sound level.

(Small frog. Picture courtesy of Shane Seals.)
(Small frog. Picture courtesy of Shane Seals.)
(Harry with a snake. Picture courtesy of Shane Seals.)
(Harry with a snake. Picture courtesy of Shane Seals.)
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(Moving through a horse pasture near S. Rd. and Buck Hollow Rd.)
(Lucky to find a beaver dam to cross Dead Creek in the middle of Fairfield swamp.)
(Lucky to find a beaver dam to cross Dead Creek in the middle of Fairfield swamp.)
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(Ethan in the dense thickets of Fairfield swamp.)
(Collecting data and having lunch at Black Creek south of E. Fairfield, VT.)
(Collecting data and having lunch at Black Creek south of E. Fairfield, VT.)
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(Sky with red eft.)
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(Michael and Tyler in front stepping carefully across a manured field off Whitney Rd. E. Fairfield.)
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(Ethan uses his backpack to keep Tyler from being zapped by an electrified fence east of Swamp Rd. Fairfax, VT.)
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(Moving through steep terrain somewhere south of Fairfield, VT.)
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(Start of day 4 the BFA Field Team transecting Franklin County.)

The Field Team is on track to reach Lake Champlain by Thursday afternoon to complete the Franklin County transect. A huge thank you to FWSU Transportation Manager Patsy Parker and all of the Bus Drivers at BFA Fairfax for coordinating the drop-off and pickups on a daily basis.

Published by Franklin West SU

School District in Fairfax, Fletcher, Georgia, VT. Apple Distinguished Program. League of Innovative Schools. "A belief in what is possible."

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