Four Winds Nature Institute

4 Casey Rd. Chittenden, VT 05737

802-483-2917 www.fourwindsinstitute.org

UPPER GRADES CHALLENGE: Beaver Pond Finds


Background:

A visit to a beaver pond is a chance to look closely for signs of beaver activity and of other animals that make use of these wetlands as well. Besides the more obvious evidence of beavers, such as the dam, lodge, felled trees and stumps, an active beaver habitat will also contain more subtle signs such as the scent-marking mounds, paths worn through the vegetation, stashes of branches around the lodge, and canals. In addition, students may find signs of other animals using the wetland including muskrats, deer and moose, mink, otter, bear, coyote and bobcat. Here students explore a beaver pond, making note of any animal sign they find. By marking all these finds on a map of the pond, students develop an appreciation for the extent of beaver activity and a more intimate connection to the pond and the lives of its inhabitants.

Objective: To hunt for animal tracks and sign at a beaver pond and create a map of discoveries.

Ahead of time print or draw a basic outline of the beaver pond and its surroundings. Make two copies so that there will be a working copy to bring to the pond, and a clean copy for the final map.

At the pond, have students work in small groups with a leader to explore different areas, looking for signs of beaver and muskrat, as well as other animals. Students may find beaver scent mounds, muskrat grass twists, canals, pathways, otter slides, and tracks and scat of numerous animals. Provide students with pieces of surveyor’s tape in order to flag their finds. Give students a chance to view discoveries made by other teams as well as their own.

After each team completes its section of the study area, have them enter their discoveries onto the map outline that you provide. Entries may be numbered points that refer to a list describing each find, or to drawings and photographs that the students make at each find. The map may be shared with other school groups visiting the same pond, or used as a baseline for comparison with findings in future years.

After classes are done visiting the pond, be sure to remove surveyor’s tape, leaving the area as it was before your visit.

Materials: Sketch or map of beaver pond to be studied; pencils, compass, track and sign guide, surveyor’s tape – one piece per student; optional: camera, drawing materials.


Four Winds Nature Institute – 8/06