Projects with High School Students

IMG_2554Bristlecone Pines Spiral Grain Project:
Wing M.R., Knowles A., Melbostad S. and Jones A.K. (2014) “Spiral grain in bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva) exhibits no correlation with environmental factors.”  Trees – Structure and Function. Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 487-491.  http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00468-013-0965-y 

IMG_5588Elephant Seal Monitoring:  Since 2011 students at Sir Francis Drake High School have read flipper tags and conducted elephant seal census counts for the Point Reyes National Seashore.  Sometimes there are 1000 seals on the beach giving birth, mating, dying, fighting, sleeping, and barking.

IMG_5237Point Reyes Stone Line Project: Wing, M.R., Iida, K. and Wearing E. (2105) “Stone-by-Stone Metrics Shed New Light on a Unique Stone Alignment at the Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County, Alta California.”California Archaeology. Vol. 7, No. 2. pp. 245-264.  http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1947461X.2015.1108565

IMG_5513Marine Plastic Debris and Tsunami Debris:  We got a grant to collect plastic debris on the Great Beach at the Point Reyes National Seashore.  Crab fishing floats, plastic water bottles, toys, shoes, cigarette lighters, etc.  Some of it comes from China, Japan, Korea, Washington, Oregon or Mexico.  We are connected to Asia by winds, currents and trade routes.

White Mountain Research fall 13 006White Mountain Research Center Cold Frame:  From 2008 until 2015 we maintained the highest cultivated ground in North America, at an elevation of 12,470 feet.  We successfully grew radishes, salad greens, potatoes and winter wheat.  Automatic vents and a solar powered pump kept the temperature and humidity steady.

Lamb Camp
Lamb Camp

White Mountains Stone Shepherd’s Huts and Shelters: Wing, Michael R.; Wing, Elizabeth H.; and Al-Jamal, Amin M. (2022) “The Distinctively Basque Stone Shelters of California’s White Mountains,” BOGA: Basque Studies Consortium Journal: Volume 9: Issue 1, Article 4. Available at: https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/boga/vol9/iss1/4/ Starting in 2016 we have surveyed over sixty stone structures in California’s White Mountains, most of them associated with 19th-century and early 20th century sheep herding.

June 2012 First GreenWorldwide Hypoliths Project:  Hypoliths are translucent stones colonized on the undersides by green films of cyanobacteria. They are found in deserts, alpine areas and polar regions.  We have deployed sets of artificial ones all over the world.  Astrobiologists are interested in this project, because of the possibility of life under rocks on Mars.

Author | Teacher | Scientist