We Are Water

Water is an essential component to life and the development of life. Our bodies are one of the most complex systems anatomically known. It’s no coincidence that the two go hand in hand. Our bodies need water to survive and it is a balance, not too much, not too little. This balance can be altered by external and internal forces. External forces can include issues such as wind or elevation. Internally or balance of hydration can be effected by medical conditions or even the food we have eaten or how much of it we ate. Let’s explore how these variables can possibly effect how we feel and operate here in the mountains of Sunny San Bernardino. Get you pencils and a notebook kids. Prepare to learn about the ways your body operates with hydration in altitude and elevation.

 

First, let’s realize a few facts about water. We know it’s essential to our wellbeing and health but in what ways? Water helps us tolerate heat, altitude and cold. Have you ever been in the gym doing a sit up and think “wow, 60% of me is water.” That’s almost equivalent to the earth which is composed of about 71% water. When our bodies have too little water though it can lead to what we call dehydration. Essentially dehydration is a lack of water. This lack of water can exhibit itself in multiple ways such as, weakness headaches, irritability, nausea and vomiting. Patients can even experience signs and symptoms of shock and a change in mental status.

 

So now that we understand the issues of dehydration you are probably saying “So Toast how are we supposed to be able to avoid dehydration?” Well, have no fear. It’s easy to ward off dehydration. Much like most medical problems the main principle is prevention. Thirst, in fact, is a great determiner of when to drink. It turns out our bodies are pretty good at regulating our necessary water intake. Some individuals think it’s important to add salt or sugar to their water. But if you are eating a well-balanced diet this isn’t the case. When rehydrating be sure to avoid caffeinated drinks such as tea, coffee or alcohol, as these will only deplete water from your system. Keep in mind when hydrating cool water is also absorbed faster than hot water. So now you are probably saying “wow Toast you’re really smart!” Nonsense, I didn’t learn all of these things by myself. Science taught us the principles of dehydration.  One last note on dehydration. It can take time to become dehydrated. So consequentially it can take some time to become rehydrated. An individual who is severely dehydrated may even need help from a hospital with intravenous fluid therapy.

 

Here at Arrowhead Ranch one of the most common issues we see with our students is dehydration. This can affect their time here at camp and possibly make what could be a really fun experience less than enjoyable. We tell the students the first day that they need to drink 5 bottles a day to feel “normal”. I advise that any student coming up to camp brings a reusable water bottle. We do provide water bottles, but a personal water bottle helps teach responsibility, can hold more than 8 ounces and is better for the environment. Our cabin leaders and naturalists help promote drinking water by giving beads for each 5 bottles a student drinks each day. The best thing to do is to educate the students and encourage them to drink water.

Written By: Toast

Wild Observations

Everybody loves animals, whether it’s a dog, cat, or a rare species of spider only found in South America. Animals are great and actually very important for humans. The study of animals is zoology, now what all does studying animals entail? The most obvious is just observing them. Observation is the use of our five senses; hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, and touching. Scientist use their observational skills to study different species behaviors. That could mean observing them either in the wild or captivity. We can go deeper than just observing their behavior though. Scientist will look at their habitat, diet, and the impact humans have on them.

 

What is a habitat? A habitat is the natural home or environment of an animal. Now let’s look more in depth at the home of an animal. Food, water, shelter, and space; these four things make up what we consider a habitat. Zoos do a good job at trying to recreate the habitats of animals that are not native to where zoos are located.

 

Just like humans, animals need food to survive! Scientist like to consider an animal’s diet to learn more about how they live. Animals can be put into three categories; carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore. A carnivore is an animal that only eats meat, an herbivore is an animal that only eats plants, and an omnivore is an animal that eats both plants and meat. Now when dealing with diets we can consider food chains.Food chains are diagrams that show what eats what. For example, a grasshopper eats grass, a mouse eats a grasshopper, a snake eats a mouse, and a hawk will eat a snake. Food chains are important in having a healthy ecosystem. An ecosystem is the interaction on organisms and their environment.

 

 

Humans have affected animals in many ways. We have helped lots of species but we have also lost lots of species. Let’s think first about the negative such as encroachment of cities on habitats. Our population and cities are growing whether we like it or not and with growth means people need to live somewhere. Los Angeles county alone is 4,751 square miles large! Think of how many species of animals were driven out due to the growth of this city. Many nocturnal (night time) animals use night vision or their hearing to catch prey and cities are bright and loud. Diurnal (day time) animals need camouflage to sneak up on their prey and most animals don’t have camo to match cities. This leaves the animals with three choices; move, adapt, or die. Let’s talk now on the positive side of humans.In the United States the federal government will protect species that have low populations. These animals are referred to as endangered species. Killing of these species will result in large fines and jail time. You might think that’s harsh for just killing an animal but some of these animals help keep an ecosystem in check. Also in the United States, hunters and fisherman must abide by restrictions set by each states wildlife and fisheries agency so that the population of each species are at healthy levels.

 

Zoology has a lot to offer for not only helping animals but also helping humans as well. We are not the only species living on this earth so we should do our part to help the environment and protect all organisms. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” – Dr. Seuss from The Lorax.

 

 

Hot Sauce

Astrono-who? Astronomy!

Astronomy, the study of stars, may be one of the oldest sciences we study.  As we study astronomy we are beginning to see that it could, in fact, be one of our most important sciences. Some individuals even argue its importance when you look at the history of our species as well as our present situation and future too. This study also benefits us by providing a cultural identity.

Since the time of hunter gatherers our ancestors have found ways of navigating by using the stars; we are all descendants of astronomers! Long ago understanding the locations of specific stars and planets meant the difference between life and death. For those who lived in the northern hemisphere, they noticed that one star would stay at a fixed point in the sky while other stars would move around it in a circle. This is our Pole Star Polaris. Our earth sits at a 23.5-degree angle directing the north pole towards Polaris as well as resulting in the seasons. From noticing this pattern of a fixed point our past relatives perceived a way to understand our cardinal directions.

Polaris was not always our North Star though. Thousands of years ago while the pyramids were being built our original star that pointed North for us was named Thuban. Polaris can be the name of any Pole Star our current Pole Star was originally named Phoenice. In about twelve thousand years our new polestar will be Vega in the constellation Lyra. This is due to an interesting movement our Earth has called precession. While our Earth is tilted, revolving and rotating around the sun the process of precession gives our Earth a small wobble which causes a small imaginary circle in the sky every 26000 years.

Humans created their own images and pictures in the sky by connecting the stars. These recognizable patterns of stars are known as constellations. Over thousands of years and thousands of miles, different cultures created similar stories and pictures for their constellations. For example, The Pleiades are a cluster of stars that are most visible in the northern hemisphere during the winter. This star cluster is known as a nebula which is basically a nursery for stars. When we look at the Pleiades we are watching stars being born right before our very eyes. This prominent sight in the night sky has been admired by multiple societies including the Celts, Persians, Chinese, Sioux, and Aztecs.

 

To illustrate the similarities between the cultures we can look at the Greeks story and compare them to the Native Americans of Wyoming. Although both of these cultures were on opposite ends of the earth they both created stories similar in plots. The two stories illustrate several women who are sisters that are running from danger and eventually made it into the sky only to forever be chased. The Lakota told stories of the women running from bears. Greeks believed the sisters to be running from Orion the Hunter. Interestingly enough the Pleiades star cluster was used around the world in multiple cultures as an early eye chart. Individuals who could see five of the stars in the cluster were considered to have good eyesight, but those who could see seven or more stars were considered to have the best eyesight and sometimes became scouts because of this crucial observational skill.

Today at Arrowhead Ranch we are continuing the practice of this skill in teaching navigation through observation by reading the stars as well as understanding history and culture related to the stars. The night program we have at our outdoor science school conveys the importance of these teachings to our students. While on night time hikes students learn in depth about stars, planets, navigation, constellations and Astronomy. At the conclusion of the hike we leave the children with important skills and the ability to carry on the oldest traditions of one of mankind.

By: Toast

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/north-star-movement

https://www.naturalnavigator.com/find-your-way-using/stars

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/cosmos-a-spacetime-odyssey/

 

 

Is It Your Fault or Mine?

Today we’re going to talk about various geological formations at Arrowhead Ranch and how they were formed! Below, in the first picture, you are able to see Mount Baldy, a mountain visible from Strawberry Peak. Mount Baldy is part of the San Bernardino mountain range but is in fact on the opposite side of the San Andreas fault. The San Andreas fault is where the Pacific and North American tectonic plates meet and create a transverse boundary. A transverse boundary is where two tectonic plates slide against each other. The motion of two plates sliding against each other can cause earthquakes, which is why California has so many.

In the next picture you are able to see a variety of rocks and minerals that can be found at Arrowhead Ranch. The difference between a rock and a mineral is that rocks are made up of minerals which in turn are made up of elements. One of the most common rocks found at Arrowhead Ranch is granite, which is the most common intrusive igneous rock and also makes up the bulk of the continental crust. An intrusive igneous rock is a rock which cools beneath the earth’s surface. Because it cools beneath the earth’s surface, intrusive igneous rocks have larger crystals, which can often be seen. The granite seen around Arrowhead Ranch often contains three common minerals: mica, quartz, and feldspar. Mica is a flaky and black, quartz is a colorless mineral composed of silica, and feldspar is the one of the most common minerals in the world and can appear either white, pink, red, or even gray. In contrast to intrusive igneous rock such as granite, there are extrusive igneous rocks such as obsidian, a glassy black mineral often found in arrowheads, which cool quickly and hardens without crystals.

 

Water You Doing?

By: Mars

 

Vann, voda, vesi, aqua…water! No matter which way you flip it, turn it, roll it we need it! Water is the driving force behind many processes in this world, but where does it come from and where is it going…water, water are you doing?

Water moves in a cycle or a process that repeats itself. Basically, the water we see in the world is recycled. Let’s start with condensation. Condensation is the process where water vapor, like steam, is changed into liquid water, like we would drink out of a cup. When these water droplets combine with dust, salt, or other particles in the air they form clouds! As clouds continue to get larger and acquire more water droplets they could produce precipitation, the next phase in our cycle!

Precipitation is the means by which water falls from the sky! The water is not necessarily in liquid form. It could be in solid form too, like snow, sleet, or hail! Once the water reaches land it percolates. Percolation is the process by which the water makes its way through the ground. It seeps through the soil and makes its way to underground aquifers, big pools of water underground! Not all water has time to percolate. After water precipitates it can either land in a body of water, like a river or a creek, or makes it can make its way to a body of water through run off. Run off is when water rolls across the earth until it reaches a body of water. We have reached the next phase of the water cycle, transportation! Once all the water is together it is transported, or moved, to the ocean…eventually.

Once the water makes its way to the ocean, and sometimes even before, the water makes its way to the next phase of our cycle. Liquid water that is floating along in our streams and ocean can be changed into water vapor through a process called evaporation. This water vapor returns to the sky and eventually condenses into clouds, and just like that we are back at the beginning, right?! Not so fast, remember that water that was hanging out in our aquifer? Well that water can be transported and eventually makes its way into another body of water or plants can take it up through their roots! Plants need the water to help with processes like photosynthesis. Plants also give off water through their pores, this liquid water is changed into water vapor in a process called transpiration. The water vapor returns to the sky and eventually condenses into clouds, and just like that we are back at the beginning, for real this time!

The water we drink today could have rained down on the Earth millions of years ago, or maybe been a cloud just yesterday. The water we have is all the water we get! That is way it is really important that we take steps to protect our water from becoming contaminated with pollutants that hurt us and other organisms. Things like riparian buffers, construction and factory regulations can all help ensure that our water stays nice a clean! Clean water makes for happy and healthy organisms of all shapes and size, including humans. Let’s make sure we are doing our part! I have two challenges for you! Number 1: learn about a pollutant that may be affect water in your neighborhood. Number 2: make a lifestyle change or take an action that will help protect our water for future generations!           

 

Images

Water Cycle- http://ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-4-ecology/44-climate-change/water-cycle.html

Tree- http://www.clker.com/clipart-green-tree-21.html