This week at my mentor site was a very cool experience. On Tuesday I spent the day reading about how to do a Habitat Assessment. Basically a Habitat Assessment is where you go out to the river and then a mile marker for that river and you assess the change in it from the last assessment. Habitat Assessments are done every 5 years, this is done because you want there to be enough time to see if there have been any changes in the river. On a habitat assessment form there are areas where you can mark the details of the riffles (the fast sections in the river). You mark the different rock types found in and around the riffle, as well as the look of the area around the riffle. Paying attention for erosion on the bank, the amount of hanging vegetation, what the surrounding flood plain looks like, what is beyond the river bank, and how far down the river you can see from the point you are at. After I read all about Habitat Assessments I then went out to try it all myself! So, the next day my mentor, Tiffany, and another intern, met me at the Big Darby Creek along one of the mile markers. We got to go down and Tiffany explained to us in a little more detail how the Habitat Assessment works. Together we filled out the form. After we finished up there we moved a little further down the road to the Little Darby. As we walked down to the next riffle area we were going to assess, we came across a beaver dam! We stopped and Tiffany told us a little bit about beavers! It was super neat to see the dam, but unfortunately we didn't see any beavers. Once we got to the riffle Tiffany let us do the assessment by ourselves. The assessment is rated out of 100 points and the closer to 100 you get the better the river is. I got an 87 the other intern got 88 and Tiffany got a 94. So in the end they were fairly close! I had a blast getting to go out and give this a try and I hope I will get another chance to do it!
Required Questions:
a) how does your website and blog showcase your mentorship experience?
I explain every aspect of my mentorship in my blog and I also put pictures up to give people a better look into what I'm doing.
b) what evidence have you posted on your website?
I have posted my blogs and pictures from my experiences.
c) what do you need to do to improve your website/blog?
Maybe add more pictures or a gallery page, and work some more on my blog entries.
d) what specific help do you need?
I need help with figuring out how to get my pictures to upload quicker because it takes awhile.
Required Questions:
a) how does your website and blog showcase your mentorship experience?
I explain every aspect of my mentorship in my blog and I also put pictures up to give people a better look into what I'm doing.
b) what evidence have you posted on your website?
I have posted my blogs and pictures from my experiences.
c) what do you need to do to improve your website/blog?
Maybe add more pictures or a gallery page, and work some more on my blog entries.
d) what specific help do you need?
I need help with figuring out how to get my pictures to upload quicker because it takes awhile.