Our school is located in Eden, NC.
Our squares of life were in a wooded area right outside of our school grounds.
The squares were located on a path that connects our school to the local park.
Our class was divided up into five groups. Within our five groups, we found all
sorts of insects. Different groups found ants, a fly, a mosquito, a horned
beetle, yellow jackets, spiders, earth worms, and inch worms. Within our
squares, we found grass, pine, sassafras, mushrooms, clovers, moss, persimmons,
walnuts, and even some red berries attached to a vine. With our squares being
located on a walking trail, there was quite a bit of litter located in our
squares as well. Some of our groups found pieces of plastic, paper, a coffee
cup lid, and even a golf ball (which we were sure had to have been hit from the
golf course across the street!).
When searching for a school
to compare, our class decided to compare our squares of life with Murphy Elementary School
located in Haslett, Michigan. Ms. Moore’s class found some of
the same insects that we did. They too found ants, flies, and mosquitoes. But
they also found butterflies, moths, a box elder bug, a cicada, dragonfly,
grasshopper, cricket, and ladybug! Whew! That’s a lot of bugs! In their squares they had most of the same
plants as we did. Ms. Moore’s students found grass, mushrooms, clover, and
moss; but they also found a dandelion. Like us, they found quite a bit of
litter. For instance, they found band aids, candy wrappers, pretzels, pencils,
and even pieces of metal.
We aren’t sure where there
squares of life were located in regards to their school’s location but we do
have to wonder if maybe their squares were on their actual school grounds. Our
class feels that they probably were due to the amount of litter that they
found. Most of the litter could all be found located around our school
buildings as bandaids, pencils, candy wrappers, and food are all things we see
regularly at school. As for their insects, we thought it was pretty neat that
we see most of those bugs here at our school in NC. Many of our classmates were
surprised and expected to have more differences in our findings because Murphy
Elementary is so far up north.
Overall, we really enjoyed
participating in our Square
of Life project. We
learned that even though we may live in different areas and climates, we still
have many of the same plant and animal life.