May 12, 2017
Gundalow Field Trip

On Friday, we had a great sail on the Piscataqua River.  The weather cleared up and we had a beautiful day (in New England, we call a day without rain a beautiful day!) on the river.

We were greeted at the dock by Gundalow staff who then invited us to board in our three groups.  Once we were on the Gundalow, students went around in groups to three different stations.  At one station, students learned how sailors navigated the river by using compasses and other navigatioinal tools, but no GPS!  They also got to take the helm of the ship and pilot us up or down the river.  At another station, students took water samples and then examined them to identify zooplankton and phytoplankton.  The final station was below deck.  There students learned about the impact that humans have on the estuary.  At each station, I was impressed with what good listeners your children were.

In addition to the stations, we enjoyed raising and lowering the sail, singing sea shanties, listening to the sounds on the boat and sailing up to the mouth of the river and back down.  All in all a very enjoyable voyage!

Below are photos from our trip.