At Pettengill, the students explored transitions in soil characteristics on the landscape and compared what they found in the field to how the soils are mapped in the areas’s soil survey, which describes and classifies soil types and properties of soils.
Students looked closely at soil structure, texture, and color among the different soil “horizons” — parallel layers of soil that have different characteristics from those above and below — that they unearthed.
“The changes that can occur within just a few feet of each other are incredible,” says environmental studies major Sam Gilman ’22 of Mendham, N.J. He and his lab partner, Zoe Knauss ’23 of Buffalo, N.Y., dug about eight holes during the course of the morning..
Ewing had prepared students (including one studying remotely in New Hampshire, who dug her own holes there) for their fieldwork by teaching them about differences in soils and what causes those differences, from redox reactions to erosion. “It's really cool to then have the ability to get outside and actually see how what we're learning in class applies to real landscapes,” Gilman says.
Fieldwork in Ewing’s class, including a recent trip to the local Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary, has been a blessing during a semester where so much has been curtailed due to the college’s public health measures.
“I’ve just been really thankful to have the opportunity to get off campus and get my hands dirty,” Gilman says.