[mcdude]

From the Baysider

Students learn history and science on trip to Knight's Pond
BY TIM CROES
Staff Writer
ALTON — Laurie Griggs, a social studies teacher at Alton Central School, recently
took her students on an interesting field trip in to Knight’s Pond. The pond is located on the border of Alton and Wolfeboro. Griggs took three student groups and visited
the pond on three different days in September. Each day, the groups were split into two groups, and they hiked the trail around the pond and met at a bridge at the other side of the pond. One group was guided through the area by Griggs and she explained the history of the property. The other group was guided by Sarah Dunham, who works at Prescott Farms. Dunham told the students about the
local vegetation and plant life that was growing around the pond. The group then met at the bridge, and they switched guides. Griggs assigned each student to write an essay talking about what life was like back in the day, or about the different types of wild life that they were surrounded by. Dunham compiled a list of
more than 30 different
COURTESY PHOTO
STUDENTS talk and discuss the different plants found along the trail at Knight’s Pond.
COURTESY PHOTO
CLASSMATES line up in the middle of a path where the two wooded sections
are completely different.
species and divided the list into edibles and medicinals. One of the more interesting
objects that was discovered during the walk was Chicken of The Woods mushroom. Dunham actually took the mushroom home and cooked it and brought it back in for the kids to taste. She said that it does in fact taste like chicken. Some other interesting species found around the pond include:Jack in the Pulpit (root), Hemlock Reishi (mushroom), Turkey Tail (mushroom), Hobblebush (berries) and Wild Sasparilla (root). During her tour, Griggs talked to the students about
logging of the area, sheep farming that occurred in the mid 1800s, different crops
and pastures that were laid out on the property and the evidence of stone walls that was used to keep animals out. At one point Griggs had the students stand right in the middle of the walking path and look in opposite directions and then compare the notes on each piece of property. The two properties varied
dramatically because one was heavily logged,while the other was virtually untouched. The field trip was definitely something that the students and enjoyed, and it was a great way to educate the students on the surrounding area by being outside of the classroom.