The following writings and artwork were produced by children in Becky Rosenberg's 4th grade class at Lincoln Elementary School, Madison, Wisconsin, during the 1999-00 school year. Lincoln School has a diverse mix of children from many different ethnic backgrounds, with many children learning English as their second language. Also included here are some photographs of teacher Jeff Maas and his students.
The Maas classroom has a long history with the Pothole chronicles, beginning several years ago with Maas, David Wirth, Claire Seguin (Science), Katharine Goray (Art) and their students documenting the life of a "pothole" ten miles south of Madison. (to view the results of their work, click on Pothole above)
Our class, Room 16, fourth grade at Lincoln Elementary in Madison, has been doing a year-long study of a special ecosystem, called "The Pothole". Most people think of a pothole as a hole in the street that needs patching. But a POTHOLE in the environmental landscape is a small depression in the earth left by glaciers. Many potholes do not stay wet year round, and during times of drought, can remain dry for several years. Often considered nuisance spots and of little value by some landowners, these temporarily and seasonally flooded wetlands play a vital role for breeding waterfowl and other birds.
Temporarily and seasonally flooded wetlands are small and shallow, so they tend to thaw quickly and fill with water in the spring. Consequently, they provide food and water for birds when larger, permanent wetlands are still frozen. A pothole's shallow basin warms up easily in the sun, allowing for rapid growth of invertebrates, an important source of protein for nesting birds. Many bird species need shallow basins for feeding. Dabbling ducks, for example, prefer to feed in water less than one foot deep because they tip their bodies to feed; they don't dive beneath the surface. Many shorebirds hunt for food on mudflats exposed by water as it evaporates from potholes. Wetlands don't have to be wet year round to be functioning wetlands. Waterfowl especially depend on a network of temporarily flooded, semi-permanent and permanent wetlands for reproduction. They need them all.
Our Pothole (click here for an aerial view) is a Department of Natural Resources Wetland. Part of what makes this place so special is that it is an environmental treasure. There is a pond (about 100 yards long, which is as long a football field, and 45 yards wide, depending on the time of year and water levels), and a diverse representation of plant and animal life. Origianally, Mr. Jeff Maas' class (see above) started going to this pothole for field studies about ten years ago, along with one other class. While other classes have joined in and departed over the course of the study, Mr. Maas' classes have continued to observe and study the health and changes over time of this unique ecosystem. We were lucky to join them this year.
By year's end, we will have visited the pothole thirteen times for our field experiences. We went once each month up through March, and every Wednesday since March 1. We will have gone seven consecutive weeks before Spring Break on April 14, and will visit one last time when we get back. While our two classrooms are studying the Pothole ecosystem, there are two other Lincoln classrooms that are doing an ecosystem study at the Arboretum. At the end of the project, we will all get together to share and compare our studies.
The first several times we went to the Pothole, we were divided into about nine groups, each led by an adult. These first visits were spent getting acquainted with the place and practicing our observation skills. 
We have learned a lot of scientific and environmental things on these outings. We've honed our science skills by designing and using data collection protocol, taking detailed field notes, drawing representative illustrations, and by practicing the correct use of scientific language. The best part is that we are learning about the interdependence of this ecosystem. That means we are learning about how everything depends on everything else and needs the entire food chain to work smoothly.
"We saw six bird nests on this pothole trip. A miniature pine cone was by one of them...This is a picture of the pothole and the sedges and grasses that are surrounding it. We didn't see any birds, but I put one in there (the drawing) anyway. There probably were some. Milkweed was growing around the pothole. Some shells split in half and fluff floated out. It was very soft. Toby
"This is a deer track we found by the water in the mud. I tried to draw a picture but the wind was too strong. They looked really cool.
"Me Getting Muddy: When I was at the marsh we were walking on ice to get somewhere. I did not want to walk on the ice but the teacher said I had to do that. The ice broke! I was five feet away from land.
"I got stuck in the mud at least 7 times. I fell in the water, I mean the pothole.
"My shoe got sucked in the mud twice. I fell in the water once. We got lost in the dogwood forest. I fell in two mouse dens. Actually, three times. I had fun. by Drew
"At the Pothole I found milkweed plants. I picked one off. It looked like there was frost on it. They all had bent sticks holding it to the plants. The outside was white like snow. The inside was yellow like a pencil. The outside was very fuzzy. The milkweed was cut in half...In the milkweed there was a place for seeds but it was empty. by Becky
We went to the pothole and mushed around in the mud. Quinn got stuck in the mud and he could not get his shoe out. One of our stopping spots was a dogwood tree. The tree barely had any leaves. We weren't allowed to climb on the tree because it was not ours and we did not want to break it. We saw different long grasses. Some of the grass was still green. Under the long and mostly dead grass there is a lot of bright green grass or weeds that look like parsley or carrot tops. Shoshana
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Last update: April 14, 2003
Editor/publisher:Eileen Potts Dawson epottsdawson@madison.k12.wi.us
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