User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
Overall, the process of this field project has been a learning experience to say the least. From choosing a project that was interesting yet hard to test (mayflies in Northern Ontario), to creating my own traps for my new project and them being taken away from pedestrians, I would say that I have learned more than I thought I would. The first change I had to make was changing the entire project itself, then I thought I would create my own minnow traps to save some money, realized those didn’t work (and were taken out of the water by pedestrians), and then finally getting the help I needed by meeting Joe the fisherman and getting tips and real minnow traps for the crayfish. Throughout this entire process, I have gone from being really excited to see what I caught to very upset and frustrated when realizing it wasn’t working. This process allowed me to really open my eyes to ecological studies and experiments as I have gained a true appreciation for the patience, concentration, and time that goes into a ecological field study. I have also realized that although there is evidence of a particular process occurring in an area, these processes can be influenced by the environmental conditions, time of the year, and so on.
