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Purpose: To give students an opportunity to assist with gathering baseline documentation of the current topography of a land parcel adjacent to the school campus (for which the school has become stewards). This property may in the future have walking trails open to the schools and the community at large.
Length of Time Needed to Complete: Approximately one hour per one thousand linear feet.
Resources/Materials:
Per Group: One 10 foot rod (marked 1/2 foot intervals), hypsometer, meter or yard stick, two marking spikes, land plot map (with 50' x 50' grid) work sheet, topographical change work sheet, two clipboards, trundle wheel, trash bags / gloves, and compass.
Procedure:
Pre-Field:
Share with the students the reason for stewardship. Question the class on how we might measure elevations, leading to the tools we might use. Describe jobs: 1) elevation reader (rod), 2) level viewer (hypsometer), 3) leveler (hypsometer/stick3, 4) distance measure (trundle wheel), 5&6) marking spiker (two students), 7) grid point recorder, 8) elevation change recorder, 9) compass reader, 10) trash collector.
Give students practice on the school grounds before heading into the field.
In The Field:
1) Establish starting point on grid. Make it 100 feet in elevation.
2) Spike that point (first sighting is from this point).
3) Mark it on the grid map.
4) Find magnetic north.
5) Walk 50 feet north.
6) Spike that point.
7) Set rod at this point.
8) Place hypsometer/stick at first spike. Level hypsometer.
9) Sight to rod and determine rise or drop (nearest foot).
10) Record rise or drop for that coordinate.
11) Dot grid point.
12) Move spike and hypsometer/stick to rod coordinate.
13) Repeat steps 4-12 until grid line is complete.
14) Move 50 feet west and establish new elevation.
15) Travel in a parallel line to the first set of grid points.
Graph elevations on map grid and draw contour lines using 5 foot intervals (multiples of five).