Field Work

In addition to the reading and composition assignments indicated in the syllabus and list of assignments, students are expected to participate in one of the following practical or field work assignments. The purpose of the field work is to correlate direct experience and observation with the theoretical components of the course. A detailed report on one of the work areas must be submitted on a date to be determined and placed on the calendar file.

Field Area I Abbo's Alley Ravine Garden

Using both available maps and on-site observation, conduct a general ecological and environmental assessment of the present state of the ravine garden from the sports center to the edge of the bluff. What is the condition of the stream and bankside? What caused this condition? What in the planning stages of gym construction could have been done to avoid this outcome? How would you have drafted the guidelines to be used in this construction? What are your suggestions about how Abbo's Alley should be managed?

Field Area II Ravine Parallels

Conduct a walk through of each of four ravines: Woods Lab/McCrady Ravine, Abbo's Alley, Lake Cheston/Clara's Point, and Armfield Bluff. Write a narrative description of each ravine noting the general features of stream quality, vegetation, houses, presence of trash, wildlife, and other pertinent features. What arguments can you advance both for and against developing the Lake Cheston/Clara's Point Ravine as a garden park for new housing? What arguments can you develop for leaving the area "natural"?

Field Area III St. John's/Day Lake

Visit the Day Lake tract, observe the lake from the dam, observe in detail the dam and the area at either end including the face of the dam and the spillway. On a topographic map, trace the course of water which would result from dam failure from the lake to the Tennessee River. Visit St. John's church [preferably on a Sunday] and include in your account a description of the stream valley around St. John's. How many houses might be affected by the catastrophic failure of the Day Lake dam?

Field Area IV Trash Inventory

Select two of the following sites and inventory [i.e., count & classify] every piece of trash on the site [including bottle tops and cigarette butts]: the road to the Cross from TN/KY Ave. to the Cross; the Breakfield Road from the Dairy Barn [art studio] to the Stable; Willie Six Road from St. Augustine's Ave. to the Highway; "Golf Course"Road from the KA corner to Greensview; Abbo's Alley; and Curlique Road from the Breakfield Road to Morgan's Steep. For road areas your survey should include an area on both sides of the road reaching fifteen feet from the edge. For Abbo's Alley, you should cover the entire alley--from South Carolina Ave. to Texas Ave.--up to the edges of the improved areas that border the alley. What general observations do you draw about the origin and distribution of the trash you have logged?

Field Area V Walking Journal

Purchase a standard composition book at the Supply Store and keep a walking journal of observations and reflections made by walking [or biking] around Sewanee. The journal must contain a minimum of three observation accounts per week for twelve weeks. Entries should be a minimum of one paragraph in length. Your entries should be more than lists, but might include sketches of trees, counts of wildlife, your reactions to mowing or to the sounds of streams, solitude or distraction on your walks; you might include hand maps of the places you walk or even record a conversation you had with someone along the way. This journal is not meant to be simple log of your walks. Instead you should use the experiences and observations as occasions for extended meditations or reflections which you develop in the journal. Note: This assignment can be completed in addition to any of the other field work assignments.

Field Area VI Site Photographic Documentation

Select and describe a site on the Domain you believe to be of ecological as well as aesthetic significance. Make a detailed photographic [slide] record of the site. Include with the slides a sequential list and a general commentary on the site you chose. Indicate the ecological, environmental, aesthetic or cultural reasons this site is important. For purposes of this assignment, a "site" may be understood to be a ravine, a stand of trees, a distribution of spring wildflowers, birds in a specific tract, the course of a single stream from spring to escarpment, or it might be the entire margin of a pond or a swamp bottom. Or, the "site" may be a collection of places such as micro-thickets, gullies, or the composition of a footpath. Your photos should include both perspective and close-up shots, and there should be not less than 72 frames in your documentation.