Seventh Grade Deep Creek Trip
The seventh grade trip is a 3 day, two night, 15 mile journey down the length of Deep Creek. The primary focus is the study of snail and lichen populations as air quality indicators. On day one of the trip, students are driven to Clingman’s Dome to meet a Great Smoky Mountains Park ranger who teaches them park protocols for gathering data on both populations. After lunch, they hike to the headwaters of Deep Creek and gather the first data set. The rest of the day consists of hiking down the creek, setting up camp, and cooking dinner. Day two begins with gathering data near the camp site and then hiking further down the creek to another site. Students gather a third data set during the hike and another near camp that night. Day three consists of packing up and hiking the rest of the way out.
Upon returning to school, students organize the data and submit it to the park for use in their ongoing air quality studies.
In addition to providing the valuable science and service learning opportunities, the students come out of the trip with a heightened sense of place. Mountain Discovery students visit the Deep Creek trail and picnic area throughout their time in school, starting with multiple kindergarten field trips. Walking the entire length of the creek gives them a good feel for local geography. The trip also takes them through Bryson Place, Horace Kephart’s final campsite, and affords teachers the opportunity to begin introduction of the 8th grade Hazel Creek unit.