Sixth Graders Partner with Colorado University on Study of Invasive Species

The Marshall Sixth Graders are working with Akasha Faist, a Ph.D. candidate from Colorado University, on a joint study over the effect of invasive species on native plants.   The study will emphasize experimental design and compare the results found in our classroom at Marshall with the results from the study site located in Davis, California.   Ms. Faist will use Skype to deliver background information on vernal pools and goldfields, the native plant that is being studied.  She also will instruct students on the experimental procedure that they will use.   She sent the seeds and plant litter that includes the invasive seeds to Eureka for use in the experiment.   After four weeks the results will be analyzed and compared, not only to the results in California, but also to the results of former sixth grade classes at Marshall who conducted the experiment in the past.   Ms. Faist is using the information to write a case study that will be published in a scientific journal.  The information will be posted and shared on our class blog as soon as we have it.