Lions & Tigers & Bears on Our Bay? Oh, Yes!

South Kingstown’s elementary students were riveted by a sweeping account of Narragansett Bay’s history in November. Capers Jones, member of New England’s Antiquities Research Association and author of The History and Future of Narragansett Bay, brought an extraordinary array of facts, figures and images spanning the origins of the bay through to the present day. Under the aegis of the district’s pilot Community Learning Project, the vivid presentation enabled students to project themselves back—way back—through the ages with ease and pronounced enthusiasm.

Until 15,000 years ago, Rhode Island was covered by glaciers between 500 and 5,000 feet thick. When the ice melted, the bay became a freshwater lake spanning Providence to Block Island. Low shrubs and evergreens grew in sheltered places and fish thronged the bay, streams, and ponds in a climate too cold for trees, mammals, or year-round settlements.


Animals that evolved in the cold of 8,000 years ago include the short-faced bear, large dire wolf, outsized American lion, saber-tooth tiger, giant beaver, wooly mammoth, and the great auk. The chipmunk, because it could live closer to glaciers, remains the only animal still around on our shores today.


Human history dates back 10,000 years as evidenced by local Native American artifacts. There also may have been European explorers as of 1,000 years ago; the first European visitor was confirmed in 1524. Early stone circles and structures now serve as local landmarks, like the Newport Tower, which remains a mystery as to when and why it was built. Notable local historical figures include Matthew Perry, treaty signer; Oliver Hazard Perry, naval commander, Thomas Lincoln Casey, monument designer; Anne Hutchinson, founder of Portsmouth; and Gilbert Stuart, portrait painter.

Encouraged to learn more about Narragansett Bay history, students were reminded of the wealth of opportunities nearby, including the Pequot, South County, and Herreshoff museums, and Smith's Castle.

When asked what they would like to have seen or done if transported back 10,000 years, the 1st through 5th graders expressed the gamut of practical possibilities. (And some, naturally, the improbable—but with impeccable use of the subjunctive.)

— “I would take chipmunks as pets. Why? Because they are so cute and I want to learn and observe the chipmunks.” [2nd grade—Carroll]

— “I would make shelter and find food and look for animals and make a fire.” [2nd grade—Carroll]

— “I would figure out what caused the weir to be there. I would also take pictures of the animals.” [3rd grade—Fogarty]

— “I would try to find a cave so I could live in it. If there wasn’t a cave, I would build a house out of wood.” [3rd grade—Fogarty]

— “I would want to hunt a saber-toothed tiger. I would want to build something that would be really cool like a huge stone building.” [3rd grade—Heid]

— “I would make a tree-house city for me to live in.” [3rd grade—Masson]

— “I think I would take photographs of animals like the saber-toothed tiger or the Native American lion! And lots more…” [3rd grade—Masson]

— “I’d study the plant and animal life that inhabited the land.” [4th grade—Cole]

— “A dolmen is a big rock. I would stand on it and try to hunt a wooly mammoth for food. There were also smaller rocks on the bottom of the dolmen.” [5th grade—DeFeo]

— “…I would make a hut. Then I would fish and hunt animals then I would use the animals’ fur for clothing and blankets and other things that I use now.” [5th grade—DeFeo]

— “I would try to build shelter and build rock walls in the water to get fish. I would build bows and arrows and make furs to put on.” [5th grade—DeFeo]

— “I would make a shelter, fire, get food, and then I would make tools to hunt and survive.” [5th grade—DeFeo]

By Jon Pincince & Rian Smith

Students Vow to Protect Their Watershed

The Narrow River is a narrow tidal inlet that opens into the Atlantic Ocean at Narragansett Beach. Its watershed constitutes 14 square miles along the river in South and North Kingstown and Narragansett that drain into Rhode Island Sound. Richard Grant, president of the Narrow River Preservation Association, and volunteers visited South Kingstown elementary schools to tell 1st through 5th graders about how they can help protect and preserve the Narrow River watershed.

Richard and his cartwheel team of volunteers, Rosemary Smith, Veronica Berounsky and Mary Jane Kanoczet first explained their mission: to restore, protect and preserve the quality of the natural environment and communities within the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River Estuary and Watershed. They work to keep the river clean and free of pollution so that both people and wildlife can continue to use the river safely.

A contoured model enabled students to visualize how water and other substances enter a watershed and eventually wind up in the river. Richard squirted water onto the sides of the model to demonstrate that a watershed is basically a basin, just like a sink or a bathtub. Water runs down the sloping sides of the basin and collects in an area at the bottom like a river, eventually draining out at the lowest point.

Photographs illustrated the watershed’s flora and fauna — osprey, ducks, flounder, sea stars, quahogs, and even oysters. A map detailed the roughly 8,000 acres of the Pettaquamscutt River Estuary, the coastal body of water where salty ocean tides and fresh river water merge.

While some land along the river has remained natural, some, of course, has been built up. Pollution found in the river is called non-point pollution since there is no one place, such as an industrial site, that is its single source. It comes from many different sources such as pipes that run into the river, fertilizer from lawns, septic systems, and bird waste. Detention ponds built at the opening of some pipes collect pollution and prevent it from entering the river.

One essential job is regular monitoring and testing the water by volunteers so that the Preservation Association can track of the cleanliness of the water with the help of URI.

What can students — or any of us — do to help the Narrow River?

1. Do tie into town sewers, or
2. Do inspect and pump septic tanks regularly.
3. Don't use lawn fertilizers or herbicides.
4. Don't dump lawn clippings, leaves or trash into the river.
5. Do operate watercraft responsibly.
6. Do pick up pet waste.
7. Don't feed waterfowl.
8. Don't put anything down the sink that you wouldn't eat or drink.
9. Don't dump anything down storm drains.
10. Do report any suspected problems to the RI DEM at (401) 222–1360.

To conclude, students were asked to write or draw in their journals about what they — as keepers of the Narrow River — had learned about protecting and preserving a watershed. Here are some of their responses:

— “Don’t put anything down the water drains. Don’t throw any stuff in the water.” [2nd grade]

— “I can help by not putting/dumping trash by the watershed. You do that because if you do it will eventually run into the river or ocean. It might even take months, but it goes down somehow. They build ponds to keep oil and other things out of our oceans and rivers.” [3rd grade]

— “I will help the watershed by: not polluting, not putting grass or leaf clippings into the water, not dumping waste into grates, and not LITTERING!” [3rd grade]

— “I think I can help the river by picking up a lot of trash.” [3rd grade]

— “How can you help the rivers? Do not throw garbage in the rivers. Did you know there are fantastic creatures in the bottom of the river like starfish and things like that? You can make rivers a better place!” [4th grade]

— “I can help by not feeding birds by the river, and telling my dad not to use a lot of fertilizer. I can not dump trash into/near the watershed.” [5th grade]

— “Do not throw trash in rivers. Do not feed the birds. Don’t use too much fertilizer. Do tell about a problem if there is one. The river is by Narragansett Beach. The Narrow River is also called the Pettaquamscutt River.” [5th grade]

By Jon Pincince & Rian Smith

Close Encounters with Narragansett Bay

South Kingstown, RI — November 2008

More than ten years ago, Rhode Island native Mark Hall felt compelled to provide hands-on, educational marine science programs for students and their families. So he founded Biomes Marine Biology Center in North Kingstown. In Novemer, Mark brought inhabitants of Biomes’ 600-gallon aquarium into South Kingstown’s elementary schools to allow students a close encounter with life in the waters of Narragansett Bay.

Mark told students that he fell in love with the work of the marine biologist back when he was in elementary school. After studying biology in college, he began to teach. He invited students to visit Biomes Center for fun ways to learn more about saltwater animals. The small size of the aquarium, he explained, allows you to get a closer look and do a lot of touching. “Our shark is very friendly—you can come right up and pet him! And we have a stingray—but do we pet the ray?” “No!” chorused students. And then they turned to the really fun stuff… the live specimens.

Out of Biomes’ travel aquarium first emerged… a splayed, knobby starfish. This five-armed creature, also called a sea star, has the impressive ability to regenerate arms if one is lost to a predator. “Yes, that’s right—a predator is any animal that eats others.” Sometimes a starfish re-grows not just one, but two arms—“I’ve even seen as many as eight arms!"

Another unusual starfish trait is its five eyes, one at the tip of each arm. The starfish does not see what we see, however: its eyes only perceive light and dark. Its vision is sufficient for finding the safest place to hide, like under rocks, always moving towards the dark. Starfish also have hundreds of little feet like suction cups under its arms which enable it to move around. (Click here to find out from Biomes how this ruthless predator eats!)

A wave of excitement greeted the next specimen: a sleek, gleaming horseshoe crab — a female, always bigger than the male. Perhaps the most interesting fact about horseshoe crabs is that they have existed in the same form since before the time of the dinosaurs — more than 300 million years!

The two bumps on the top of the crab are two of its nine eyes. While most of its eyes see only light and dark like the starfish, these two big eyes are compound eyes, like insects, each made up of hundreds of tiny eyes. Despite its intimidating appearance with its ferocious-looking tail, the crab is not dangerous at all and can’t hurt us. In fact, the tail has only one purpose: when turned upside-down, the crab sticks its tail into the ground and flips itself back over using its tail muscles. (Click here to find out more about this extraordinary survivor!)

So don’t ever pick up or carry a horseshoe crab by its tail, because you could harm muscles crucial to its survival. While horseshoe crabs are not yet endangered, today they are in more trouble than ever before.

And for the finale… a prickly, little fish. (Huh?) Mark won’t tell students its name… “You tell ME after it demonstrates a most distinctive skill!” Fish, unlike many other animals, tend to swallow their prey whole. So those that are too big to be swallowed stand a much better of chance of surviving. He held the fish underwater and… guess what happened when he tickled its belly?

The little fish ballooned to many times its original size! Mark raised the fish out of the water for students to see the change for themselves. “Why, it’s a pufferfish!” Gentle handling calmed the pufferfish down; it spat out the water it had swallowed to protect itself, and deflated back to its normal small size. (Click here to find out more about this fierce predator!)

This Norther Pufferfish lives only in cold waters. What might happen to this species if climate change makes the ocean temperature rise out in Narragansett Bay?

Concluding their encounter with some of the marvels of Narragansett Bay, students wrote and drew in their journals. Here is what some students at Matunuck Elementary School had to say:

• “I didn’t know the horseshoe crab was endangered.” [4th grade—Tuoni]


• “The horseshoe crab has been in our world for almost 300 million years. Horseshoe crabs are now becoming endangered. That is very sad.” [5th grade—DeFeo]


• “The pufferfish was so awesome! It was my favorite kind of fish; it puffed up because Mark tickled his belly to think he was being swallowed. When they think they are swallowed, they puff up so the bigger fish could not eat it and it would spit it out. I thought it was kind of secret weapon because the fish that wanted to eat the pufferfish would not know it was a pufferfish. The BAM, it would puff up. That seems cool!” [3rd grade—Fogarty]


• “The pufferfish swallows water so it can’t be eaten. A pufferfish can’t live in warm water or it will die. Global warming is hurting pufferfish.” [5th grade—DeFeo]


• “I never knew a pufferfish swallowed water to get big. I always thought it blows up its cheeks with air. Plus I always wanted to be a marine biologist like the guy in the presentation.” [4th–5th grade—Cole]


• “Narragansett Bay animals will be endangered if global warming gets bad. The pufferfish protects itself by swallowing water to get too big to be swallowed. Starfish have 5 eyes. One on each leg. The orange dot on starfish is where they swallow water. They have lots of suckers on the bottom of them.” [5th grade—DeFeo]
  

By Jon Pincince & Rian Smith
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S.K. Elementary Schools Community Learning Project
“My Place” will continue to cover heritage and history, marine life, aquaculture, agriculture, watersheds, and land conservation in and around Narragansett Bay through the fall. “My People” will address basic human needs and diversity during the winter; and “My Environment” will focus on natural processes and local flora and fauna in the spring.