Field trip days were always my favorite as a child.

The brown bag lunch.

The diesel fumes from the bus.

The energy associated with missing a day of “real” school.

There was something special about going on field trips, a type of magic that can’t fully be encapsulated with words.

As a teacher, I hosted my fair share of field trips, and the feeling is slightly different when you’re the responsible adult in charge of navigating a day replete with counting heads, managing behavior, and handling obscene amounts of noise.

But just last week I had the opportunity to take a field trip as a participant – probably my first one in 18+ years.

It was just as magical as I remember from my childhood.

As an assistant professor of science education, I attend a few academic conferences throughout the year. Most recently, I went to the Association of Science Teacher Education in New Orleans, and one of the extra options was a day-long trip to the wetlands.

Heck yes.

Early in the morning, my brown bag lunch secure in my daypack, I boarded the hotel’s shuttle bus with 12 other science ed folks, all of us buzzing with excitement.

It was an easy 35-minute drive before we arrived at the Coastal Education and Research Facility, a building that, surprisingly, survived Hurricane Katrina only a little worse for wear. The first part of our day involved some educational games, informative discussions, and working with maps to understand the geography of the area.

Then it was time for data collection!

We eagerly herded outside towards the canoes, armed with refractometers (for salinity testing), nets, and scopes. My canoe partner and I took a hot minute to get acclimated to maneuvering, and then we paddled off into the inlets surrounding Lake Saint Catherine. We stopped from time to time to test the salinity of the water, often huddling together with the other “students” to hear interesting snippets about the ecosystem from our host. We even saw a nutria* waddle on by!

*Semiaquatic rodent, like a beaver

Being out on the water in the sunshine was refreshing, and time seemed to breeze by. Upon returning we ate our lunches on the rickety boardwalk overlooking the water. Pelicans entertained us with their shenanigans.

Back on the shuttle bus, we ventured about 10 minutes down the road to the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge. This precious place is technically located in New Orleans and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. One of their representatives met us there, taking us for a guided stroll along the boardwalk. She pointed out animal scat, topographical anomalies, and variations in vegetation that mirrored the slight changes in elevation.

There were birds.

There were cypress.

There was the beautiful camaraderie that comes from learning alongside other adults excited about all things science and nature.

All too soon it was time to head back to urban life in our high rise hotel. Sitting silently on the bus ride back, I reflected on my day-long field trip.

Meaningful? Yes.

Educational? Yes.

Way more appreciated as an adult than a youth? Yes.

Oysters for dinner. 🙂