Students earn science credits on the river

Norwich University provides a four-credit Connecticut River trip course right before summer classes begins. This program allows students to take a semester-long class in 14 days and not worry about anything else, according to David Westerman, a Charles A Dana professor of geology.

This course is intended for non-science majors and starts with a four-day, on-campus period. During this time there are lectures and slide presentations on water chemistry, water pollution, flora and fauna of the river and valley, and geology of the Connecticut River valley. 

"It's a luxury, everyone is just focused on one goal," Westerman said. "That's all I do for that block of time I'm not dragged in all kinds of different directions."    

Having to be in class for 10 hours the first couple of days is nerve-racking, students say. However, having one class to focus on makes it easier to grasp the information, according to Alicia Hood, 26, senior communication major from Simi Valley, Calif. 

The classroom time may add up to that of a regular science class, but much of it is practical. "It's heavier on the experiential learning, the hands on," Westerman said.

Students are not only learning the material from the professors but are able to see it first hand while on the trip. 

Being able to canoe down river, hike up mountains, and study the geology and ecology of the Connecticut River makes the class more interesting, according to Jesse Mattson, 24, senior communication major from Essex, Vt. 

Students begin the nine-day canoe trip in Canaan, Vt., where they travel down the Connecticut River and end in Lancaster, Vt., stopping at various camp sites to collect data from the water and landscape. 

Being in the wilderness can have its ups and downs. Getting up at six every morning, preparing food and collecting data made for a long day.  

"It was fun, exciting, hard and tiring." Mattson said.

"Being outdoors and away from everything for nine days and getting four credits for a lab science coarse made science a lot more fun,"  Hood said.

Westerman said students are well looked after during the trip. If sick on the trip students split up their share to lighten the load till they are healthy again.

If any students need help beyond first aid, arrangements are made for them to go back home, Hood said.

At the end of the course students took the data they collected and did a write-up to see how the river changed as they went down the river.