{"id":3427,"date":"2011-09-11T09:20:12","date_gmt":"2011-09-11T14:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/?p=3427"},"modified":"2011-09-11T09:20:12","modified_gmt":"2011-09-11T14:20:12","slug":"khs-fall-field-trip-to-jewell-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/?p=3427","title":{"rendered":"KHS Fall Field Trip to Jewell County"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 17-18<\/strong><\/p>\n

I should have posted a few weeks back on this opportunity but it came upon me a bit quick this year.\u00a0 Usually the trip is held in early to mid-October.\u00a0 Did you have anything to do with this change, Stan?\u00a0 jk<\/p>\n

Well, since I missed seeing you all at the KABT meeting yesterday, I figured why not post on next weeks field trip and maybe I’d have the chance to catch up there instead.\u00a0 So, here goes…<\/p>\n

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Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Kansas Herpetolgical Society<\/a> has been holding field trip since its inception in the mid-1970’s, so I am told.\u00a0 The mission of the society is, as Joe Collins states on their website:<\/p>\n

…to encourage scholarship, research, and dissemination of scientific information through the facilities of the Society; to encourage conservation of wildlife in general and of the herpetofauna of Kansas in particular; and to achieve closer cooperation and understanding between herpetologists, so that they may work together in common cause.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Beside publishing a quarterly newsletter and then journal (see pdf archives<\/a>), the society has\u00a0organized a fall meeting, and a spring and fall field trip annually.\u00a0 This year’s meeting will take place on November 4-6 at the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita, KS.\u00a0\u00a0A\u00a0summer field trip was held\u00a0for the first time in more than 15 years this year as well.\u00a0 Although the society doesn’t\u00a0display photos of their trips via their website, you can become a member of a related Kansas Herpetology group on Facebook\u00a0that does.\u00a0 Travis Taggart also maintain the wonderful KS Herp Atlas<\/a>\u00a0(one cool thing you can do at the site is get a current listing of herpetological taxa by county).<\/p>\n

My Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been participating in the society since the mid-1990’s having been made aware of the society via Dr. David Edds at Emporia State University (thanks David!).\u00a0 I have taken students to participate in the spring and fall field trips for\u00a0over a decade now.\u00a0 You can\u00a0navigate to\u00a0my website <\/a>with pdf slideshows of our\u00a0past forays.\u00a0 In fact,\u00a0\u00a0view at least one\u00a0of these slideshows<\/a> would be the best way for you to get a feel for what the trips are like.<\/p>\n

For those of you that are now considering participation in the KS EcoMeet<\/a>\u00a0after yesterday’s introduction, I can say that my students have learned a lot on these trips over the years without realizing they were learning anything.\u00a0 In fact, our success in winning the state competition the past two years is likely attributable\u00a0their\u00a0scoring so\u00a0well on the herpetology taxa test.\u00a0\u00a0This year’s taxa test is on birds so it won’t help as much but…<\/p>\n

So, here is what I do every year to keep this going:<\/p>\n