Welcome to Biology class. In this episode, John Page paints a vibrant picture of a high school class learning the skills of observation from aboard canoes in the freshwater marshes of Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge. A closer examination than students expect reveals quite a lot about smartweed (Polygonum punctatum) and tearthumb (Polygonum sagittatum).

You just might agree with the closing words of a student, "Gee, I never thought that there could be so much to learn about two little plants."

TRANSCRIPT

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Chesapeake Almanac is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Saving the Bay through Education, Advocacy, Litigation, and Restoration. Find out more about our work to save the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed's rivers and streams, and what you can do to help, at https://www.cbf.org.

These readings are from John Page Williams, Jr.'s book, Chesapeake Almanac: Following the Bay through the Seasons. The publication is available in print at Amazon.com.