Protect nature

On Thursday Classtopians went to the Debs Audubon center. When we got there we were told some rules. Those rules were that if you find something very interesting you always have to put it back where it belongs. There was also one more rule. That rule was that you are not aloud to touch dogs because they might have ran into a poisonous plant and if you touch the dog it will give you the poison.
While Classtopians were hiking we saw many interesting animals like Lizards, snakes, bull frogs and many birds. I have never seen any of those animals. I learned that animals are not scary and that you should protect them. A way that you can protect them is to make sure you do not throw trash on the ground. If you do the animals that live there might try to eat it and when they do, it will get stuck in there throats or stomachs and cause them to die. So you should always take care of nature.

This is a lizard that we need to protect.

This is a bull frog.

Snakes also need protection

A Trip Like No Other

Classtopians went on a field trip to The Debs Audubon center. We all thought it would be a regular trip. Like, just get there take a stroll around the place and do different activities, but no. We went to a park with a mountain/hill so we had to hike all the way to the tip top. We walked 3.02 miles! That was exhausting because we were not prepared for such a long walk. 

Going up a mountain/hill is hard work. It felt like forever trying to make it to the top. As we were hiking up we stopped a lot. Not for rests, it was to look at different plants and learn some history. When we did take a break we had to stop to at least 4 times because of how tired we were. The park ranger that was leading our class always said, “ Come on guys it just a bit farther, you can do it”. After a while we stopped believing her. But she was right because every step we took got us closer to the top.

Before we made it to the top and found a pond I started imagining that they would have lot of treats for us to eat and drink and a helicopter or ziplining to take us down. I really wanted to take a break for about an hour when realized that all that I imagined was not there. 

So I had to just suck-it-up and enjoy what was there. What luck! As we walked around we found a family of turtles, 2 male mallard ducks, and 1 bull frog. Once we finished our lap around the pond we hiked back down. I thought it would be longer but I felt like we had walked 5 minutes just to get down. My friends and I walked with my teacher and when we got to the bottom we all said "Wow that was really short".

Back at the center we found a shady place to eat our lunch. Once we were done 2 park rangers came out with snakes around their necks. At the sight of the snakes every one started running to see them. We all got a chance to touch them. There were 2 snakes. 1 king snake and a gopher snake. I was obviously scared so I just touched the tails.

It was then time to go and so we  got on the bus. I really liked that place except for the whole hiking thing. I really want to go there some time with my family, so they can see the place. The more I hike the better I will become. 

It is a really nice place. 

 This is a view from half way down.

This is a King snake.

The Discoveries Along the Hike

On Thursday, Classtopians went to the Debs Audubon Center.  It is a conservation center that has a lot of California native plants. It is located close to Downtown, Los Angeles.

We were greeted by the park ranger who gave us some information about the location and about the early people who lived in the area. Soon after that, we went to see the native plants since we love plants so much. We saw saw wild rose bushes, and they had a lot of thorns.


We then started on a long hike to the top of the hill.
About ten minutes into the hike there was some excitement. I spotted a snake! I screamed snake! Only the people near the back got to see it. But I couldn't take a picture because it moved too quickly back into the grass. Also, our teacher found a hole that might have belonged to a snake.

The hike was so difficult but we kept on going until we got to the very top. We did not expect to see water. There were so many trees that died because of the drought. But there was a pond and that was surprising. To be honest I hoping that there would been benches, ice cream, and some cold ice water. No, there was just a pond. After we recover a little and kept moving we saw two mallard ducks enjoying themselves. I wish we could have gone swimming with them. They kept moving us along until Christopher spotted a Bullfrog. He kept screaming and soon every saw it and started taking pictures. No one had ever seen one before.  There was also a turtle family.

The hike back down the hill a piece of cake. Everyone was hungry, thirsty, and dusty. Lunch was great.


Before we left there was big surprise from the Rangers. They brought out a gopher snake and a king snake. I touched one of them but did not enjoy it.  It felt too squishy. The ranger showed us its full length, and it was taller than some Classtopians!

Pretty soon it was time to go back. I hope to come back in the summer with my family!

The snake.

This hole might belong to a snake.

This is a picture of the two mallard ducks.