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Hera · 01-09-2013, 03:41 AM

Herbology Lesson One Continued

Seren lead the students across the grounds and into the castle, after what felt like a while walking -- perhaps because she wasn't used to venturing into the castle, she came to a halt in from of a cordoned of part of the first floor.. the Weasley Swamp.

The legendary portable swamp created by Fred and George Weasley was once large enough to consume the entire middle section of the first floor corridor, leading from the Dark Arts office to the History of Magic classroom. Nowadays, only a small section of the corridor is roped off in tribute of the redhead twins' swamp, but it is a historic section nonetheless.

The remaining swamp still SMELLS like authentic swamp, LOOKS like authentic swamp, BUBBLES like authentic swamp and would likely suck you in like an authentic swamp.

Lesson Progression Continued:

Swamp Characteristics?
Magical Plants
Functions of a Swamp?
Diagram & Annotations
Dismissed!

DaniDiNardo · 01-09-2013, 09:02 PM

Lex dropped her bag over by the wall like she was instructed then shoved her way to the front of the group so she could get a better look at the thing. Tall people needed to be considerate. Obviously they should have known to MOVE if they were gonna be freakishly tall~~er than her~~ so she could see. Merlin!

Now then. The swamp.

There was a difference?!?!?! Didn't they just all have mucky water and cool swamp creatures? ...All these years...had she been living a lie...?

Her attention shifted to the Professor when she asked her question. Salt water versus fresh water.

Wasn't that answer a tad bit...er...well...obvious? One had salt and the other didn't. Things were that simple. There was no need for some long explanation about that...but then...if that was the case, then why did so many of her classmates have so much to say about it???

She herself didn't bother giving an answer, no, she had a question. "If there are differences in the two, does that mean one would find completely different creatures in each and then does that mean they wouldn't be able to visit each other?" Could the fresh waters critters visit the salt water ones? Did they like have swamp parties as well? Those existed...didn't they?

freddy-finn · 01-09-2013, 09:33 PM

Audrey raised her hand and said "My sister says that saltwater marshes are fertilized with bird poo," she'd lost the wealth of book knowledge she had; Audrey was too distracted with how cool the indoor swamp was. She eased closer to the front, suddenly feeling the urge to reach in and touch the smelly marsh. She went to stuff her hands into her pockets to refrain from doing so, but there were no pockets in her uniform skirt. She clasped her hands together and looked longingly at the swamp.

'Just poke it, just one little poke..' Audrey tried to shut her brain up. Nononono.

DarkStorm · 01-09-2013, 09:34 PM

Text Cut: Professor Seren Bentley

Harvey followed everyone else to where they were going and he was surprised there was a swamp there, but that soon was overtaken by the smell of the swamp. He had been near a few to be used to the smell and sight of the swamp so he didnt have the usual reaction that other people had. He then listened as Professor Bentley talked about the very brief history of the swamp before telling them to drop their bags. So he dropped his bag and went back to the swamp to have a look at she told them about the two types of swamps and ask them for a characteristic of a swamp. He put up his hand "They are usually found near rivers or lakes" he answered the question before looking back at the swamp wondering what they were going to do with the swamp.

Somnium · 01-09-2013, 09:52 PM

Taylor raised her hand and glanced at the swamp before looking at the professor again, "Professor, swamps are usually warm... so wouldn't they perhaps be more common around the equator?" She blushed and tried to hide her face by looking down.

MagicalWorld · 01-09-2013, 09:55 PM

Text Cut: Head of House

Dylan sighed a little he really wanted to know what this surprise was, and his Head of House was kinda putting off the surprise that he really wanted to know of. But looks like he would have to wait for the surprise, so he patiently waited while the others gathered around the swamp and the professor.

Text Cut: Head of House again

Dylan listened what she said about the history of the swamp, why would he want to know about that? So he ignored that part, he didnt want to know where it came from all he wanted to know was what he could do with it. He dropped his bags where he was told to and listened as the professor told them about two kinds of swamps, there two kinds? good thing there werent anymore! Characteristics? he didnt know any except that he could see it was smelly and bubbly "Smelly and bubbly?" he answered since he didnt know anything else about swamps other than what he could see there before him. But he was kinda right.. yeah? cause it was bubbling a bit and it did smell.. so those were the right answers.. well.. sorta.

Princesspower · 01-09-2013, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

She quite liked the swamp.. even with it's aroma and the sounds.. oh the sounds...

It was exciting stuff.

Oohh good question.
"Nothing can survive without ecosystems... but ecosystems are forever changing, they adapt, but they will always be there just perhaps not as they used to be."

But in terms of magical influence...
"We can alter or manipulate conditions through magic... so in a sense we can sustain particular ecosystems, yes."

"There are typically two categories of swamp, the first is fresh water and the second is salt water... can anybody offer me a characteristic for one of them?"

Sarah was satified with the answer she was given and nodded. She then put down her satchel and took out her writing implaments and opened her notebooks to the first page. She was going to try and write neat this year. Sarah, as usual had a lot to say about both, yet the teacher requested only one so she had to choose. She raised her hand and then chose. "The water in a freash water swamp originated from rain,"

LilFox06 · 01-09-2013, 11:22 PM

Anya laid her bag against the wall before rejoining the class. Hmm... the difference between freshwater and saltwater swamps? Well... there were the obvious things... like... salt content... and the type of animals that would be there. So... she should think of something more interesting to say.

She thought for a moment before she raised her hand. "Water levels in freshwater swamps tend to fluctuate because of rain and seasonal flooding." In fact, some got so much rain, they were in danger of flooding.

Tazenhani · 01-09-2013, 11:42 PM

Breigh glanced skeptically at the designated wall for books, bags and things. Then it was a wary glance down at her own books, held tightly against her and then at the growing pile in that area. With a sudden start Breigh took a step back and shook her head, as if the wall itself had beckoned to her. Nope. No way. None at all. She was NOT - would NOT - chance putting her things where it was likely some other hand would pick them up.

No. No. No.

Clutching them ever tighter to herself, Breigh glanced around at the bubble of answers pipping up from every which way. Her brow furrowed and her lips pursed into a thin line. Was public school always so noisy or disorganized? How was ANYONE supposed to get a word in edgewise if there was no order to this process?

Huffing out a breath of air, Breigh made sure her arm was tightly secured on her books: she HAD an answer to the question and if everyone else was insisting on shouting out, then she supposed following suit was the best way to be heard. With determination, she thrust her other hand high above her head - at least no one could say she hadn't TRIED to take a proper turn. "Frogs don't live in salt water swamps. They can't, else they would shrivel up and die."

Yup. Shrivel and die. There was proper scientific terminology at its best.

pundantic · 01-10-2013, 12:05 AM

SPOILER!!: Bentley

Selina did not know a lot about swamps except for what she had read in fairytales, which did not paint them in the best light. But what she could assume from Bentley's question was from what she knew about Salt Water vs. Fresh water in general. The same rules had to apply at least somewhat. And if she were wrong then she would accept that and buckle up to learn something new. Besides, she always liked listening to Bentley anyway. She was notoriously awesome.

So she raised her hand and threw out there, "Well Professor, can't certain organisms only survive in certain water types? Its because of the oxygen content or something? So that would mean that certain plants would not be able to survive in one swamp versus another." That sounded right.

Lissy Longbottom · 01-10-2013, 12:14 AM

A fact about saltwater or freshwater swamps? Hmmm. Alex had to think about that one. He bounced on his toes a couple of times to try and get his brain going, and he finally came up with a fact a few minutes later.

"I think freshwater swamps are homes to alligators. But they're only in the United States," he added. And thank GOODNESS for that!

Govoni · 01-10-2013, 12:43 AM

SPOILER!!: Hera

Hmph. Everyone had already given lots of great answers...It took a few moments for Dylan to decide what he could really offer, as far as factual information went...

"They're characterized by slow moving water..."...It was general for all types of swamps..."The smell is awful because the water is basically stagnate."...Random things he knew growing up in America. Once again, the Slytherin was grasping at things to offer. "Several different types of the more dangerous breeds of Snakes live in them."

Smirks and such for those in his immediate vicinity.

WeasleyGirl · 01-10-2013, 01:32 AM

Nina dropped her bag away from the swamp because she didn't wanted to get it dirty and took out her notebook and a quill to start taking notes. The first question was about characteristics and she wasn't an expert on swamps but she was going to try anyways.

Raising her hand the girl said "They aren't very deep" right?. She had no idea of anything else.

AlwaysSnapesGirl · 01-10-2013, 01:44 AM

The swamp was pretty neat, Penelope had to admit. She hadn't expected this to be what they would be learning about in this lesson, so this would definitely be interesting. After setting her bag to the side against the wall, she pulled her notebook out and got ready to take some notes, which it seemed was the only thing she would be doing for this first question. The few answers she could think of were already used by the other students, and she didn't feel like repeating anything right now. So the third year simply remained silent and jotted a few things down in her notes as they went along.

oh its Erik ok · 01-10-2013, 02:25 AM

Nigel went and put his bags away. He did not want to get any of the swamp on his stuff. It would take valuable tie to get it off. He took out a notebook and went back to where Professor Bentley was.

"Well I know that they are not that deep and Anaconda's and alligators live in swamps. Also Swamp Thing but that's a whole other story."

Nigel believed that Swamp Thing was real. Since magic was real, why couldn't Swamp Thing

TeafortheSoul · 01-10-2013, 02:46 AM

West put his bag down and put his hand up. "I don't know much about swamps." He admitted, "but swamps are one of the four main kinds of wetlands along with marshes, bogs, and fens."

He had QUESTIONS. SO many questions. Was it time for questions yet???

emjay · 01-10-2013, 02:50 AM

This swamp had been here for years and years? How had he not noticed it last term? If he had, Ethan was sure to have been down here regularly to study it in detail.. But all that mattered was he was here now and his slightly widened green eyes flickered to every corner of the mini wetland, taking in the aquatic vegetation and occasional insect.

He stared for a while, leaning a hand on the rope at the front of it, and became increasingly aware of a question being answered by his classmates. Something about a characteristic of swamps.. Willing himself to focus on the other answers so he didn't repeat anything, the boy listened for a moment then raised his hand.

"There are very few trees that can grow in a saltwater swamp because of the salt content in the water," he started, thinking that might have been somewhat pointed out by someone else. "But one that does grow there is the Mangrove tree.. and they can grow well there because of their unique root system. They look like a tangle of vines that grow out from the trunk and branches.. and they can get carbon dioxide from the pores in the roots above ground if they can't get enough through the very wet soil." And yes, they also did that stuff that Spike said about keeping sediment from washing away.

demented_death_eater · 01-10-2013, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

Alright, enough dilly dallying.. if there were laggers they could answer to her later.
"So as you can see, the second part of today's lesson will be a case study of the Weasley Swamp. Now I'm not a history teacher, so if you have any questions about its origins I suggest you consult Hogwarts, A History or alternatively go see Professor Scabior, I'm sure he'd appreciate your questions." Oh how priceless that would be. She really did hope at least one or two of them would do and take up his time.

"For now, just drop your bags against the wall so that you're comfortable... and you'll need to take notes."

Now, to see what they already knew about swamps.

"There are typically two categories of swamp, the first is fresh water and the second is salt water... can anybody offer me a characteristic for one of them?"

Rawdon knew something about saltwater swamps because two summers ago, the family went on holiday to Florida. It was hot, humid, and it didn't cool off at night. But it was fun doing Muggle stuff and watching the gators. I wonder if a gator would survive in this swamp . . . a baby gator. It would be easy to sneak one in here and set it loose 'cause like no one is watching.

He listened to the other answers and realized it was time to state a true fact that might sound a bit funny. Rawdon raised his hand. "Saltwater swamps are the home to many different types of birds, and their poop fertilizes the swamp. You know, the mud and soil and trees growing in it all nourished by bird doodoo."

Grin. He said it like a true Vindictus.

lazykitty · 01-10-2013, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unalii

Taylor raised her hand and glanced at the swamp before looking at the professor again, "Professor, swamps are usually warm... so wouldn't they perhaps be more common around the equator?" She blushed and tried to hide her face by looking down.

Sky looked over at the girl that had said that swaps were mostly near the equator with a 'crazy girl say what?!?' face. "Not much for geography are you? The last time I checked, there were swaps in both Louisiana and Florida, neither of which are near the equator. Not unless the U.S. has somehow magically broken away from Canada and Mexico and floated down there." Merlin, where had that girl gone to school? A barn?!?!?

As for the professor's question...... "Along with what my other," ~~smarter~~ classmates have said, swaps are a excellent breeding ground for mosquitos and other insects. Gross. And speaking of which, one landed on her arm, just to prove her point. She smacked it away and waited for the professor to continue the lesson.

Cassirin · 01-10-2013, 03:34 AM

Hmmm. Mo finally made his way up to the front to peer into the rather stinky old swamp. Smelled terrible. Looked like a pit. It was awesome. What lived in there? How did it stay so wet all the time? Why didn't the professor flip out about the smell? There were just so many questions that he had.

"I think that saltwater swamps get their water from flooding and draining along the ocean coasts, Professor." Mo edged closer to the swamp, just in case they were going to get an opportunity to search for wildlife or something. He wanted to be first. "The high concentration of salt is probably really... inhospitable to most plants and animals, but the ones who can survive and thrive there are super hardy."

Luna_Midnight · 01-10-2013, 03:47 AM

The swamp was pretty cool, that was one thing that Nerida had to admit. The Weasley kids sure were impressive and to think the thing used to massive!! She set her bag near the wall, and took out her notebook ready to take some notes on the cool thing. Not even worried that her bag had fallen over. Characteristics of swamps?? That weren't already taken up by other students... Hmm.. Wasn't that book that she watched about swamps when she had gotten grounded? Oh yes! She raised her hand and said "The high salt content makes such swamps a forbidding habitat for most plants." Hopefully no one had said that yet...

Rosa Chispa Princessa · 01-10-2013, 06:13 AM

Oichi was in shock when they took a walk over to the school and she saw a swamp in the castle and then was told it was the Weasley swamp. Huh, that would be almost a century old by now. She thought Hogwarts staff would have figured out something to get rid of that swamp by now. Or did the professor go to Weasleys Wizard Wheezed, now that would make more sense. Either way it was a swamp in the castle, this was just odd on so many levels and Oichi had so many questions about it. A question was asked and she raised her hand to answer along with asking some pressing questions of her own. "Professor, is this an almost century old swamp or did you mean you went to Weasleys Wizard Wheezed to get the materials for this. Also how does a swamp survive in the castle. This place cannot be an optimal environment for a fresh or salt water swamp, can it? As for your question, salt water swamps usually hold an ecosystem of plants and animals that thrive on high levels of salt in their environment". Man this class is plain freaky weird.

Hera · 01-10-2013, 08:47 AM

SPOILER!!: Responses

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88

Alyssa placed her against the wall before listening as Professor Bentley posed her next question to the students.

'What were the characteristics of a a fresh water or salt water swamp?' Alyssa thought to herself. When she thought that she had the answer, she raised her hand and answered.

"Professor a saltwater swamp is normally found in the inter tidal zone between the ocean and the land. It is formed mainly by sea water flooding and draining into that specific flat lane and are common in river estuaries, in bays, and behind dune-protected seacoasts."

"Very good," she nodded... though it sounded as though the girl was reading it from a book. Fancy that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PotterHeadforLife

As Bentley said, Kat placed her back against the wall. She also took out her parchment and quill for more note-taking. Yeah, maybe they were going to be copying stuff about swamps. Then the blonde waited for the questions to be raised.

Characteristic of either fresh water or salt water. Uhm, well. It was good cos she could only choose ONE out of the two and only state ONE characteristic. Saving up for the rest, too. Good idea. Kat raised her hand. "Fresh water has low salt concentration which is ideal for some aquatic plants and animals that cannot take or survive water with high salt concentration, like the sea." Cos seas were salty. Her brother said so cos he tried tasting it. Merlin, it was awkful. Eek.

"Yes, absolutely." That made perfect sense, of course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordred

Mordred was about to raise his hand, but Alyssa's was already raised. As he listened, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

Heh. She pretty much covered everything about Saltwater Swamps. Maybe a little more detail?

As soon as Alyssa was done reciting, he raised his own hand and answered Bentley's question. "Professor, Saltwater Swamps as what...Alyssa said occurs along estuaries near the seacoast. Salt-tolerant trees collectively known as Mangroves dominate such swamps and these are valuable nurseries to fish and shellfish." Mordred said and lowered his hand.

He looked at the swamp before them and studied it. "That thing is definitely not a freshwater one...or maybe it is." he thought and waited for the others to answer.

"Yes, very good... they also serve another purpose but we'll get to that later."

Quote:

Originally Posted by CassiopeiaAKTF

A swamp in the first floor corridor? Daichi followed the rest of his classmates as they traveled from the greenhouse to the castle. What was up with Professors anyways making them walk back and forth? First in Divination class where they had climbed the looooong staircase only to get back down and now here they were going back to the castle. Oh well, atleast he could excersise a little...

Coming to a halt, the Slytherin looked at the swamp and immediately pinched his nose with his fingers. Ewww, it smelled like a swamp alright. "Salt water is salty" he answered. How was he supposed to know about different kind of swamps?! He would be learning it now when the professor continued the class...he hoped.

Seren almost laughed. "Good duduction."

Quote:

Originally Posted by xXxPandora

She listened to Professor Bentley answering Aurora's answer as she carefully propped her things against the wall as they were instructed to do. She took out her notebook and quill before returning to the group, giving particular attention to the swamp. There were creatures in that. And there should be various kinds of plants.

Now that she thought about it...most of the plants ought to be aquatic, granted it was a body of water...well, technically. So they were working with water plants after all. Just like the ones inside the tanks back at the Greenhouse.

Yeah? There was a high possibility, right?

Chicken-scratching on her notes, the Ravenclaw raised her hand as a question was asked. "Professor, freshwater swamps are mostly found inland." So the Weasley swamp ought to be one, yes?

"That's correct."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

A case study? What was a case study anyway?

Sierra wondered this, but she had no desire to actually ask about it. For one, she was one of those students whose favorite part of class was the dismissal. Who cared what a case study was. She'd just do it, get it over with, and then hopefully be ready to leave.

Yup. This sounded like the perfect plan.

She got some note-taking materials out her bag then dropped the bag against the wall. So...a swamp, hmm? She raised her hand. "Well, I know swamps have to be near a river or at least some other body of water," she said, "because they rely on the changes in the river's water level in order to get the things they need to...well, survive. I guess they'd dry up otherwise."

"Fresh water swamps... yes, correct," she mused.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ ExpelliarMOOSE

There were salt water swamps? Oakey had no idea they existed!
Did that mean that salt water swamps had salt water animals in them?
Oakey imagined a terrifying fin popping up out of the water in the swamp along with some terrifying orchestral music to boot.
No, no Oakey! Sharks wouldn't live in swamps that's just stupid.

According to most of the other students though there were Salt Water Swamps. He didn't like how Bentley said Fresh Water Swamps either
Fresh and Swamp were two words that did not work well with eachother in his opinion, and he just shook his head at it.

Seren's gaze passed over Oakey. He was quiet. She only hoped he wasn't having a mental breakdown, otherwise she would have to insist he drop her class... the boys fear was, unnatural.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachieRu

Swamps. This was his first Herbology lesson really? This was not fun. But swamps were kind cool too As long as he didn't really need to go in one. Hmm. Did he know anything about swamps? Well he was just about to say the salt-water ones must have been salty. It was in the name, but someone stole his answer. Pfft. How rude. That meant he needed to think of something else. Which was kind of annoying. He thought for a few more minutes, well more like a good 5 minutes. Maybe herbology wasn't his thing. Finally he did raise his hand though. "Well...salt-water swamps are usually found on the coast? Which makes sense since they have salty, sea water in, which could be from the sea which is also salty?"

Also a bright young lad. Perhaps he and Daichi shared a dorm? Because they were clearly on the same wavelength. "Yes, very good."

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowSeawinds

Rowan was still baffled by the fact that she'd had no idea there was an actual swamp INSIDE the castle. She retrieved some parchment and a pen for notes from her bag, then set the bag against the wall. She really knew nothing about swamps. She quickly wrote on her parchment:

She raised her hand. "Are saltwater swamps the result of flooding from coastal waters? The plants and animals in a saltwater swamp would have to be tolerant of salt. It would probably have plants like reeds and grass. Maybe even have a crocodile or two."

Well this girl wasn't so good with sticking to a single characteristic, was she?
"Yes, adaption, that's a very good point," she replied, deciding to focus on the girls comment about salt tolerance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermygirl

Spike's guess had been right. They were heading for the swamp. And now that they were here, he peered over the ropes. He'd always wanted to to get a closer look.

Maybe now was his chance.

As Professor Bentley said to put their bags to the side and get their notebooks out, however, Spike's grin faltered with a little pout. He was started to get the vibes of a theoretical lesson. Sure, he was still very interested in the subject matter, but it just wasn't the same as being hands on.

Ah well.

He scribbled a heading in his notebook, before raising a hand to answer the question. "Both types have trees, though of course the species varies according to the type of water. They're essential in keeping the swamp, well, a swamp, as they help keep the sediments in place rather than washing away with any water movement, and it's the sediments that hold a lot of the nutrients to maintain diversity."

Spike. Was on a roll today, and she liked how he commented on their similarities. "Well said Spike."

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

Ella had always thought it to be quite cool, the whole having a swamp in the castle thing. She supposed the Professors weren't too happy about it at first but hey, it was coming in handy now! ...Even if she'd much rather be out looking at those really cool tanks.

Characteristics of swamps, eh? Ella didn't know too much actually but she was pretty sure that swamps were often surrounded by trees. Oh and that...well they were near sources of water where it couldn't just like...drain out. That meant that the land didn't slope really, yeah? Raising her hand, the blonde waited quietly for her turn to speak. "Professor, I believe plant life around swamps mostly consists of trees." And this was because...well because the soil was always soaked, yeah? Rather than just being watered occasionally.

"Generally speaking... yes, though some are dominated by tall grasses." It was all about location, location, location.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emzily

Theo wasn't a happy boy. And you could tell by his face.

He hadn't caught anything apart from the question, but all he could manage was, "Dirt." Nope, not even a raised hand there. This was not Theodore Kinsley's natural habitat.

Arching an eyebrow in response to Theodore's response, Seren observed him. Was he alright? He wasn't about to puke or anything was he?

"Dirt, unless specified is not a characteristic." The boy probably had dirt on his shoe...

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Jory placed his bag against the wall as the Professor had suggested and got out the stuff he would need to make his notes. He raised his hand for the first question. "Freshwater swamps are usually wooded areas,'' he said.

Seren considered the Badger's response. Nodding in agreement.. "Usually," she emphasised.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DecemberMoon

Eliza followed the line of students until she stopped dead in her tracks to promptly place a hand over her nose and mouth. "Ugh!" The smell was creeping into her nostrils, like a dank moldy dungeon. Ew, she thought as she peeked around her fellow classmates to see what all the literal stink was about. A swamp? Not the driest or prettiest thing ever to study, but I guess they're important too.

She lowered her hand to try to get used to the smell. The gurgling and bubbling wasn't very pleasant either but she just tried to pretend it was green paint or pea soup and not a fly swarmed swampland. As for characteristics, she raised her hand to say a pretty obvious one. "Well, I think both types have algae and moldy type things... And um...there aren't any alligators or anything in here are there?" Because at this point, it really wouldn't surprise her.

Seren nodded, "yes, and that's due to the moisture.." because obviously swamps were wet.
"Oh heavens no." No. The school couldn't justify that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpfan18

SPOILER!!: Prof Question

As Belle entered the first floor, she heard all the noises of what a swamp would sound like. She heard the frogs, the bird chirping and felt the moist humid air in the room. Hmmm now this lesson was going to be interesting. The professor instructed them to put away their bags and she put it on the clean side. Then she took out her notebook and sat down with it.

As she opened her notebook, Belle heard the professor ask a question. What are the characteristics of a salt water and fresh water swamp. Belle had no idea and had to rack her brains from memory. Belle then raised her hand, "Professor i know a freshwater goes by another name called flood forests. Fresh water swamps happen seasonally.."

Then Belle took a breath and talked about Salt Water Swamps. "A Salt Water swamp is usually around really forested areas. Mostly nature's animals sometimes live in salt water swamps like turtles and fish."

Seren nodded, "It goes by many names, including wetlands, bogs, marshes, bottomland, fen, mangrove, moor and the list goes on. These may vary from culture to culture and scientifically, as they generally have a distinct characteristic which sets them apart."

Seren nodded. Very good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverYours

Drop bag and take notes? Seemed simple enough, Bliss thought as she took out her notebook, along with a ready-to-write quill. Then skillfully ~~threw~~ placed her bag down by the wall and headed over to join everyone as they stood around the portable swamp. It was...in all honestly...amazing. Bliss had never seen anything like it before. If it wasn't a swamp and if it wasn't a completely ridiculous thing to do, she would totally jump in it. No joke. =|

LET'S SEE. Notes, notes and more notes.

Bliss wrote down what everyone was saying, as it all seemed like good information to know, so it was worth jotting down obviously. Finally, Bliss raised her hand to offer up her own answer. "Er, well...I believe that most freshwater swamps provide excellent ecosystems. Mainly because they are full of many nutrients," and breathe. The third year was happy with that answer and she hoped that the Professor was too. She actually felt smart after saying it.

"Mmm yes, but I wouldn't call that a characteristic, and certainly not one which separates fresh water swamps from salt water swamps."

Quote:

Originally Posted by ortalismusicoh

A surprise in the castle? Interesting.

Renesmee followed along witht he others and almost wanted to have an utter clean freak attack when she saw a SWAMP! EWWWWWWWW!! She wanted to just scream and flail and be all girly and run as far away from the swamp as she could, but she knew how rude that would look and knew it wasn't a good idea.

Instead she tried to focus on what Bentley was saying then rather actually looking at the swamp. Right. Drop your bag on the floor. She did that. Notes. Righty notebook and quill she got them out and was then ready.

Swamp characteristics? Yeah, that definitely wasn't going to help take Nessie mind off the fact that she was standing right beside one. "Whether this is a fresh water or salt water it doesn't smell very nice." That supposed to be uttered more to herself, but Ness had a tendency to say things too loudly sometimes and so it was likely others had heard. But hey, it was true? The swamp did smell badly in Nessie's opinion.

0___o Was that all she had to offer?

"Thank you for your opinion... It's been most helpful."
Yes, she used sarcasm... it felt good... she rarely used sarcasm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bubbles

So her question wasn't answered, but Professor Bentley did mention the answer she was looking for would be in a book (Booo!) or she could ask this Professor Scabior person. She'd do the latter since Peyton wasn't patient enough to read over a book.

Back to note taking...she'd also have to look into getting a fancy quill that wrote everything down that was being said. Her mother has one, but refuses to let her borrow it. PFFFFT. The woman needed to learn to share. PFFFT! Anyway, she'd have to use her hand for the mean time. The third year wrote down Professor Bentley's question and was about to raise her hand to say something when...someone said what she was going to say.

Oh, booo!

The answers just kept coming when she finally raised her hand faster than a lighting bolt when it strikes. "Freshwater swamps are at least 1 to 6 feet in depth." There. A characteristic.

"Most... not all."

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemon

The swamp was DISTRACTING. Alice was so busy staring at it that she was tuning out Professor Bentley, but she managed to catch the question. Her relief at the easiness of the question was obvious in her expression. "Professor," she began, tossing her hand up in the air. "Loads of young marine animals find food and shelter in saltwater swamps, so many ocean species enter coastal wetlands to spawn." Mhm. There were a bunch of baby animals in the salty places, apparently.

Could they have ANOTHER easy question after this? Because she enjoyed the lessons where she had a little bit of an idea about Bentley's topics.

"Correct, very good," she replied, nodding. "And they serve another purpose as well.." which they'd get to soon enough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Lex dropped her bag over by the wall like she was instructed then shoved her way to the front of the group so she could get a better look at the thing. Tall people needed to be considerate. Obviously they should have known to MOVE if they were gonna be freakishly tall~~er than her~~ so she could see. Merlin!

Now then. The swamp.

There was a difference?!?!?! Didn't they just all have mucky water and cool swamp creatures? ...All these years...had she been living a lie...?

Her attention shifted to the Professor when she asked her question. Salt water versus fresh water.

Wasn't that answer a tad bit...er...well...obvious? One had salt and the other didn't. Things were that simple. There was no need for some long explanation about that...but then...if that was the case, then why did so many of her classmates have so much to say about it???

She herself didn't bother giving an answer, no, she had a question. "If there are differences in the two, does that mean one would find completely different creatures in each and then does that mean they wouldn't be able to visit each other?" Could the fresh waters critters visit the salt water ones? Did they like have swamp parties as well? Those existed...didn't they?

"Of course they'd be different. The salinity in salt water swamps inhibits the ability for typical fresh water swamp plants and animals to grow... so naturally those that inhabit salt water swamps are designed or adapted to cope and thrive in those conditions."

Quote:

Originally Posted by freddy-finn

Audrey raised her hand and said "My sister says that saltwater marshes are fertilized with bird poo," she'd lost the wealth of book knowledge she had; Audrey was too distracted with how cool the indoor swamp was. She eased closer to the front, suddenly feeling the urge to reach in and touch the smelly marsh. She went to stuff her hands into her pockets to refrain from doing so, but there were no pockets in her uniform skirt. She clasped her hands together and looked longingly at the swamp.

'Just poke it, just one little poke..' Audrey tried to shut her brain up. Nononono.

"Well your sister is a bright young lady," she replied nodding, "that's absolutely correct."

Quote:

Originally Posted by EW_FAN

Harvey followed everyone else to where they were going and he was surprised there was a swamp there, but that soon was overtaken by the smell of the swamp. He had been near a few to be used to the smell and sight of the swamp so he didnt have the usual reaction that other people had. He then listened as Professor Bentley talked about the very brief history of the swamp before telling them to drop their bags. So he dropped his bag and went back to the swamp to have a look at she told them about the two types of swamps and ask them for a characteristic of a swamp. He put up his hand "They are usually found near rivers or lakes" he answered the question before looking back at the swamp wondering what they were going to do with the swamp.

"Fresh water swamps," she specified, "yes."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unalii

Taylor raised her hand and glanced at the swamp before looking at the professor again, "Professor, swamps are usually warm... so wouldn't they perhaps be more common around the equator?" She blushed and tried to hide her face by looking down.

"No. Swamps may occur anywhere there is a large body of water. Anywhere from Scotland to Australia.. and they're certainly not equatorial."

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagicalWorld

Dylan sighed a little he really wanted to know what this surprise was, and his Head of House was kinda putting off the surprise that he really wanted to know of. But looks like he would have to wait for the surprise, so he patiently waited while the others gathered around the swamp and the professor.

Dylan listened what she said about the history of the swamp, why would he want to know about that? So he ignored that part, he didnt want to know where it came from all he wanted to know was what he could do with it. He dropped his bags where he was told to and listened as the professor told them about two kinds of swamps, there two kinds? good thing there werent anymore! Characteristics? he didnt know any except that he could see it was smelly and bubbly "Smelly and bubbly?" he answered since he didnt know anything else about swamps other than what he could see there before him. But he was kinda right.. yeah? cause it was bubbling a bit and it did smell.. so those were the right answers.. well.. sorta.

"They are... but they're not the characteristics we're looking for."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Princesspower

Sarah was satified with the answer she was given and nodded. She then put down her satchel and took out her writing implaments and opened her notebooks to the first page. She was going to try and write neat this year. Sarah, as usual had a lot to say about both, yet the teacher requested only one so she had to choose. She raised her hand and then chose. "The water in a freash water swamp originated from rain,"

"Rain, yes... particularly through seasonal flooding but also through drainage."

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilFox06

Anya laid her bag against the wall before rejoining the class. Hmm... the difference between freshwater and saltwater swamps? Well... there were the obvious things... like... salt content... and the type of animals that would be there. So... she should think of something more interesting to say.

She thought for a moment before she raised her hand. "Water levels in freshwater swamps tend to fluctuate because of rain and seasonal flooding." In fact, some got so much rain, they were in danger of flooding.

"Yes, very good."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tazenhani

Breigh glanced skeptically at the designated wall for books, bags and things. Then it was a wary glance down at her own books, held tightly against her and then at the growing pile in that area. With a sudden start Breigh took a step back and shook her head, as if the wall itself had beckoned to her. Nope. No way. None at all. She was NOT - would NOT - chance putting her things where it was likely some other hand would pick them up.

No. No. No.

Clutching them ever tighter to herself, Breigh glanced around at the bubble of answers pipping up from every which way. Her brow furrowed and her lips pursed into a thin line. Was public school always so noisy or disorganized? How was ANYONE supposed to get a word in edgewise if there was no order to this process?

Huffing out a breath of air, Breigh made sure her arm was tightly secured on her books: she HAD an answer to the question and if everyone else was insisting on shouting out, then she supposed following suit was the best way to be heard. With determination, she thrust her other hand high above her head - at least no one could say she hadn't TRIED to take a proper turn. "Frogs don't live in salt water swamps. They can't, else they would shrivel up and die."

Yup. Shrivel and die. There was proper scientific terminology at its best.

The abruptness of the Gryffindor's response startled her. Shrivel up and die? Well... she wasn't wrong.
"Yes... which then tells us that some plants and animals have adapted to salty conditions."

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

Selina did not know a lot about swamps except for what she had read in fairytales, which did not paint them in the best light. But what she could assume from Bentley's question was from what she knew about Salt Water vs. Fresh water in general. The same rules had to apply at least somewhat. And if she were wrong then she would accept that and buckle up to learn something new. Besides, she always liked listening to Bentley anyway. She was notoriously awesome.

So she raised her hand and threw out there, "Well Professor, can't certain organisms only survive in certain water types? Its because of the oxygen content or something? So that would mean that certain plants would not be able to survive in one swamp versus another." That sounded right.

"In this case it's less so oxygen, and more to the salinity levels. But yes, very good."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

A fact about saltwater or freshwater swamps? Hmmm. Alex had to think about that one. He bounced on his toes a couple of times to try and get his brain going, and he finally came up with a fact a few minutes later.

"I think freshwater swamps are homes to alligators. But they're only in the United States," he added. And thank GOODNESS for that!

"They are, very good."

Quote:

Originally Posted by THE Govoni

Hmph. Everyone had already given lots of great answers...It took a few moments for Dylan to decide what he could really offer, as far as factual information went...

"They're characterized by slow moving water..."...It was general for all types of swamps..."The smell is awful because the water is basically stagnate."...Random things he knew growing up in America. Once again, the Slytherin was grasping at things to offer. "Several different types of the more dangerous breeds of Snakes live in them."

Smirks and such for those in his immediate vicinity.

Was Dylan attempting to out do his peers? By offering more than a single characteristic.. hhmm..
"Slow moving, yes.." she replied, nodding, focusing on a single aspect of his answer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeasleyGirl

Nina dropped her bag away from the swamp because she didn't wanted to get it dirty and took out her notebook and a quill to start taking notes. The first question was about characteristics and she wasn't an expert on swamps but she was going to try anyways.

Raising her hand the girl said "They aren't very deep" right?. She had no idea of anything else.

"Generally... no. But never underestimate a swamp, there are some deep ones, ones that could, surprise you."

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl

The swamp was pretty neat, Penelope had to admit. She hadn't expected this to be what they would be learning about in this lesson, so this would definitely be interesting. After setting her bag to the side against the wall, she pulled her notebook out and got ready to take some notes, which it seemed was the only thing she would be doing for this first question. The few answers she could think of were already used by the other students, and she didn't feel like repeating anything right now. So the third year simply remained silent and jotted a few things down in her notes as they went along.

A pensive Lion... Seren smiled to herself before moving on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meizzner

Nigel went and put his bags away. He did not want to get any of the swamp on his stuff. It would take valuable tie to get it off. He took out a notebook and went back to where Professor Bentley was.

"Well I know that they are not that deep and Anaconda's and alligators live in swamps. Also Swamp Thing but that's a whole other story."

Nigel believed that Swamp Thing was real. Since magic was real, why couldn't Swamp Thing

Swamp thing?
Seren simply nodded, agreeing with what she understood of the Ravenclaw's answer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

West put his bag down and put his hand up. "I don't know much about swamps." He admitted, "but swamps are one of the four main kinds of wetlands along with marshes, bogs, and fens."

He had QUESTIONS. SO many questions. Was it time for questions yet???

"Very good. Generally people use the terms interchangeably, depending on cultural backgrounds and so forth...but they do have their own distinct characteristics which sets them apart from the others."

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

This swamp had been here for years and years? How had he not noticed it last term? If he had, Ethan was sure to have been down here regularly to study it in detail.. But all that mattered was he was here now and his slightly widened green eyes flickered to every corner of the mini wetland, taking in the aquatic vegetation and occasional insect.

He stared for a while, leaning a hand on the rope at the front of it, and became increasingly aware of a question being answered by his classmates. Something about a characteristic of swamps.. Willing himself to focus on the other answers so he didn't repeat anything, the boy listened for a moment then raised his hand.

"There are very few trees that can grow in a saltwater swamp because of the salt content in the water," he started, thinking that might have been somewhat pointed out by someone else. "But one that does grow there is the Mangrove tree.. and they can grow well there because of their unique root system. They look like a tangle of vines that grow out from the trunk and branches.. and they can get carbon dioxide from the pores in the roots above ground if they can't get enough through the very wet soil." And yes, they also did that stuff that Spike said about keeping sediment from washing away.

"Yes, very good Ethan."

Quote:

Originally Posted by demented_death_eater

Rawdon knew something about saltwater swamps because two summers ago, the family went on holiday to Florida. It was hot, humid, and it didn't cool off at night. But it was fun doing Muggle stuff and watching the gators. I wonder if a gator would survive in this swamp . . . a baby gator. It would be easy to sneak one in here and set it loose 'cause like no one is watching.

He listened to the other answers and realized it was time to state a true fact that might sound a bit funny. Rawdon raised his hand. "Saltwater swamps are the home to many different types of birds, and their poop fertilizes the swamp. You know, the mud and soil and trees growing in it all nourished by bird doodoo."

Grin. He said it like a true Vindictus.

Bird doodoo. Well that was one way of putting it.
"Absolutely, very good," she nodded her approval.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty

Sky looked over at the girl that had said that swaps were mostly near the equator with a 'crazy girl say what?!?' face. "Not much for geography are you? The last time I checked, there were swaps in both Louisiana and Florida, neither of which are near the equator. Not unless the U.S. has somehow magically broken away from Canada and Mexico and floated down there." Merlin, where had that girl gone to school? A barn?!?!?

As for the professor's question...... "Along with what my other," ~~smarter~~ classmates have said, swaps are a excellent breeding ground for mosquitos and other insects. Gross. And speaking of which, one landed on her arm, just to prove her point. She smacked it away and waited for the professor to continue the lesson.

Seren wasn't sure she liked students interfering by correcting their peers... on the other hand, it was collaborative learning... and she hadn't been incorrect. Hhmm. She'd let it slide this time.

"Insects, yes, very good." Moisture attracts and all that jazz.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Hmmm. Mo finally made his way up to the front to peer into the rather stinky old swamp. Smelled terrible. Looked like a pit. It was awesome. What lived in there? How did it stay so wet all the time? Why didn't the professor flip out about the smell? There were just so many questions that he had.

"I think that saltwater swamps get their water from flooding and draining along the ocean coasts, Professor." Mo edged closer to the swamp, just in case they were going to get an opportunity to search for wildlife or something. He wanted to be first. "The high concentration of salt is probably really... inhospitable to most plants and animals, but the ones who can survive and thrive there are super hardy."

"Yes! Very good... these are called adaptions or specifications, it's like considering the progress of life, we evolve, we become stronger, adapt to our environment."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luna_Midnight

The swamp was pretty cool, that was one thing that Nerida had to admit. The Weasley kids sure were impressive and to think the thing used to massive!! She set her bag near the wall, and took out her notebook ready to take some notes on the cool thing. Not even worried that her bag had fallen over. Characteristics of swamps?? That weren't already taken up by other students... Hmm.. Wasn't that book that she watched about swamps when she had gotten grounded? Oh yes! She raised her hand and said "The high salt content makes such swamps a forbidding habitat for most plants." Hopefully no one had said that yet...

"Exactly right... the plants that do enjoy the salinity do so because they have adapted to the conditions over time."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosa Chispa Princessa

Oichi was in shock when they took a walk over to the school and she saw a swamp in the castle and then was told it was the Weasley swamp. Huh, that would be almost a century old by now. She thought Hogwarts staff would have figured out something to get rid of that swamp by now. Or did the professor go to Weasleys Wizard Wheezed, now that would make more sense. Either way it was a swamp in the castle, this was just odd on so many levels and Oichi had so many questions about it. A question was asked and she raised her hand to answer along with asking some pressing questions of her own. "Professor, is this an almost century old swamp or did you mean you went to Weasleys Wizard Wheezed to get the materials for this. Also how does a swamp survive in the castle. This place cannot be an optimal environment for a fresh or salt water swamp, can it? As for your question, salt water swamps usually hold an ecosystem of plants and animals that thrive on high levels of salt in their environment". Man this class is plain freaky weird.

"This is the real deal," she replied nodding, or at least, it was the real deal to the best of her knowledge. Heck it had been there when she was student. "Magic... knows little bounds," she said by way of explanation.

She wasn't an expert on creating these things, she was an expert in understanding naturally occurring ones, their roles, functions, care requirements and so forth...

Seren nodded as Oichi touched on the adaptation characteristic.

Good. Good... this was progress.

"Good effort, all of you," she started, but to ensure they all got these notes down, she would reiterate. "So in terms of salt water swamps... we know they are found in tidal zones, often on tropical coastlines where there is more torrential rainfall and tidal flooding. The wildlife are specific to these regions due to their adaptation to salinity, mangroves, fish, crocodiles and sea birds to name a few, are common inhabitants. Bird droppings fertilise and deliver nutrients to the swamp water which then leaches down to the root systems... and it's a great location for spawning." They all knew what spawning was right? Because she was not about to explain that one.

Fresh water, was probably her favourite. Stealing a gaze at the Weasley Swamp, she admired it before turning her attention back to the students.
"Fresh water swamps are found inland, they form around lakes and rivers and are usually the product of heavy rain and seasonal flooding... they have low levels of salinity which is the primary characteristic that separates it from salt water swamps..."

"There are a few characteristics, which are applicable to both. Firstly, insects.. they thrive in conditions with high moisture, secondly, the water is more often than not , slow moving." She paused to ensure they were all getting this down. "This moisture also supports the growth of algae and lichens in the area.. and lastly, swamps are generally characterised with the presence of large or thick growths of trees, shrubs or high grasses. These are in fact, another adaption... as they trap the sediments so that the water doesn't wash them away and erode the swamps geography."

"Now there's a couple more things we need to go through before our final activity."
Seren paused briefly to take the opportunity to check the time on her pendant watch, and then continued.
"Now we've identified numerous characteristics, but can anyone hazard a guess what type of magical plants are best known to inhabit swamps? Any ideas?"

OOC: ONE IDEA ONLY PLEASE (each). The lesson will continue in approximately 17 hours. (:

Mystic Melody · 01-10-2013, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

"Now there's a couple more things we need to go through before our final activity."
Seren paused briefly to take the opportunity to check the time on her pendant watch, and then continued.
"Now we've identified numerous characteristics, but can anyone hazard a guess what type of magical plants are best known to inhabit swamps? Any ideas?"

Melody quickly scribbled down her notes then gave some thought to the question that was asked. There was one magical plant she knew of that grew in water... now if it inhabit in swamps that was a different question.

Melody raised her hand and waited to be called on.

"What about gillyweed, ma'am?"

pinkphoenix · 01-10-2013, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

"Now there's a couple more things we need to go through before our final activity."
Seren paused briefly to take the opportunity to check the time on her pendant watch, and then continued.
"Now we've identified numerous characteristics, but can anyone hazard a guess what type of magical plants are best known to inhabit swamps? Any ideas?"

Orr put up her hand and said, "What about Pounce Stink? It likes salt and fresh water which makes it versatile for any type of water swamp."

TeafortheSoul · 01-10-2013, 09:44 AM

Hand UP!

"Lots of flesh-eating trees can be found lurking around swamps professor. Like the Swampy Sycamore, on account of it likes the muck and the wet. Especially the wet." He doubted there were any of those in this swamp though. THAT would be cool.

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