APGAR – To many visitors, it may seem that there’s not a lot going on in the still and silent snow-covered forests of Glacier National Park this time of year.  However, as a number of Linderman Elementary School fourth graders can now tell you, winter is a time when many important ecological processes take place, and native plant and animal species are uniquely suited to deal with the season’s challenges.

Two fourth grade classes made the northward trek into the park last Friday to participate in a winter ecology field trip conducted by park rangers.

“We looked at snowflakes, snowpack – to see how much water we’ll have in the spring, animals that live in the snow, and the ways they’ve adapted to the environment,” said teacher Tami Morrison, providing an overview of some of the day’s educational activities.

For many students, the highlight of the trip was the afternoon showshoeing outing on trails near Lake McDonald, which provided the classes with a glimpse of a beaver dam.

Even familiar things like snowflakes inspired a new degree of fascination among students when they were viewed through a magnifying glass.

“Snow crystals have only five sides. That was pretty cool,” said student Justice Moore.

Kobbey Smith was also astounded by the complexity of snowflakes. “I learned that air and dust are in snowflakes,” said Smith. “I didn’t expect that there was dust in snow.”

The trip into the park is an annual event for Linderman fourth graders. Classes that did not embark on last week’s field trip will make their own voyage to Glacier this week.