Students Enjoy Hands-On Education in the Woods
By Craig Reed
The Lookingglass Grade School fifth graders’ classroom was unique. Students sat on wood benches under a pole structure surrounded by a Douglas fir forest.
In mid-April, the students enjoyed a day of hands-on learning on the Douglas County School Forestry Tour at the county-owned Glide Educational Forest. The group hiked through the forest to visit 7 stations: fisheries, tree identification, archaeology, wildlife, forest products, forest management, and fire management.
Forestry and natural resources staff from the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, Douglas Timber Operators, and the Douglas Forest Protective Association shared knowledge at each station.
“I learned about compressed wood,” says Dalton James. “I learned that salmon go to the ocean and then come back. And that out of 3,000 (salmon) eggs, only 2 make it back. I also learned about leaves and that 3 leaves is poisonous (oak), and that needles on pine trees are leaves.”
Delilah Coello says she learned that “a whole bunch of things in your house come from wood.”
She also learned that lines in a tree tell its age. At the wildlife station, the students were eager to provide answers when playing a Jeopardy-like game. Under the definition category, they were asked to define “endangered,” “habitat,” “food web,” and “ecosystem.” Under the true/false category, 1 question was “Are bats blind?” The students had the right answer: “No, bats are not blind.”
The archaeology station offered students a chance to touch and hold several tools and weapons used by early clans and tribes when hunting. At the tree identification station, participants passed around and talked about samples of fir and pine needles.
Fire safety, fire behavior, and firefighting methods were discussed at the fire management station.
This was the 61st annual forestry tour. It’s the oldest forestry and natural resources-based educational program in the county.
5th-grade teacher Andrea Galvez says the tour was informative.
“I think the kids really did learn different things that day,” she says. “It’s good for the kids to know forestry is 1 of our bigger industries, how we interact with trees, and how extensive human involvement is with the forest.
Alicia Christiansen, forestry extension agent for the Oregon State University Extension Service of Douglas County, says 850 5th-grade students and their teachers and chaperones participated in the tour. She acknowledges forestry and natural resources can be complex, but she thinks 5th grade is a good time to introduce the students to the subjects.
“From my experience, fifth grade is a wonderful age for kids to learn about this,” she says. “These students are so curious. They ask a lot of questions. They’re really starting to understand and starting to grasp concepts. They seem receptive.”
After lunch, students participated in active, forestry-themed events. 1 favorite involved the students working in pairs to push and pull a crosscut saw through a 4- to 5-inch log. Another activity had the students working in pairs again, setting a miniature choker around a small log and pulling it around a staff member about 10 yards away.
Finally, the students visited a raised bed where they learned how to properly plant and care for a Douglas fir seedling. Each student went home with a seedling to plant on their family’s property or gift to a friend with property.
“It was a very fun experience,” Dalton says. Andrea says she thought the presentations at each station were made in an easy way for her fifth graders to understand.
“I always think it is worthwhile to have the kids out learning about things from community members who have the expertise,” she says.
For more information about the annual tour, call Forestry Extension Agent Alicia Christiansen at (541) 672-4461.