Bringing Forestry into the Classroom
Here are ways to incorporate science, math, and language arts while learning more about the forests that sustain us.
By Lynsey Peterson
Forestry is an interdisciplinary subject that can incorporate biology, ecology, measurement, mathematics, and even language arts. If you have just a few mature trees on your school campus, you can include a forestry unit in your curriculum. Teaching forestry is fun because it is naturally hands-on. Many students who have difficulties with scientific concepts will easily learn this applied science. Forestry could be easily integrated into elementary or middle school life science, or biology and environmental science courses on a high school level.
I begin my forestry unit with a discussion of the importance of trees. This is a good time to review or introduce photosynthesis and ecology concepts. To increase literacy skills, include books such as "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein - even high school students enjoy this story. As you progress through the unit, students can write about their own experiences too.
Next, we move on to tree identification. Students will need to be able to identify the most common species to the area and recognize that a diverse forest is a healthy one. Using a dichotomous key is the easiest way to quickly and correctly identify the trees. These vary by region and good ones are often produced by state universities and extension agencies. You can also purchase field guides to assist students. While trees can be identified according to their bark or other features, it is easiest to identify them according to their leaves. Because of this, I would recommend planning the forestry unit for late spring to early autumn. With a little practice, both you and your students can become more proficient in identifying tree species.
Once students understand that there are many tree species, we then explore more forest diversity with a look at tree rings. Every year, a tree adds new wood to its trunk. The early springwood is light in color, while the later summerwood is darker. These annual rings can tell us the age of the tree and the environmental conditions that it has experienced. Enough samples from a forest can reveal past events, such as fires and drought. If most of the large trees are about the same age, this can also tell you about human and ecological events, such as clear-cutting and secondary succession. Samples of live trees can be obtained with an increment core borer. The borer can be difficult to use on hardwood species, so a little beeswax and a lot of elbow grease may be necessary. Tree ‘cookies’ are also very helpful in understanding annual rings. You can purchase these or make your own by cutting thin slices of downed trees with a saw.
Other techniques will also help you understand more about the forest you are studying. A tangent height guide and a 100 meter tape can be used to determine the height of trees. The tape can also be used to determine the diameter of the tree, by first measuring its circumference and then converting into diameter using the equation Diameter = Circumference/Pi. These techniques use mathematics and trigonometry and will increase your students numeracy skills. The measurements that you obtain can be used in determining the market value of the trees in terms of the number of boards they could produce. You can also compare the ages, diameters, and heights of various tree species to illustrate how different tree species grow at different rates.
Though forestry is not always explicitly included in science standards, it can go a long way in helping students authentically understand concepts that are often taught in isolation. Plus, you never know when you might inspire a future forester. You can try some of the lessons below in your classroom.
Forestry Lesson Plans:
Students work in pairs to determine the age of a tree using two different methods in this experiment. They collect data about how trees change over time.
Forestry and Natural Resources
Students describe ways in which trees have been used in urban settings, their aesthetic value, the ways in which they affect air pollution and noise reduction, and how trees benefit the wildlife in an urban area.
Students explore the ways in which tree harvesting changes forest stand structure and how light affects forest stand dynamics. They identity six characteristics of forests affected by tree harvesting.