A Logged Forest Looks Like...

It's my last night in the forest but I thought I'd show you some highlights of my final day in the forest.

The most significant thing I saw today was the damaged that remains when a forest is logged. Logging is the process of cutting down trees.

Usually when trees are cut down, they whole tree is used to make something, like medicine. However, logging when done inappropriately, means that the cutters only take the parts of the tree that they want and leave the rest behind.


Here are some of the pictures I took today in the logged forest:

As apart of the experiment, I had to measure the dead trees left-over after the logging. I used a special measuring tool called a TREE CALIPER to find the diameter of the tree in centimeters.


Thought Questions:
1. With a partner, list at least 6 things we get from the forest.
2. How would you describe the look of the forest after logging?
3. What feelings do you get when you look at pictures like the ones above?
4. Does the tree caliper remind you of a math tool that you already use?

Things Scientists Do

Ms. Ervin was very busy today...she learned some of the steps Scientists go through to get their work done...and boy is it fun...

First, our team sorted leaves to get a better picture of the types of trees in the forest. We found leaves from Beech Trees: These leaves have a nice tan color...usually what we think of when we think of Fall.

We found leaves from Tulip Popular Trees. I was told that if you look closely at the shape of the leaves, they almost look square and some people say they look like a cat's face.

We even found a mouse (yes, we had to touch it to separate it from the leaves) (eww!)
Next, we marched into the forest. Then our job was to measure, graph, identify and tag trees.

(a) measure
(b) graph the location
(c) identify and...
(d) tag the trees necessary for the experiment.

Last, we had to wade through muddy waters to find our way back to the dorms.

Thought Questions:
1. What are your thoughts/questions about what Ms. Ervin is doing in the forest?
2. What kinds of trees have you studied with Mr. Nick?
3. How would you describe the Beech Tree leaves? How would you describe the Tulip Popular leaves?

Weed Day

Today was an exciting day in the forest. We got to help a real scientist with a real experiment! The pictures below show examples of plant species that have invaded the forests!

These are Japanese Wineberries and they are not native to the forest Ms. Ervin is in (they are from Japan).


Our job today was to help get rid of some of the plant-invaders. We had to pull them out of the ground, getting as close to the roots as possible. Here are some pictures of Ms. Ervin's contribution to the weeding task:



Weeding is hard work...watch this video to see just how difficult it is...

After a day of weeding, my gloves looked like this:

Thought Questions:
1. What are some ways plant species can move from one place to another?
2. Why might it be important to remove invading plant species?

What's a Forest to a New Yorker?

Hi class, Ms. Ervin here. Today we got to walk in the forest. There seems to be a little confusion about exactly where Ms. Ervin is and what she will encounter, so here are some pictures to clarify things for you:

Obviously, forests have trees...different types of trees.

One way to classify and talk about trees, is based on their height and Crown Class.
There are tall trees, that are Crown Class Dominant, which means they are the tallest and their leaves and branches (canopy) get the most direct sunlight.

and small trees that are Crown Class Suppressed, meaning they are the smallest and their leaves and branches (canopy) get very little to no direct sunlight (because they are blocked by the taller, Dominant trees)

There are living trees...

and dying or decaying trees...

There are trees with Poison Ivy vines...

...and trees with this strange green material.

Thought Questions:

1.What is the green stuff that you see on the trees above? Does it help or hurt the tree?

2.How would you describe the Poison Ivy vines above?
3. What differences do you notice between the 'living' tree and the 'decaying' trees?

Composting2

Here is an updated picture of our temporary composting bin. This is what we've collected during breakfast. What new things can you identify?

Later during Science, ask Mr. Nick about Composting.

Hi, class. Ms. Ervin here. I've posted a picture I borrowed from one of the other teachers here, so that you know where I am. I know the sign is a little hard to read but it says: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). I am in Edgewater, Maryland. The title of my research project is Sustainable Forest Management in a Changing Climate.

Each night I will try to leave you with something new I've learned:
Today I learned about composting. Composting involves taking things in your house that you might normally throw into the garbage and allowing them to decay and decompose into brown, crumbly bits. Those brown, crumbly bits can then be used as soil and fertilizer for plants.

You put things like banana peels, vegetable peelings and eggshells into a special compost bin (see picture).

The picture shows the compost collected during my team's first night at SERC.

Thought Questions:

1. What vegetable peelings do you see in our compost collection?
2. What problems might you run into if you created a composting bin in your apartment?
3. How does composting help the environment? (hint: it has to do with the garbage and landfills)