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Heyburn Elementary School
St. Maries, Idaho |
| Fourth graders in northern Idaho help solve the mystery of dying fir trees. |
When fourth-grade teacher Jane Thornes drove by some dead and dying subalpine fir trees along a highway, little did she know that her students would work with the U.S. Forest Service to determine the reason why.
But that’s what happened at Heyburn Elementary. Here’s how…. |
Wondering why
When Jane told her students what she had seen, she piqued their curiosity. They discussed the effect of dying firs on the aesthetics of the area and what it would mean to animal habitat and to the timber-based economy in their part of the state. They wondered whether other types of fir trees were affected.
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Learning why
Students first read about conifer species. Then it was time to get outside. They started with a tree identification walk around the school neighborhood. They learned how to measure trees, use a compass, and estimate distances based on their own walking strides.
The kids explored the effects of disease on forest health through two Project Learning Tree hands-on activities. By then, they had come up with a likely culprit: Balsam woolly adelgid, a tiny wood-boring insect that affects many types of firs.
But proving the theory meant leaving the classroom and heading outside. |
To the woods!
Carol Randall, a Forest Service entomologist, selected a site that the kids could study. It ended up being a two-mile hike from the nearest road, but off they went without complaint. Sure enough, the data they collected showed that the adelgid had infested not only all the subalpine fir trees they studied, but also many grand fir trees.
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Real-life application
The Forest Service is now using the students' findings to develop plans to fight the balsam woolly adelgid. Perhaps they would have done so anyway, but it took a dedicated class of fourth-graders, moving outside their classroom, to provide solid information from which to make decisions.
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“Getting outside with hands-on activities, especially collecting data that could be utilized by professionals, gives more meaning to learning for our students.”
Jane Thornes, 4th grade teacher
That’s not the only way that Jane helps Heywood kids learn outside. Each year, the fourth-graders visit a local stream and monitor its water quality.
She and her husband own a 270-acre working forest, which Jane uses as an outdoor classroom for Scouts, classes, church organizations, and other youth and adult groups.
Regardless of age or purpose, visitors gain an appreciation of a well-managed forest and the need to care for the environment.
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Resources
Project Learning Tree: Jane suggests these activities for PLT-trained teachers who want to focus on forest health: Activity 76 “Tree Cookies”, Activity 77 “Trees in Trouble” and Activity 12 “Invasive Species”.
Teachers who are not yet PLT-trained can sign up for a local workshop and ask their facilitator for help with outdoor-oriented activities.
The U.S. Forest Service’s National Forest Health Monitoring Program can provide information on insects, disease, and invasive species causing tree damage in your area. |
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