Educating Children and Teachers about Trees

I went for a walk in the woods yesterday: In New York, there are still a few trees with a spectacular array of color. Most leaves are on the ground. Children and the young at heart find frolicking in the downed leaves brings great joy. The cautious and those feeling old, though they may be young, worry a bit about the leaves being slippery if they are wet but join in autumn reverie. Fall scents fill the air.

Twigs and bark are easily visible. Leaves can be examined readily. Autumn is a time for learning about trees.

"There can be so many leaves. Which trees are they from? Are these all oaks? How do we tell them apart?"

"How do you tell a swamp maple from a striped maple, from a red maple, from a sugar maple? How can we make maple syrup?"

"Look at the bark on that tree. It looks like one tree near the ground and like a completely different tree five or six feet up!"

The air is also full of inquisitiveness. It is a, "teachable moment."

Here is a resource to assist both teachers and students with tree education:

http://www.trees4life.ca/

Enjoy the fall. Since these activities carry over into winter, enjoy the winter, too!

Dr. J
(c) 2008. J. S. Shipman

Koalas for School....

Try visiting Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, Australia, or, checking out their educational programs.
http://www.koala.net/lonepine/index.htm

If you can't get there, look up Australia on a map and create a virtual visit or design a travelogue for a pretend visit.

What is special about the animals found at this sanctuary?

Have you been there? Tell us about it.

One of my Boston students did get a chance to go there. She is now a scientist that works on marsupials. We raised grant money for her to go. You might be able to raise funds for your own studies there.

Try using Google map (and comparing it to plotting the same trip using a paper map, in case the computer is down...) to go from:

Murdoch University

90 South St

Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia

to:

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Jesmond Road, Fig Tree Pocket Qld 4069, AUSTRALIA

and, then, to:

Sydney Airport
www.sydneyairport.com.au
The Ulm Building
1 Link Rd, Sydney International Terminal, NSW 2020, Australia

for the trip home to your own country.

Dr. J

Field Trip up Mount Fuji

"I had a good excursion to halfway up or 5th step
(2,400m above sea level) of Mt. Fuji (3,700m above
sea level) in order to watch alpine wild flowers
together with 16 members of the society of KATSURA
on August 21, 2008 by bus. you can see a photograph
of them in an attached file.

"We had very fine weather around Mt.Fuji on August
21, 2008. You can see photographs of far Mt. Fuji
and close Mt. Fuji in the attached files [Please click links below.].

"We watched 30 species of alpine wild flowers.
Especially, I will show you the photograph
of Monotropa hypopithys L in an attached file[Please click links below. ]."

Monotropa

Far Mt. Fuji

Close Mt.Fuji

Members of KATSURA

Respectfully submitted,

SAITOH MITSUO
The Society of Practical Education in Biology
2640-5,Kawaguchi,Hachioji,Tokyo,193-0801,Japan
Saitoh Institute for Biology Education
Tel&Fax:+81-42-654-2474
E-mail:rxp04450@nifty.com
http://www004.upp.so-net.ne.jp/jissen/
http://www004.upp.so-net.ne.jp/jissen/english.htm

If a tree had no leaves...

could you tell what tree it was?

Trees in Winter

Post under development...more later...

In winter, deciduous trees have already lost their leaves. You remember the autumn foliage season, when the leaves fell, don't you? So, how can you tell trees in winter?

Surprisingly, witch hazel flowers in winter, so that one is easy to tell...but, others? But, especially on a warm winter day...when snow is melting, but, it's not yet spring... you might like to take students for a walk. In preparing lessons, you might consider a walk where you use a key to identify trees. Cornell has a booklet for children 8 to 12 that adults will also find helpful: http://srb.npaci.edu/cgi-bin/nsdl.cgi?uid=/2007-05-23T18:23:11Z/D6C24D0D88B737E70B034467BBB04500/treeswinter.pdf

Winter, well, that's when a "twig key" comes in handy.

A site that can help you learn the vocabulary of "twigs" is: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/students/clas_act/winter/dressup.htm

Branching patterns and bark are also useful for identification.

If you are more interested in computers than walks outside, but, still want to work on winter trees, try: branching and computers...

More tree links can be found at: http://ddc.hampshire.edu/simforest/links/link_descriptions.html

Tennessee trees

physiology

Archeology and Windmills

We have been looking at power sources, one of which was windmills. Can you draw a windmill? What do you think is the science behind windmills?

One way to study windmills is with archeology. Here is a quote about an archeology lecture from May (2007). It gives the name of an "expert" on windmills in New York. You can use it to help find out more about windmills in history.

Professional Archaeologists of New York City (PANYC) 27th annual public program

"Made in New York: The Archaeology of New York City’s Industrial Past"

Date/Time: May 6, 2007, 1:00pm-3:00PM

Location: Museum of the City of New York

“Made in New York: The Archaeology of New York City’s Industrial Past” brings together five talks by seven professionals. The program will explore a variety of historic industrial resources in our city as well as provide insight into the various techniques used to identify, understand and document these not always “archaeological” sites. Learn about a Dutch windmill on Governor’s Island, an 18th century tannery near City Hall, pottery remains excavated from The African Burial Ground, a historic ship repair facility in Brooklyn and the High Line, Manhattan’s elevated west side railroad viaduct soon to be a city park.

Speakers and Topics:

A Seventeenth Century Dutch Windmill on Governors Island

Holly Herbster, Senior Archaeologist, The Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc., Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Subsurface testing in the northeastern corner of the Governors Island National Historic Landmark District identified the structural remains of what is believed to be the wind-powered sawmill erected by the Dutch West India Company in 1625-26. This paper presents the documentary and physical evidence for the windmill, one of the only known archaeological features associated with the Dutch occupation of “Nutten Island”.