ERIC ED404156: Urban Forestry Laboratory Exercises for Elementary, Middle and High School Students.

176 Pages·1996·2.7 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
SE 059 664
ED 404 156
Kupkowski, Gary; And Others
AUTHOR
Urban Forestry Laboratory Exercises for Elementary,
TITLE
Middle and High School Students.
Forest Service, St. Paul, MN. North Central
SPONS AGENCY
Experiment Station.
PUB DATE
96
175p.; The staff of the Morton Aboretum helped design
NOTE
the curriculum.
Teaching Guides (For
Classroom Use
PUB TYPE
Guides
Teacher) (052)
MF01/PC07 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
Conservation (Environment); Ecology; Elementary
DESCRIPTORS
Secondary Education; *Environmental Education;
*Forestry; *Hands on Science; *Interdisciplinary
Approach; Science Activities; *Science and Society;
Trees; *Urban Education
ABSTRACT
The curriculum in this program has been developed for
the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Each level builds on
the other, and forms a "thread of skills" that are upgraded at each
level. The program is divided into two components. The first
component is for the development of a school arboretum, tree walk,
and herbarium. The second component of the program is an ability
tiered curriculum presented in the form of student laboratory
exercises and accompanying teachers' guides. Extrapolations called
"blowouts" for each exercise are noted, including a bibliography and
source notation. The guide has five areas of activity: (1) tree
(2) characteristics of trees;
(3) soil
identification and inventory;
(4) condition of trees; and (5) tree care and
conditions for trees;
planting. An appendix with additional or summative type activities is
included. These appended activities can be used by schools, park
districts, after hour's science clubs, gardening clubs, and state and
local conservation programs. (DDR)
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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
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Sr
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
ViZI
a document hes been reproduced as
:a
received from the person or organization
originating it.
0 Minor changes have been made to improve
reproduction Quality.
Points of view or opinions stated on this docu-
ment do not necessarily represent official
OERI position or policy.
For Elementary,
Middle and High
School Students
Project coordinator
Mr. Gary Kupkowski, HS District 88, Addison
Mr. Joseph Cave, Naperville District 203
Elementary school curriculum
Mr. Mark Prichard, Lisle Unit District 202
Middle school curriculum
Mr. John Turner, HS District 88, Addison
High school curriculum
Dr. Gary Watson, The Morton Arboretum
Project supervisor
Dr. John Dwyer, USDA Forest Service
Project sponsor
Supported in part by grants from the USDA Forest Service North Central
Experiment Station and the USDA Forest Service National Resouice
Conservation and Education Program.
The staff at the Morton Arboretum helped design the curriculum.
2
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
Preface
served as a haven of safety and escape.
Forests have always been one of our
Awareness of trees has been developed
country's basic renewable natural resources.
a. career that one
through many programs during the last
Forestry is
therefore
decade. Now we must develop the skills
chooses to become a part of our nation's
that anyone can use to help develop the
growth and heritage. From the time of the
Urban Forest. The job of urban reforestation
pilgrims to the present, our country's forests
is too large for any group to do on its own.
have not only been our pride, but a source of
With skills and resources available, many
material wealth for the growth of this nation.
people can contribute to the reforestation
The abundant wealth that is our forests, has
been taken for granted for too long, and by
process. This program has been developed
too many. The way we have managed this
as part of the conservation ethic that is now
natural resource has not always been the best
finding a rebirth in our nation.
for the nation as a whole. In our haste to
Urban Forestry Laboratory Exercises has
build a better life, we have not always taken
been developed as a supplemental activity
guide that can be used in any science or
into account the plants, animals and soils we
The hands-on
are destroying. Ultimately, biodiversity will
interdisciplinary
class.
be a key indicator of our society's progress.
activities are designed to be data gathering
exercises leading the student to make
The development of the Urban Forest is
fast becoming a major concern.
The
judgments based on analysis and synthesis of
population shift in our country from rural to
the gathered data. The inventory necessary
urban is undeniable. People see trees as a
to complete the exercises is listed in this
barrier to the hot summer sun and harsh
guide. The materials listed in the Forester's
Trunk of Tools can be shared. During
winter winds. They see trees as a source of
natural aesthetic beauty. Trees are a resource
development of this curriculum, Forester's
for the renewal of inner peace and health.
trunks were kept at the Morton Arboretum
Trees are landscape essentials, increasing the
and shared by teachers from several districts.
value of property. The question has become
Establishing a similar relationship with an
'What tree do I choose and what do I do to
arboretum or library in your area, may be a
maintain it?'
good way to obtain the equipment and
The public needs to be educated, enabling
coordinate sharing among several schools.
them to choose the best possible tree for the
Teachers can modify the enclosed materials
site. We need to address the development of
as needed. In the beginning, it will be most
urban forests for our future use as a society.
helpful if the teachers follow the activities as
outlined, but later teachers may want to
From the times of Robin Hood to the original
native
Americans,
and
then
modify them as they gain experience with
the
Revolutionary War soldier, the forest has
the materials and with their students.
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
3
Plan For Urban Forestry
5
Philosophy
7
Objectives And Goals
9
Forester's Trunk Of Tools
11
Trunk Equipment Inventories
Elementary School Level
13
Middle School Level
15
High School Level
17
Urban Forestry Posters
19
Laboratories For All Levels
21
Establishing A School Arboretum Or Tree Walk
23
Identifying Trees And Developing A Class
Herbarium
27
Planting A Tree And Helping It To
Grow
43
Elementary School Urban Forestry
Lessons
51
What's A Tree?
53
Watt's A Tree?
55
How Big Is A Tree?
57
How Old Is A Tree?
59
Quadrat Studies
61
The Nature Journal (optional)
67
Nature's Air Conditioner (optional)
69
Middle School Urban Forestry
Laboratories
71
Comparing Sun To Shade Leaves
73
Measuring Tree Heights
81
Calculating Board Footage In A Tree
87
Comparing Soil Temperatures In Sun
And Shade
95
Forest Volume Cruise (optional)
103
Soil Particle And Texture (optional)
115
High School Urban Forestry
Laboratories
123
How Old Is This Tree?
125
How Fast Does This Tree Grow?
133
What Effects Do Trees Have On
The
Environment?
141
What's Happening Below The
Surface?
149
Appendix
159
4
Introduction
Plan For Urban Forestry
Philosophy
Objectives And Goals
5
Plan For Urban Forestry
is possible. An urban school site is not a
The curriculum in this program has been
natural habitat, but it is still an environment
developed for the elementary, middle and
worthy of in-depth study.
Students can
high school levels. Each level builds on the
other, and forms a thread of skills that are
measure dynamic growth of trees within the
upgraded at each level.
Each exercise is
changing patterns of human habitation. The
complete, enabling students to gather data
guide has five areas of activity:
1. Tree identification and inventory
about Urban Forests.
The program has been divided into two
2. Characteristics of the trees
3 Soil conditions for trees
components. The first component is for the
your
4. Condition of the trees
development
own
school's
of
arboretum, or tree walk, and herbarium.
5. Tree care and planting
Tree planting should take place around
A concluding field trip to some forested
site (local park) would benefit the students
Arbor Day in your state.
The second component of the program is
understanding of the role of Urban Forestry
the ability tiered curriculum presented in the
in the total ecosystem. The idea of a half- or
form of student laboratory exercises and
full-day field trip as a reward for work well
done can be exciting for students.
accompanying teachers' guides (Elementary
An
school exercise format is altered slightly).
appendix with additional or summative type
activities is included.
Exercises found in
Extrapolations called 'BLOWOUTS' for each
exercise are noted, including a bibliography
there are not limited to use by school systems
and source notation. Each of these exercises
and can be used by park districts, after hour's
can be done on your school site. Repeated
science clubs, gardening clubs, and state and
data collection on the same trees and shrubs
local conservation programs.
6
5
reintroduce us to a vital missing part of the
What is Urban Forestry? Urban Forestry
urban setting, an Urban Forest.
is the comprehensive management of forests
Society needs experts in many fields, but
and related natural resources in populated
even more than this, our society needs
areas, from the inner city, to the developing
members with a wealth of information and
urban fringe, to small outlying communities.
knowledge, equipped to make informed
For too long, as urban areas have been
decisions. This program addresses this need
developed, the forests of urban areas have
by enhancing the science curriculum with
been depleted or eliminated. We are now
additional resource material. This program
seeing an awakening to the needs of trees.
illuminates nontraditional career oppor-
Our society must not simply be developed in
must be
will become available
technological way, but
that
it
as
tunities
a
technological Urban Forestry is promoted.
developed in a natural sense for a balance to
Data gathering is a first step in the
be brought to all of our lives.
Students need to interact with nature.
understanding of whether a problem exists,
They need to know that nature is not a
or is a figment of our imaginations. The
stagnant entity, but is a dynamic living
intent of the program is to show how careers
of all kinds are changing with technology,
system. Day to day, month to month, year to
year, nature is as catalogue of how we have
and to show the need to assimilate and share
The quality of nature
information when we develop new ideas.
treated ourselves.
reflects our priorities as human beings.
Grouping students to gather data is, in the
Nature can be described broadly as any
best sense, a true scientific endeavor. Any
setting from a woodlot to a vacant lot, a
good program of analysis and synthesis must
have numerous data from which conclusions
football field to a crack in the sidewalk, or a
will be drawn. Growth in our technological
city park to the landscape around a school.
society comes with the awareness one has of
Realizing this need, we have to interact and
the interconnectiveness of environmental
become a part of the forest. Urban Foresty
Laboratory Exercises has been designed to
factors.
0
Objectives And Goals
Objectives:
The Urban Forestry Unit has three primary objectives:
To educate and inform students and
To provide an opportunity to
3.
1.
participants about how trees function
participate in the development of an
in an urban setting.
urban forest in your community.
To collect data on trees in their urban
2.
environment in order to determine
how well the tree is surviving.
Goals:
By the end of this Urban Forestry Unit the student will be able to:
Develop a map of the trees at or near
results on the same trees.
1.
the school by applying the
10. Understand that data reflects the
classification scheme developed during
accuracy of the measuring devices for
the unit.
tree characteristics.
Recognize that one population of
11. Demonstrate the ability to draw
2.
plants or animals can have an affect on
conclusions from collected data about
others, even in an urban setting.
the tree's environment.
Understand that interactions among
12. Demonstrate various ways to display
3.
trees, soil and people are increasing in
the same data by use of computer
importance in urban settings.
generated graphs.
Evaluate data collected to determine
13. Apply quantitative observational
4.
how trees are changing the
methods to accumulate precise data
environment.
about the trees on their school site.
Identify the current state and future of
14. Construct a classification scheme for
5.
forestry as a career.
the trees on the school site and
Identify the effect of planting and
demonstrate its use in class.
6.
harvesting trees in an urban
15. Evaluate and revise an inference based
environment.
upon additional data gathered during
Know how scientific inquiry is
the unit.
7.
influenced by beliefs, traditions, views,
16. Revise a prediction on the basis of
and actions of society as they pertain to
additional information.
trees in an urban setting.
17. Identify appropriate methods of
Replicate the results of another
measurement for a given task.
8.
student's experiment during this unit.
18. Analyze the results of each
Recognize that experimental results
experiment.
9.
19. Evaluate the interpretation of data
must be open to the scrutiny of others;
through the comparison of group
collected during each experiment.
8
9
20. Analyze an operational definition
22. Identify possible sources of error in
based upon a simple experiment.
measuring instruments, by comparing
21. Use direct observation to develop a
results of each group's measurements
question, and then answer it as part of
on the same tree.
the lab exercise.
9
10
Forester's Trunk Of Tools
Some basic equipment will be needed to complete the
exercises in this manual. There
are many reference
in this guide to materials contained in this "Forester's
Trunk of Tools". If you do not have
access to one of
these complete trunks, you
may be able to acquire
what you need through other
means. Once fully
supplied, these Forester's Trunks
can be shared
among several schools.
Trunk Equipment Inventories
Elementary School Level
Middle School Level
High School Level
10
11