Athol-Royalston Middle School Experiences Our Changing Forests Field Trip Style

 

Athol-Royalston Middle School Seventh Graders in Mr. Sautter's Science classes visited Harvard Forest this Spring to learn about how forests change over time.

Our Changing Forests Field Work

Students measured the diameter of trees
in  10 x 10 meter study plots at Harvard Forest
 for the Our Changing Forests
Schoolyard Ecology project. 

Some interesting discoveries near the study plots included a tree frog, mushroom, Red Eft Salamander and oak gall.

 

We learned about major changes happening in this part of the forest.  In looking up to estimate the percent of canopy cover for the field survey, we saw that many of the biggest trees in the plot were dying.  This was an old Red Pine plantation that was planted when Harvard Forest was a Forestry School.  As the the old plantation trees are dying and other species are finding enough light to sprout and grow

 

 Hemlock and Oak are some of the new species growing as the dying Red Pine open up the forest floor.

 

We looked at the difference between red and white pine cones and needles.



We recorded whether we saw snapped trees and/or uprooted trees as indicators of weather damage in our study plots.

Left: We recorded signs of Wildlife such as this stash of pine cones indicating that a squirrel or chipmunk has been looking for pine cone seeds.  

Right:  We tasted the wintergreen flavor of the  inner bark of the Sweet Birch trees near the plot.  

Fisher Museum Dioramas

Students also had a chance to learn more about Land Use Change by seeing the story of how the forests were cleared in the 1700-1800s and began to grow back again  after farm abandonment later on.   First dominated by White Pine, cut again and then grew as Hardwood dominated forests. 

Thanks to ARMS PTO representative, Stacey Bellabarba and staff person, Elaine Gauthier for photo contributions.

What does the Data Show?

 

 

 Red Pine, Red Oak and Red Maple are storing lots of Carbon presently as Red Pine continue to dominate this area of the forest.  Also there is not much species diversity in these plots due to its history as a plantation.  It will be interesting to see that as the forest is left unmanaged by humans, how the species dynamics and growth will change over time.  As we collect data over time, I would expect that Red Pine bars will become shorter and shorter, and other species will become larger. I would also expect that some species not yet represented here, will begin to sprout and grow in these plots. Therefore I would expect more bars to appear on future graphs. However disease and weather can cause unexpected "disturbance" in the forest at any time, so stay tuned by checking our database over time to track future changes.


Thanks to Highstead Foundation for Supporting this field trip with funding for the Our Changing Forests Field Trip Scholarship.

Explore More:

To Graph More Data , choose Our Changing Forests project and choose field sites 5-8 on our online database.

Download Data to see the data in table form. 

Check out our Interactive Field Site Map to see all Schoolyard Ecology Field Sites that are contributing to our studies. You can select Our Changing Forests to see only those schools participating in this particular study.

Go to  Our Changing Forests Project Webpages to learn more about the Our Changing Forests project and protocol.

Attend our Summer Institute for Teachers on August 22, 2018.  

To join our Network of Schoolyard Ecology, we invite teachers from throughout the North East to 

 Apply for a   Field Trip Scholarship 

Our Changing Forests Project in Lincoln

Birches School Students Got Busy in their Field Study Plot 

Teacher Katherine Parisky shared these photos showing students doing their field work after sending this update:

We look forward to beginning our spring citizen scientist unit next week! I am thrilled to be finally kicking off Our Changing Forest collaboration with Harvard Forest for our final thematic unit of the year. Although we have not yet moved locations, we plan to use our new campus and the field site plot that Josh helped us map last yr. (Project Coach, Joshua Rapp) I will send photos (and data) as the project is underway. 

Students measured Diameter at Breast Height
(DBH) of all the trees in their 10 x 10 meter
study plot.

Students identified trees using field guides and recorded diameter (DBH) and Tree ID on field data sheets to be entered onto the Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology  Online Database.

In the fall, teacher Katherine P. and Harvard Forest Project Coach, Joshua Rapp set the plot site, including the initial tree identification and circumference measurements.  

Students collected the  data during their spring citizen science unit.

Data has been submitted to Harvard Forest's Online Database which allows schools from throughout New England to enter, manage, and graph student data from their site as well as to compare results across the region.

Katherine provided this background of the Birches school and their particular approach to integrating outdoor learning opportunities such as Schoolyard Ecology:

Birches School is a small independent nature-based school committed to educating youngsters about the interconnected nature of all living things. Over the summer months our faculty design three thematic units that weave each of the academic subjects around essential questions and enduring understandings. For example this fall 2017, we are planning our first unit of study to be focused on storytelling: through the lens of the natural world. The essential question for this unit will be "How do I connect to the earth?" We are looking forward to continuing our work with the LLCT People for Pollinators Project in Lincoln. This is a photography and pollinator count study, comparing two field meadows; soil treated and untreated plots, and involves students using iNaturalist to document pollinator count data.

I am now looking for additional citizen scientist opportunities for our students to be involved in, later in ...during the spring 2018 unit.  As a former research scientist myself, I am looking to provide our middle school students with exposure to and participation in current scientific research. I hope to modify any field protocols/lessons to make them accessible and age appropriate for our younger students. My science classes this year are multi-age groups ...6th/7th graders.

Graphs Showing Birches Study Trees by Density, Basal Area and Carbon Storage:  

Explore More:  

This work was featured on the school blog. Check it out at: 

 Birches School Blog/our-changing-forest

Birches School Changing Forests Data on Harvard Forest Online Database

Find the Birches School on our 

Interactive Schoolyard-field-site Map  

Choose "Our Changing Forests Project and scroll to "The Birches School". 

Learn more about this project at 

Our Changing Forests Project Webpages

Join one of our projects by registering for the

Schoolyard Ecology Summer Institute for Teachers