The Our Changing Forests Schoolyard Ecology Project Is Growing

New Beginnings for the Our Changing Forests Project

With an expanded online database and project coach on board, a new group of teachers participated in a 2 day Our Changing Forests Schoolyard Ecology Summer Institute at Harvard Forest.

After spending 2 days at Harvard Forest learning from experts such as project ecologist, Joshua Rapp and author, Tom Wessels, teachers are beginning to bring students out to monitor their study plots in woodlands throughout Massachusetts.   Students in grades 6-12, from as far southeast as Middleborough and as far northwest as Charlemont  will be joining forces to paint a picture of our region's changing forests.

Ecologist, Joshua Rapp introduced the Our Changing Forests Protocol and driving scientific questions to teachers in the Fisher Museum

 A cow in this wooded pasture was a great window into how historic land use has impacted the New England landscape we see today.

Ecologist Josh Rapp showed examples of Wildlife sign such as these woodpecker holes that can be reported on the site survey data included on the Harvard Forest online database.

The group looked at an example of beech bark disease
 as an example of pathogens to be reported on the
 site survey.

Teachers practiced measuring 

diameter at breast height.

Teachers practiced aligning plot lines with cardinal directions using a compass. 

Tree diameter and Species I.D. are among the data students will be collecting in order to monitor species composition, density, carbon biomass storage, etc. of their local woodlands.

        

 
Each teacher had an opportunity to participate in practicing setting up study plots in small groups,
with assistance from project staff.

What Teachers said about Day 1 of the Our Changing Forests 

Summer Institute:

•  I am very excited by all the aspects of this research with regards to my curriculum.

• Interacting with ecologists and colleagues interested in the same topics has given me suggestions for activities that I can implement in the classroom in addition to the Changing Forests program.

•  I appreciate that every opportunity was taken by the staff to give us the most pertinent information in order to get started.

• I am looking forward to using the many opportunities for students to experience real world science practice with all of its challenges and pleasures.

• I love that you already have identified the new MA ST/E standards that connect to this project

•  I think it is great that Carrie (Project coach) will be available as I think that having that help will be useful as we start off. 

• A much more finely honed sense of how to frame the project for my students, and how to integrate the Changing Forests project into my curriculum, and how to flex my curriculum to be inspired by the project!

• The ability to set up a plot and the confidence to have my students identify and track the trees in the area. I feel confident that I understand what is asked of the program and that my students will enjoy the process of being out in the field.

• The ability to set up a plot for a field study and the tools necessary to accomplish that.

• All 3 parts were valuable, the background knowledge, practicing the protocol and looking at the database.

• Participation in a LTER (Long Term Ecological Research site).

Reading the Forested Landscape with Tom Wessels

Day 2 of the Summer Institute for Teachers was spent immersed in interpreting the Forest with author and Professor Emeritus, Tom Wessels

Teachers were busy writing notes at each of the 

many stops in the forest.  

Teachers told us what they appreciated about their time with Tom Wessels

All participating teachers rated their time with Tom Wessels as "Extremely Useful".

• Exploring forests gives you an infinite subject for study. I love the idea of land-use history as a mystery that we can solve, in this case using Forest Forensics

• Hints on what to key in to when determining previous use of the land.

• EVERYTHING!!! I learned so much in that session!

• The talk of land use over time and how the species all interact, no species lives independent of others

• Better able to identify trees and more knowledgeable about their characteristics. Understanding land design and history. 

• The skills, equipment and access to knowledge and support to create a meaningful field research experience for my students.

• Split the plot into 4's. Use Oliver for land use through time. Changing Forests protocol may be discrete, localized data collection, but the opportunities to branch out (changing climate, land-use planning, biodiversity, etc.) are infinite!

• I appreciated the emphasis on observation skills and the intelligence of the trees which we can use to build upon the data collection and analysis

• Confidence that I can teach children about our changing forests.

 

Teachers are now set to begin marking study plots and  engaging their students in collecting forest data tracking change over time in their local woodlands. Project Coach, Carey Lang, is visiting school based field sites this fall to help teachers get started.  We look forward to supporting these citizen scientists throughout this school-year and hope that  we will be working with these schools for years to come.

The expansion of our outreach capacity for this project is made possible with support from the Highstead Foundation in addition to ongoing support from the National Science Foundation's Long Term Ecological Research program and other private funders.  

Learn More about the Our Changing Forests Schoolyard Ecology Project:

• Northshore Magazine Article featuring this project:  :http://www.nshoremag.com/September-2016/student-scientists
• Project Protocols and Resources: Our Changing Forests Webpages
• Online database: Harvard Forest Schoolyard Database

SAVE THE DATE- MARCH 31st-Spring Workshop

Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Spring Workshop for Teachers  

MARCH 31, 2016 

 

Please schedule March 31st, 2016  for our Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Spring Workshop for Teachers. 

Here's some basics on what to expect:   

TITLE OF COURSE: HARVARD FOREST SCHOOLYARD ECOLOGY SPRING WORKSHOP
 

Prerequisite:  Harvard Forest Summer Institute for Teachers

Professional Development Points (PDPs):  6 

Location, Date, Time:

HARVARD FOREST, PETERSHAM, MA;

March 31, 2016

8:30 A.M.-3:00 P.M.

Presenters:

JOHN O'KEEFE: Buds, Leaves, and Global Warming Project Ecologist

DAVID ORWIG: Woolly Bully and the Hemlock Trees Project  Ecologist

BETSY COLBURN:  Vernal Pools Project Ecologist

EMILY SILVER HUFF:  Our Changing Forests, Project Ecologist

5 SCHOOLYARD TEACHERS:  Presentations TBA-stay tuned for details.

Facilitator:

PAMELA SNOW, SCHOOLYARD COORDINATOR

Summary Description:

THE HARVARD FOREST offers a Schoolyard Ecology training workshop for teachers of grades 4-12 and environmental educators who have attended a summer institute and have collected fall data for the Forest Ecology Schoolyard studies.  Professional Forest Ecologists will prepare teachers to implement the spring field study protocols.  All teachers will participate in field walks with project ecologists.  Five experienced Schoolyard teachers will present related curriculum materials and student samples created throughout the school-year.

Goals:

• To provide further background knowledge of project related themes and processes, in order to enable educators to implement the spring project protocols with students.

• To encourage teacher networking and sharing of curriculum related to Schoolyard Ecology projects. 

Outcomes:

• Teachers will be prepared to lead students in implementing spring field protocols. 

• Teachers will be provided with peer developed curriculum insight, information, materials and/or student samples to aid in teaching project related themes.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teacher Presenters Wanted:  

If you have developed some lesson plans, activities, or other educational resources that you would like to share with other Schoolyard teachers, we have 4 slots open for teacher presenters at our Spring Workshop on March 31st.  

Please contact Pamela Snow by email at:psnow@fas.harvard.edu for more information on what is involved in presenting.

Museum Institute for Teaching Science (MITS)   Middle School and High School Teachers at Harvard Forest 

               

 Ecologist John O'Keefe and Schoolyard Coordinator Pamela Snow engaged the group in budburst activities and a field walk...See more at:

http://mits.org/teachers-experience-harvard-forest-mits-spring-course-science-next-generation-science-engineering-practices-across-disciplines/

Spring Workshop for Teachers-2014

  

  Spring Workshop

Sights and Insights 

 

                      

• Being able to hear from other teachers about what is working for them and what they plan on doing in the future - Thank you to JoAnn Mossman for all her ideas and help!!

Jane and JoAnn's presentations were full of ideas and activities that I will be able to immediately use with my students ... they certainly got me thinking about how to use middle school tactics to reach my reluctant students
•  Jane's activities for the database look great
• 
• ! I can't wait to try them.
• I would like to show the students the HF data and give them the opportunity to interpret it

 More comments about teacher presentations:

• Vernal pool walk and Jud's presentation Both great
• I was impressed by the High School field guide that was shown. I'm planning to follow the idea and do something for the younger students.
• Teachers sharing how they do things in the classroom and outdoors is sooo helpful and encouraging.
• Hearing all the other teachers and their approaches to similar problems was really useful.
• I also find the presentations are a super way to learn from experienced teachers. I wish I could have heard every presentation
• Teacher presentations are great. You learn so much from all levels. The idea sharing is great.
• By seeing how others tackle similar tasks gives me ideas to try and expand upon.

Comments about field walk with Project Ecologists:





Photo by Karen Murphy

• I especially appreciated being able to spend time in the field with Dr. Orwig and a small number of like-minded HWA fans. I got a lot of details cleared up about the protocol and was able to discuss research questions concerning possible ways to combat these bugs. I also found a new way to document our findings on the egg sacs





Photo by Clarisse Hart

 The forest walk was excellent. Such a great opportunity to view the forest site and have an opportunity to speak and share with everyone

• I always appreciate time with Betsy! This time we also got to spend time in the lab with her looking at invertebrates under the microscope. this was very interesting and it would be most useful to have the opportunity to spend longer doing this in the future. In addition I also very much enjoyed hearing from teachers doing the other ecology projects. I would love at some point to be able to do some of these or take bits to use with my students

Photo by Maryanne Rotelli

• Always the session with Dr. O'keefe- new information in the ppt presentation and great to walk outdoors with him. Teachers sharing how they do things in the classroom and outdoors is sooo helpful and encouraging.
• John's explanations on what to look for when collecting information on the bud burst was wonderful, especially since it is the first time doing it.
• Dr. O;Keefe's explanation of how trees and forests impact water flow and cloud cover- a great bigger picture!

Suggestions Anyone?

•  more time with Betsy and her specimens. Also visiting other vernal pools with her. She spoke of some really good ones in Leominster. Maybe it would be possible to organize a trip there with her so we can see different types of pools including ones with fairy shrimps.
• Give each presenter a set amount of time that includes Q + A.
• It would be great to have a workshop on pond creature ID.
• Time is always an issue, but trying not to overlap presentations would be the only improvement. It's hard!
• My colleagues may not like this suggestion, but I'd love to do a workshop during April break ... so that I don't have to miss school (which is always 120% as much work as being there)
•  maybe a little longer lunch time to informally connect with teachers, but not a great deal longer. I do not want to lose the other parts either!
• Keep the teacher presentations, maybe add some specific meeting time for each group to chat quickly.
• I know the weather is a challenge but I was hoping to do more outside but appreciate that we got so much information from one tree.
• Perhaps a trouble-shooting session where veteran and new teachers exchange concerns, offer practical advice, etc. outside of the formal presentations.
• Add another time for VP to look at critters under the microscope
• Possibly separating the teacher presentations but all were very interesting even if it was not about our section

What will teachers bring with them back to their Schools?

• I can now clearly find and identify the scale insects and talk about their relevance to the HWA's and pretty generally discuss just about everything involving the life cycle o these creatures.

I am looking forward to trying out my idea of using the student cell phone in order to easily document the egg sac hunt and then to count them by marking their presence on the photo of the branch.

• I have some samples of lesson plans I may adapt for my classes and more resources. I have more background knowledge on vernal pools which will be helpful in answering student questions and designing lessons. I also got useful feedback for my question for my presentation about incorporating the Next generation science standards

• We are already incorporating our vernal pool studies into our pond ecology programs but I am looking forward to including the Changing Forest and including the effects of farming on our water.
• Joann and Jane's and John's pointers have given me confidence to move forward with this project.
• Need to get those kids in the woods!

Want to see and hear more?

Here is the link to all the presentations' slides and audio per Clarisse Hart:

http://harvardforest.adobeconnect.com/p6ljgqx3ekn/

Watch and listen to them all at once or you can easily navigate to individual talks within this one file. Once the program loads, look on the left hand side of the page and click the little triangle next to “Lobby.” You’ll get a drop down menu of all the individual talks, and clicking one will take you directly to that talk.


We now have the individual talks split out as individual PDF files at: http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/schoolyard/lesson-plans  
Look for them by project theme, teacher name and year. 

 

HF Schoolyard at NSTA Boston Conference

Schoolyard Teachers Presented at the National Science Teachers Association Conference in Boston this Weekend

JR Briggs Elementary Teacher, Kate Bennett shared her experience with The Woolly Bully, Buds and Leaves and the Phenocam projects with teachers at NSTA