Forest Field Days is a fun and exciting program for middle school students and teachers, promoting awareness of forests and forest management. The program is designed to provide science-based learning, and to foster citizenship, critical-thinking, and problem solving in students.
The Forest Field Day Program Includes:
- A multiple-week, multi-disciplinary, standards-aligned curriculum
- A role-play activity where students play members of a family who must reconcile differing viewpoints to create a management plan for an inherited tree farm
- A day-long field trip to a working tree farm, where students meet professionals in the field, and learn how forestlands are managed for wood, water, soils, wildlife and recreation
Forests Today & Forever has coordinated the Forest Field Days program since 1995, and has hosted over 50,000 students to local tree farms!
Forest Field Day Highlights:
- Curriculum printed and delivered to teachers
- NGSS-aligned
- Field Trip to a working tree farm
- FREE program, and transportation costs are reimbursed
Program Objectives:
- Student become aware of Oregon’s forests as an important natural resource, and that humans depend upon forests (i.e., products, recreation, aesthetics, clean water).
- Students can define science concepts, such as erosion, predation, photosynthesis, food web, etc.
- Students can define forestry terms, such as sustained yield, DBH, timber stand, cruise, clear cut.
- Students can explain the role of the Forest Practice Act to protect environment, and can describe a few of the rules (i.e., leave trees, buffer zones).
- Students work together, practicing problem-solving, critical-thinking and communication skills, to produce a management plan for forestland that generates income, while meeting land use laws and Oregon Forest Practice Act rules.
- Students can explain how active forest management benefits society.
Seeing the forest for the trees, and much more
“Forest Field Day’s Learning targets are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards. When it’s time to teach middle school students about “Human Impact on the Environment”, it’s best to take them outside and provide them with well planned, hands on lessons facilitated by local professionals and teachers. Students prepare in their classroom and then are fully engaged during the outdoor lessons.” -Trish Stolp, Agnes Stewart Middle School, 2018
Click here to read an article published in the Gazette Times about the experience of Forest Field Days.
Please contact us if you are interested in creating a Forest Field Day for your school or program!