Forest Life (2 Hours)

A sensory investigation of plant, animal and non-living components of the New England forest. Discover how colors are used for camouflage, how shape enhances function, and how size influences survival. Maximum number of  classes is three.

Upon arrival to the preserve, groups will be formed and oriented in the parking lot. Groups will then rotate through various stations during a guided nature walk with stops along the Preserve’s woodland trails which will unveil the wonders of forest life. At one station, students will use their senses of smell when they discover that skunk cabbage does really smell like a skunk and that a birch tree does smell good enough to eat. Spicebush and Sassafras will round out the student’s outdoor aromasensory session. At the next station, students will use their sense of touch to feel the texture and composition of the forest floor beneath their feet. A soil probe will be used to help the students feel the texture and temperature of the sand, silt and clay that make up the sub soil. In another station, students will see how a tree is aged by counting the annular rings. An increment borer, a type of drill, which extracts a small core sample of wood from a tree, will be used with student assistance to age of a dominant tree. A visit to the Wildlife Center will help students discover the unique adaptations of forest animals by viewing mounted specimens. Finally, a visual search for camouflaged animals in the forest will challenge the student’s power of observations.

A one group rotation would be smells, soil, tree aging, Wildlife Center, and camouflaged animals. A second group rotation would be tree aging, Wildlife Center, camouflaged animals, smells, and soil. At third group’s rotation would be Wildlife Center, camouflaged animals, smells, soil, and tree aging.