BIDDEFORD — Roly-polys, salamanders and fungi were some of the findings by Biddeford Middle School seventh-grade students, as they lifted logs and investigated the forest behind the school.
Looking for what lies beneath the logs was just one of the activities students were participating in Wednesday, as part of program called Project Learning Tree.
All seventh-gradeers were taking part in the program ”“ half of them Wednesday and the other half Thursday ”“ as part of their science curriculum.
Rangers from the Maine Forest Service, educators from Camp Waban and Maine Audubon and Biddeford resident Bill Durkin, who was the chair of the city’s now defunct Open Space Committee, taught students about different aspects of the forest that are literally in their own backyard.
Forest Ranger Kevin Doran taught students facts about trees; for example, he taught them the difference between deciduous trees, which tend to shed their leaves in the fall, and coniferous trees, which tend to keep their leaves and are also known as evergreens.
Forest Ranger Ken Canfield showed students cross sections of trees and spoke about how they could determine the age of a tree and some of the significant weather conditions of its life by examining the rings in the slices.
Durkin took the students on a short hike through the forest, and then he took them back into the classroom, where they were asked to find where they had been on maps he had created.
Katrina Venhuizen, an educator with Maine Audubon, spoke about the macro and micro studies of the forest.
“We’re looking at what wild animals are doing in the forest, and why they’re doing it,” said Venhuizen, “and what people are doing in the forest, and why they’re doing it.”
After speaking about the forest in general, she gave the students an activity. They used pieces of yarn to plot a section of the forest and see what type of wildlife they could find in that small area.
Student Ali Souliere said she found a hole and postulated that maybe it was the home of a snake.
Student Brett Lewis said he found squirrel droppings.
One of the students’ favorite activities, led by Waban educators Ann Rossignol and Cynthia Peedin, was looking for life under logs lying on the forest floor.
“We’re digging up this tree to find bugs, salamanders and putting them in little sample boxes,” said seventh-grade student Blake Thompson.
Some of the things students found were roly-poly insects, moss, lichen and lots of decomposing matter.
Peedin told the students that the animals and insects help break down logs and other material. This adds nutrients to the soil ”“ nutrients that are used to grow new trees.
Pat Maloney of Project Learning Tree, an international nonprofit organization that is focused on environmental education, said the group is interested in providing professional development for teachers.
The program at the middle school was not only a way to expose students to the forest, but also to show teachers “they can teach anything outside that they can do indoors.”
Outdoor education in Maine is especially accessible, said Maloney, as 90 percent of the state is covered in forest.
“I feel an obligation to get kids in the forest,” she said. Educating students about the forests and wildlife is “good for the health of the forest, the environment and the economy.”
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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