Forestry Education Kits are available to check-out and are great for hands-on forestry
education. There are twelve
kits available - contact information for all twelve locations is below.
The kits contain equipment and tools to facilitate teaching tree identification and management, plot investigations, and navigation using compasses. In addition, one kit contains 10 Garmin GPS units.
There is no fee
for using the kits, but users are responsible for the loss or damage of kit contents.
Funding for this project was provided by the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board (WEEB), Wisconsin Environmental Educaiton Foundation (WEEF), and LEAF - Wisconsin's K-12 Forestry Education Program.
Each kit contains:
- 15 Tree scale/cruising sticks
- 8 Diameter tapes
- 5 Clinometers
- 5 100-foot tapes
- 10 GPS Units
- 15 LEAF tree identification keys
- 1 Set of LEAF tree identification cards
- 15 Forest Trees of Wisconsin booklets
- 1 PLT Focus on Forests Lesson Guide
- 1 Aldo Leopold Education Guide with GPS lessons
- 1 Binder containing lessons and instructions
- 1 Complete set of identification resource books:
- 1 Snakes of Wisconsin by WI DNR
- 1 Amphibians of Wisconsin by WI DNR
- 1 Lizards and Turtles of Wisconsin by WI DNR
- 1 Wildflowers of Wisconsin and Great Lakes Region
- 1 Complete Guide to Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota
- 1 Peterson Field Guide: Mammals
- 1 Peterson Field Guide: Animal Tracks
- 1 Peterson Field Guide: Reptiles and Amphibians
- 1 Peterson Field Guide: Insects
- 1 Peterson Field Guide: Birds
- 1 Compass teaching kit
(24 compasses, instructing compass face, user guides, instructional DVD, Navigation Curriculum DVD, student workbook,
instructor study guide and answer key, and 2009 catalog)
Integrate Forestry Education Kits with LEAF Lesson Guides
Wondering how to use all the cool equipment contained in the forestry education kits?
TREE MEASUREMENT: Wood’s Worth
, 5/6 field enhancement 1
In this lesson, students make their own tree scale stick and use it to determine the number of board feet in a tree and the number of products that can be made from a tree. Afterwards, students go on a scavenger hunt to explore many ways that forests are valuable.
FOREST INVENTORY: Timber Cruise
, 9-12 field enhancement 4
Students conduct a timber cruise of their school forest to identify the species of trees, volumes of timber, and basal area on the property. Students work in small groups to collect data and use Kruzer software to analyze the complete class data set.
TREE IDENTIFICATION: Tree Identification
, 7/8 field enhancement 1
In this lesson, students learn to use a dichotomous key to identify Wisconsin trees. Students also participate in hands-on activities that help them learn tree identification vocabulary. Students work in groups to study and identify trees and discover the process is not difficult when broken into steps. Link to LEAF Tree ID Cards
ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: Forest Diversity
, 7/8 field enhancement 3
In this lesson, students study and collect data on three components of diversity found within a forest: species, structural, and functional diversity. After comparing two types of forests, students discuss the value of diversity and the role it plays in a forest.
INVENTORY PLOTS: School Forest Resource Plots
, 9-12 field enhancement 2
In this lesson, students work together to plan and establish research plots in their school forest. Students learn about statistical sampling by using a sampling procedure to estimate the numbers of colored poker chips from a large population. They then use a school forest map and a sampling procedure to locate research plot centers in their school forest. In small groups, students work in the field to establish the plots in their school forest.
WILDLIF HABITAT: Habitat Assessment
, 9-12 field enhancement 5
Students work in small groups and use wildlife habitat requirements to assess potential animal habitat based on map interpretation, plant and forest inventory information, on-site forest composition and structure, and wildlife habitat needs.
Contact one of our twelve participating Forestry Education Kit coordinators for more information