STUDENT ACTIVITY GUIDE

Transcription

1 STUDENT ACTIVITY GUIDE Welcome to The Hudson Gardens! Today you will explore trees to learn about how they grow, what they need to live, and how they are useful to people, plants and animals. To start learning about trees, you need to find out why trees are so amazing and how much people depend on trees. Go the Oval Garden (Activity Station #1) and find a place to sit under a tree. Woodland Wonders was adapted from curriculum provided by Project Learning Tree (PLT). To learn more about PLT, please visit Woodland Wonders 1

2 Activity Station # 1: We Need Trees WE NEED TREES Look for a plant label near the base of one of the trees you are sitting near to find out what type of tree it is. Then find that tree s name in the list below to see what types of products come from that tree. Are you surprised? Many of the products we use every day comes from trees. Wood is one of the most common things that comes from trees. For example, wood provides things such as lumber for houses, furniture, doors, picture frames, clocks, paintbrush handles, counters, cabinets, and floors. Paper and paper products are also made from wood. Paper products include things like books, boxes, magazines, and newspapers. To test how much you know about products that come from trees, or to learn more about the amazing ways that trees are used as products to help people, get the From a tree? kit from your Explorers Pack. PRODUCTS FROM TREES IN THE OVAL GARDEN Sweet Gum: chewing gum, perfume fragrance London Planetree: wooden wheels, musical instruments Tricolor Beech: musical drums, paper Bradford Callery Pear: woodwind instruments like flutes Tulip Tree: plywood, furniture American Hornbeam: bowls, dishes, door trim for Rolls Royce vehicles Red Oak: hardwood floors, cabinets, furniture, railroad ties 1. Spread out all of the items on the ground so that everyone in the group can see them. Russian Hawthorn: medicines, tool handles, fence posts Autumn Blaze Maple: maple syrup, bowling pins, baseball bats 2. Divide your group into two teams. Give each team a tablet of paper and pencil from the Explorers Pack. Woodland Wonders 2

3 3. Each team will need to work together to count how many objects in front of them are made from trees. In order to do this, let both teams examine the products. Each team should look at each item to decide if it was made from a tree. All team members must agree with the team s decision about the product. After the team decides if the item comes from a tree in some way, someone on the team needs to record it on their list as being from a tree or not from a tree. The team should move on to the next item until all products have been looked at. 4. Once the teams have looked through all of the products and made their lists, the teams should compare their lists aloud. Students should explain their decisions about each item. 5. After talking about each item, look at the key at the bottom of this page to see what products really did come from trees. Did either or both of the groups guess everything correctly? Now that you have learned how important trees are to people, its time to learn about how trees are important to plants and animals too! Continue your journey by going to the Picnic Area and looking for a big dead tree marked with the tag Wildlife Tree (Activity Station #2). Activity Station # 1: We Need Trees Key for products: from trees: Lumber: Yes. Wood comes from trees. Facial tissue: Yes. Made from tree fibers. Cardboard: Yes. It is a type of paper made from trees. Rubber Glove: Yes. Natural rubber comes from the Rubber Tree. Pencil: Yes. The wood comes from trees. Carpet: Yes. It is made from cellulose, which comes from tree fibers. Cinnamon Sticks: Yes. Cinnamon is made from the bark of certain trees. Crayons: Yes. They are made from chemicals taken from trees, and their paper covering also comes from trees. Adhesive Tape: Yes. Its stickiness comes from the gum produced by some trees. Woodland Wonders 3

4 A habitat is a place where a plant or animal gets all of the things it needs to survive, like food, shelter, water, and space for having and raising their young. A tree may serve as part of a plant or animal s habitat, or it may be its whole habitat. For example, a tree may provide a place for raccoons to raise their babies, but they have to get their food and water somewhere else in their habitat. On the other hand, a plant like moss gets everything it needs directly from a tree. WHO LIVES HERE? Activity Station # 2: Who Lives Here? Even trees that are dead, like the one you are standing in front of now, provide habitats for many different plants and animals. Many insects live under its bark. Birds feed on the insects and place their nests in the empty holes. Eagles often build their nests on the tops of dead trees. Squirrels and mice like to store food in dead trees. Try and think of other ways that you know that animals are using trees (eating, resting, etc.) The tree you are looking at is called the Wildlife Tree. It is a dead Cottonwood tree that was not cut down all of the way because it provides habitat for so many plants and animals. But sometimes it takes a closer look to see which plants and animals depend on trees like this one. To find out, each student will need a magnifying glass and pair of tongs from the Explorers Pack. A habitat is a place where a plant or animal gets all of the things it needs to survive, like food, shelter, water, and space for having and raising young. 1. Show the students the pictures under Signs of Plant and Animal Life on the following page. Have them look carefully they will be looking at the Wildlife Tree for those items. 2. Have students look closely at the Wildlife tree, examining it (and the ground around it) with the magnifying glass and tongs for the Woodland Wonders 4

5 items they just looked at on the following page. Give them plenty of time to make their observations. 3. As they spot signs of life, students should describe what they are seeing. To help them make more discoveries, ask the following questions: What do you see living on the trunk? Do you see any animals climbing around the tree, or flying to and from it? Do you see any other plants growing on the tree? Have the students look on the ground around the tree for fallen leaves, twigs, bark, seeds, fruit, or nuts that might also show signs of animal or plant life. Moss Cracked Nuts SIGNS OF PLANT & ANIMAL LIFE Spider Web Half-eaten fruit Insect Activity Station # 2: Who Lives Here? Chewed-up leaf Bird Nest Torn bark You now should have a good idea of how important trees are to humans, plants and animals! Now it is time to discover how trees grow and become the amazing plants that we depend on so much. To find out what trees need to live, go to the Amphitheater and find a place for your group to spread out on the grassy lawn (Activity Station #3). Woodland Wonders 5

6 What do trees need to grow? Some of their needs are the same as those of people and animals. For example, trees need air, water and food. But while people and animals eat their food, trees get food in a different way. They soak up energy from the sun through their leaves and produce food. And just as people and animals need certain vitamins, trees also need vitamins, which they soak up from the soil using their roots. If trees don t get enough water, sunlight, or vitamins, they may grow slowly or die. GROW TREE, GROW! Now its time to pretend that you are trees and you need to gather the things you need to survive! Activity Station # 3: Grow tree, Grow! 1. Find an open space in the Amphitheater and have everyone stand together in a group, like a group of trees would grow in a forest. There should be about 2-3 feet in between each person. 2. Imagine that each person is a tree their bodies are their trunks, their arms are their branches, and their feet are their roots. For this game, everyone s roots must stay planted on the ground at all times and no one is allowed to take any steps or move his or her feet. 3. The object of the game is for the trees to gather as many tree requirements as possible. The tree requirements are represented by the colored cubes in in the Tree Requirements bag from your Explorers Pack. Blue represents water, yellow represents sunlight, and green represents vitamins. Sunlight Water Vitamins 4. Spread the requirements cubes on the ground around the students so the squares are about 1-2 feet apart. Give a signal to have the students use their branches to start collecting as many requirements, or blocks, as possible. Tell the students to be greedy when collecting Woodland Wonders 6

7 requirements, but remember not to take any steps! 5. After the requirements are picked up, discuss the following questions as a group: How many requirements did each tree get? Do any trees lack a particular requirement? What might happen to a real tree that lacked one of its requirements? (It might grow slowly or eventually die. Remember, though, that different tree species have different requirements) Do any trees have too much water, sunlight, or nutrients? (Yes! Every species has preferred levels of each requirement, beyond which the tree becomes stressed.) Activity Station # 3: Grow tree, Grow! Now that you know about what it takes for a tree to live, its time to find out how different parts of a tree help it grow. You ll need to go to the Water Garden and find a quiet place for your group to sit. There are several benches surrounding the water that are shaded by big trees that might be good locations (Activity Station #4). Woodland Wonders 7

8 From a tree s tiny roots buried in the ground to its highest branches and leaves, each part of a tree plays a role in helping it to grow and live. Look at the diagrams below to learn about the different parts of a tree and what each one does. MANY PARTS, ONE TREE Activity Station # 4: Many Parts, One Tree Leaves make food for the tree using energy from the sun. Bark protects the tree from damage. Roots help make the tree stay in the ground. They also soak up water and vitamins from the soil. PARTS OF A TREE Trunk and Branches The trunk provides support for the branches, which support the tree s leaves. The trunk and branches also contain the tree s tubes that carry water and nutrients to the leaves, and food from the leaves to the rest of the tree. They also contain the growing layer of the tree that help the trunk, branches, and roots of the tree grow each year. Woodland Wonders 8

9 Here s an inside look at a tree trunk. Look at the diagram below to learn what each part does: Cambium is a very thin layer of cells that make new sapwood, inner bark, and cambium. Heartwood is the center part of the tree and is made up of dead wood. It provides strength for the tree. Inner bark carries water and food from the leaves down to all the other parts of the tree. After reviewing the parts of a tree from the diagrams, pass out the Tree Cookies from the Explorers Pack. Every student should get one. 1. Compare the diagram on this page to the Cookies you see before you. Try and identify the different parts of the tree the heartwood, sapwood, cambium, and inner bark. 2. How can you tell where one part starts and another part ends? (they are usually different shades of brown). 3. Now get your magnifying glasses out of your Explorers Pack. Look for small holes in the sapwood and heartwood of your Cookie. The tiny holes help water and vitamins to travel up the trunk and branches of the tree. Activity Station # 4: Many Parts, One Tree Sapwood carries water and nutrients up from the roots to the leaves. Next, its time to discover what else we can learn about trees by looking at them from the inside. Stay in the Water Garden and keep the Tree Cookies out (Activity Station #5). Woodland Wonders 9

10 Activity Station # 5: Count the Rings COUNT THE RINGS In the last activity, you saw the inside of a tree trunk by looking at slices of a trees that were cut down. There are other things we can learn by looking at the insides of trees they show the tree s age and give clues about the weather of the area over time. They also show signs of damage to the tree such as fire and floods. Like you noticed in the last activity, when a tree is cut down, the inside of its stump shows many circles. These circles are called growth rings. By counting a tree s growth rings, you can tell the age of that part of the tree at the time it was cut. Every year, a tree adds a new layer of wood to its trunk and limbs, which forms a growth ring. Each ring has two parts: a wide, light part (early wood) and a narrow, dark part (late wood). The early wood grows during the spring and the late wood forms in the fall. Look around you. You ll notice that you are surrounded by some of the biggest trees at Hudson Gardens! Most of these trees are either Cottonwoods or Peach-leaf Willow trees, both which are native to Colorado. They both grow along streambeds and have been here for many decades! The shape and width of the rings often change from year to year due to different growing conditions. During a wet growing season, a tree may make a very wide ring. During a dry spring and summer or a very cold winter, a tree may make a very skinny ring. Tree rings also show other things besides weather that affect a tree s growth, such as insect problems and disease. Tree rings also can show scars if the tree was injured by fire, people, or animals. Woodland Wonders 10

11 Scars can also result from the tree being cut by machines, falling branches, or by growing too closely to other plants. To look more deeply into what trees can tell us from their growth rings, have everyone look at their Tree Cookies from the Explorers Pack. Every student should have one. 1. Have the students estimate how old their Tree Cookies were when they were cut down. Ask the students how they made their guesses. 2. Explain how to count the rings to find the real age of a tree (count only the light or only the dark rings). Have the students re-count the rings to figure out the trees actual ages (it might be helpful to use the magnifying glasses from the Explorers Pack). How close were their original guesses? Slices of trees that have been cut down are sometimes called tree sections or tree cookies 3. Have the students look at their Tree Cookies to see if there are any scars, and try and guess what might have happened to the trees at those times. Activity Station # 5: Count the Rings When you ve finished looking at your Tree Cookies, go to the Amphitheater and find the Cottonwood trees growing just southwest of the Grille (Activity Station #6). Woodland Wonders 11

12 Activity Station # 6: What s the Difference? As trees grow, they often change not only in size, but also in appearance. Through this activity, you ll discover some of the similarities and differences between young and old trees. Most of the trees you see growing behind the Grille (the big ones and the little ones) are the same type of tree, called Cottonwoods. Choose one large Cottonwood and one small Cottonwood to compare (the big trees are all Cottonwoods. The small Cottonwoods have plant labels that identify them as Cottonwoods). Work with your group to compare the trees using the chart below. You ll also need the measuring tape from your Explorers Pack. WHAT S THE DIFFERENCE? Part of the Tree: Rough or smooth bark? Leaf shape Height: which is taller? Circumference (distance around the trunk) (Hint: Use your tape measure and measure it in inches) Count the number of trunks Young and Old Big Cottonwood Small Cottonwood Woodland Wonders 12

13 After comparing the trees, discuss the following questions as a group: 1. What are some advantages of big trees? 2. What are some advantages of little trees? 3. Looking back at what you ve learned, do big trees or little trees provide more benefits to people? Activity Station # 6: What s the Difference? 4. Do big and little trees grow the same way? What different needs might they have? Now its time to wrap up everything you ve learned today about trees by going to the Conifer Grove and finding a place among the trees for your group to sit (Activity Station #7). Woodland Wonders 13

14 Given everything you ve learned today, can you even imagine a world without trees? You have discovered the many ways that people use tree products in everyday life. You have learned about how trees provide important habitat for plants and animals. You have also found out about how trees grow, and how it takes a long time for them to get to be the large sizes that you see in many parks, neighborhoods, and forests. BRANCHING OUT... Unfortunately, many people cut down trees to make products without making sure that new trees are planted. The results of this behavior affects people, animals, and the entire world. Activity Station # 7: Branching Out Dr. Seuss s book, The Lorax, points out the what the world might look like without trees. Get this book out of your Explorers Pack and read it aloud. When you are finished reading, talk about these questions as a group: 1. What do you think the major ideas of the story are? 2. Why do you think the Once-ler did what he did? 3. How did the forest change after the company started making Thneeds? From Dr. Seuss The Lorax 4. What was the author's message about how one person can save or hurt the environment? Be sure and remember the story of The Lorax even after you leave The Hudson Gardens today. We hope that you learned a lot about trees and that you enjoyed your visit! Woodland Wonders 14