National Wildlife Federation s Eco-Schools USA-Learning About Forests Baseline-Audit, K-2

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1 Date(s) Baseline Audit Conducted: Identify resource specialist and/or volunteers who can assist with audit and/or share their forestry expertise. On a scale of 1-10 where 1 is least important and 10 is most important, survey your students on the following questions (use response average): 1. Trees are important to plants and animals. 2. In almost all ecosystems, trees play an important role. TABLE 1. DEFINING YOUR STUDY SITE (shaded fields denote data needed for dashboard metrics) 1. Confirm your GPS coordinates for your watershed study site, by comparing them to your coordinates in your baseline audit? Use your smart phone s GPS or go to: to find your coordinates. Latitude N Longitude W A few (less than 5) 2. How many trees are in your study site? CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE. Some (between 6 and 12) Many (more than 12) Exact number if known 1

2 TABLE 1. DEFINING YOUR STUDY SITE CONTINUED 3. If there are dead trees on your study site, count the number of standing a fallen dead trees. 4. What type of trees are on your forested site? Deciduous, Evergreen or Mixed 5. What is the land use surrounding your study site? Residential, Commercial, Park, Undeveloped Land CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE. standing dead trees (snags) fallen dead trees (logs) Deciduous Evergreen Mixed Residential Commercial Park Undeveloped Land 2

3 CHART 1. TREE SPECIES DATA, Choose 3 trees and complete Chart 1 - Data in Chart 1 accompanies Table 1 data. Example: Sugar Maple #1 TREE SPECIES DECIDUOUS (D) OR EVERGREEN (E) AGE SPROUT SEEDLING MATURE SNAG TREE HEIGHT IN FEET TREE DIAMETER (DBH*) IN INCHES D Mature #2 #3 *How to calculate DBH Think about the following questions as you summarize the information in Table Is it better to have healthy trees of on type or healthy trees of many types? Explain. 2. What actions can the class/team take to support healthy forests? 3

4 TABLE 2. WEATHER 1. Season you are collecting your forestry data? Summer Winter Fall Spring 2. What is the weather like today at your study site? Sunny Cloudy Partly Sunny/Cloudy Rainy Snow Other 3. What is the temperature at your study site? CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE. F 4

5 Think about the following questions as you summarize the information in Table Predict the weather for your post audit. 2. Describe the tress, including their bark. Do they have leaves, flowers, etc. Optional, but encouraged to take 2-4 photos of your trees. These images will assist students in the post audit. 3. In the last year, has there been a fire, flood or drought in or around the forest study site? 5

6 TABLE 3. WATER AND SOIL 1. Is there water on your study site? If yes, what kind? Take a photo of your water source if present and post in the summary below. Seasonal pools of water are sometimes called vernal pools and are pools of standing water only in the spring. These vernal pools are important nurseries for many of our amphibian species. 2. Soil Temperature 3. Soil ph Yes No seasonal pool* permanent pool flowing water F ph Level Acidic Neutral Basic Describe how the soil looks, feels and smells. Come to a consensus with the class/team on five descriptors. 4. Take a soil sample and observe describe the sample using your senses. Take a photo of the sample and insert it into the summary section for Table 3. CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE. 6

7 Think about the following questions as you summarize the information in Table Insert your photos here. 2. Why is important to study the soil and water at your forest study site? 7

8 TABLE 4. WILDLIFE 1. Are there animals at your forested site? Yes No 2. Did students see animals in the following families? Mammals Birds Insects Reptiles Amphibians 3. Did students observe other kinds of plants in the forest study site? Yes No 4. Did students see plants from the following groups? Bushes Grasses Wildflowers Ferns Mosses Other (fungi) Think about the following questions as you summarize the information in Table How do forests support wildlife? 2. What are some actions the class/team can take to improve wildlife habitat in the forest study site? 8

9 TABLE 5. TREE WORTH Use the National Tree Benefit Calculator, to collect the data below. Some of this data will be used when you enter metrics into your dashboard. Use the data from Chart 1 to input data into the online calculator. If you would like to provide data for more trees or you would like to calculate multiple trees for a species, please enter this information into an Excel spreadsheet or other document and submit as evidence when applying for an award. Tree Stormwater Energy Saved in CO Diameter 2 Captured Annual Overall Tree Species Land Use Runoff in Kilowatt Hours in Pounds Tree Benefit in in Inches Gallons (KwH) (lbs.) Dollars ($) (In) Example 25 Park/Vacant 4, $212 American Beech TOTALS Think about the following questions as you summarize the information in Table Did students know that trees are worth money? Explain. 2. What are some of the actions your class/team can take to support local, state or national tree campaigns or initiatives? 9