Schedule
On Day 1, teachers will:
Learn the historical use of local forests from American Indians through the pioneers
Learn pre-human fire regimes
Collect specimens of local trees for a dendrology notebook
Visit a Starker Forest multi-use industrial site to view the forest production cycle from site-prep through harvest
View a harvesting operation
Visit with the owner to discuss forestry as a business
Conduct a timber cruise
Apply the Forest Practices Act at the site
On Day 2, teachers will:
Visit a USFS site to learn about ecosystem management
Participate in a model “stewardship” activity Visit the historic Hull-Oaks Lumber Mill in Monroe, which is steam-powered and specializes in milling large beams from large logs
Visit the modern Georgia-Pacific laser mill in Philomath that uses high technology to maximize production of dimensional lumber
Visit a value-added wood products industry or a small woodlot mobile dimensional mill
On Day 3, teachers will:
Visit Beazell Memorial Forest educational facility
Learn about the development of the County’s stewardship plan which balances harvest activities, wildlife habitat, forest functions and education
Sample wildlife populations in a local creek
Learn to identify local birds from a student who earned his CAM on-site
Learn about and participate in the OSU Extension Service’s Wildlife Stewards program and Project Learning Tree activities
Visit OSU’s McDonald Research Forest to participate in forest research with OSU professors
On Day 4, teachers will:
Visit a “reference forest” with a hike into Drift Creek Wilderness
Identify the characteristics of an old growth forest
Identify the five classes of downed logs and investigate their characteristics
Conduct a biodiversity survey
Participate in wildlife studies of late-successional forests, i.e. red tree voles and spotted owls
Analyze the contents of pit-fall traps
Discuss wilderness etiquette and student safety
Work with other teachers to complete a forest scavenger hunt
On Day 5, teachers will:
Visit Philomath High School’s School of Forestry
Hear students share natural resource project outcomes
Learn about funding opportunities in forest education Participate (with students or mentors) in a timber carnival and picnic.
In addition to exciting experiences and learning outcomes in the workshop, catalogs and teacher resources will be provided for each participant, including a classroom set of OSU Extension’s Forest Habitat ID Cards. The class is limited to twenty pre-service or in-service educators of grades 7-12.
Contact Kathy Blaustein, SEPS Coordinator, at