Alex Paul
Since 1994 several thousand Linn county youngsters have learned about the important of forests and forest products through the annual Forest Field Day held at Bert and Betty Udell’s Happy Valley Tree Farm near Lebanon.
Howard Dew, one of several volunteers who help make the event happen, summarized the history of the successful educational project during a recent meeting of the Third Force For Forestry.
“We found that kids weren’t retaining information about forest issues learned in a regular classroom setting,” Dew, silviculturalist for Cascade Timber Consulting explained of the event’s beginnings. “We wanted to be able to teach them about the rules and regulations that impact private forest land owners. To give them insight as to how they would feel if they were the owners.”
So, via cooperation from numerous public and private groups and organizations, the Forest Field Day program was born.
Now, each year some 350-400 youngsters spend a day learning hands-on about ponds, wildlife, young and old timber stands, business issues, government regulations and much more as they work through issues playing one of four heirs of 160 acres of timber.
Each of the heirs bring a particular bias to the table. One focuses on recreation, the other on money, the third on wildlife and the fourth on the environment. The land cannot be sold as a whole and a long-term management plan must be developed.
The result, Dew said, is the students come away from the event with a solid understanding of the complexity of owning and managing timberland in Oregon.
“This is a very involved program,” Dew said. “We believe it very effective and we have receive lots of positive feedback over the years. Most of the students are surprised at how much money forest lands are worth.”
Local foresters are assigned to each group of youngsters as they make their way through several learning stations around the tree farm.
“The students take soil samples (learning that dirt is really nutrient filled soil), how to use tools of the industry such as measuring tapes or lasers or how to take core samples from a tree,” Dew said.
Students are especially interested in the wildlife section that includes being able to see and touch animal pelts and skulls and studying the damage caused by wildlife.
“One section, called “Oh Deer!” helps students understand the relationship between habitat and healthy wildlife numbers,” Dew said. “Another area shows how predators and other factors impact fish populations.”
The impact of vandalism is also highlighted as students learn about the costs associated with signage blasted by shotguns, locks cut apart and gates torn down. “All of these things cost the landowner,” Dew said.
The only school district in the area that doesn’t participate in the program in some way is Corvallis, Dew said.
“Ultimately, we hope the students learn that land managers are responsible people and try to do a good job given all the parameters they must face,” Dew said.
Local supporters of Tree Day include the Udells, the Linn County Extension Service, Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Corps of Engineers, Forest Service, Oregon Department of Forestry, Weyerhaeuser, Cascade Timber Consulting, the American Society of Professional Foresters and others.
Oregon Forest Resources Institute pays for busing the students, developing the extensive workbooks needed and portable restrooms.
This year’s program will be held May 19-20.
“I’d guess one way of judging success of the program is the number of smiles on the kids’ faces at the end of the day,” Dew said.