Your Day in the Woods

mother_and_son.jpg

Never too young to enjoy the magic of the woods.

Credit: Ernst Vikne

You’ve invited everyone, you’ve planned for meals, bathroom breaks and parking, and you’ve done all your safety checks and sign-ins. Now it’s time to enjoy your day in the woods. What are you going to do?

Fun activities can help your visitors learn about the forest and bond with each other. Here are some suggested activities for your day:

• Identify the different kinds of trees on your property (deciduous trees vs. evergreens, for example) and explain how they differ
• Share a favorite spot in your woods—for example, a historic site, grave yard, stream, or other special place—and talk about why it’s significant
• Show a newly thinned area, recently built bat boxes, or other accomplishments and share the reasons behind what you did
• If you have a stump on your property, count the growth rings together and explain how to determine a tree’s age
• Show how dead trees are home to a lot of living creatures, and tell your visitors about some of those creatures (birds, small mammals, beetles and other bugs, mushrooms, etc.)
• Explain how your trees’ seeds are carried (by wind, water, squirrels, etc.)
• Explain the types of food that come from trees (maple syrup, etc.), and provide samples if possible
• Show a recently planted area with seedlings sprouting and explain the life cycle of trees

You’ll find more activities in the American Forest Foundation’s Family Activities Guide and at Project Learning Tree, a resource for forest educators.

Now, some private landowners allow public access for much more than a day, by opening their woods to recreational users and hunters. If this is something that interests you, here’s what you need to know.