THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412110046
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MERRY HILL LENGTH: Long : 168 lines
Even before their tour of the trees began, the Lawrence Academy students looked as if they felt nature calling.
Boys and girls from Meredith Skinner's sixth-grade class fidgeted in their school bus seats while Bertie County Forest Ranger Larry Lawrence prepped them for their visit to consulting forester Dave Jennette's managed woodland.
Like a lot of school-related events, this field trip included a pop quiz.
``Can anybody tell me what kind of things we get from the forest?'' Lawrence asked.
``Paper!'' the children chimed in unison.
``Pencils!''
``Oxygen!
``Water!'' one zealous pupil cried out.
``Water?'' her classmates yelled.
Ten minutes later, the 23 students were heading into the woods, participants of a local Society of American Foresters' first ``Walk in the Forest,'' which took place Thursday.
Modeled after a similar, year-old national program, the nature study was initiated by Laura Barston and the Albemarle SAF chapter, which includes about 120 members.
The Society of American Foresters is a national scientific and educational organization representing the forestry profession.
``This program lets us take children out on a walk and teach them a little about forestry and what we do for a living,'' Barston said.
Bertie County, with its champion trees and strong ties to timber industries, was host to the event.
Jennette, owner of Timberlands Unlimited of Windsor, offered use of his 600-acre Merry Hill Lands, near the Washington County border.
``I think this is great,'' Lawrence Academy Principal Tom Gregory said, sloshing through a blanket of brown, brittle leaves.
``How many kids get to come into a forest and actually see it, touch it, smell it?'' he continued as a group headed to the first of four educational stations.
Children examined tree knobs sticking out of swampy waters and learned why cypress bases are so swollen. They crowded around a trunk to get a closer look at fresh bear claw marks.
Proper pre-harvesting techniques were shown on a poster, and throughout the morning the youth impressed Lawrence, Barston, Jennette and Bertie County Assistant Ranger Rudy Whitehurst with their knowledge of dendrology.
``Someone used the word deciduous. Now that impressed me,'' Barston said at the second stop to survey holly, white oak, poplar and pine trees.
Many students at the Merry Hill private school have parents or grandparents who have logged many hours raising or grazing timber for a living.
Companies such as Weyerhauser, Union Camp and Georgia-Pacific are a strong presence in this sparsely populated region. But two-thirds of Bertie County's 330,000 acres of woodland is privately owned, Lawrence said.
Jennette manages the Merry Hill Lands parcel for timber, wildlife, recreation, aesthetics and soil and water enrichment.
``Dave keeps this place as a showpiece. He's really proud of this area - and he has a reason to be,'' said Barston, assistant district ranger with the North Carolina Forest Service in Elizabeth City.
Students sampled some of that wildlife and recreation at the end of their hour-long tour.
But first, they had to make a stand.
Barston helped the children create their own human forest - a very crowded one that needed to be thinned. This helped the youngsters understand why some trees are removed from active areas and others remain to prosper.
The 11- and 12-year-olds measured a couple of trees before heading to a duck pond to swap stares with some wild swans.
Barston hopes the program will include more youth and more participating counties in years to come.
Thursday's program, a rain date from the previous week, was supposed to include sixth-graders from both public and private Bertie County schools. Schedule conflicts prevented all but Lawrence Academy and Askewville Christian Academy from attending.
``We decided on sixth-graders because that's when you start looking at a career, and this might be something they are interested in,'' Barston said before the event. ``Plus, they're starting to get into the sciences in sixth grade.''
At the end of the field trip, the project looked to be a success.
``I'm all for this sort of thing,'' Principal Gregory said as smiling students headed back to the bus, some clutching twigs or pocketing acorns for souvenirs. ``There's so much to be learned.''
MERRY HILL - Even before their tour of the trees began, the Lawrence Academy students looked as if they felt nature calling.
Boys and girls from Meredith Skinner's sixth-grade class fidgeted in their school bus seats while Bertie County Forest Ranger Larry Lawrence prepped them for their visit to consulting forester Dave Jennette's managed woodland.
Like a lot of school-related events, this field trip included a pop quiz.
``Can anybody tell me what kind of things we get from the forest?'' Lawrence asked.
``Paper!'' the children chimed in unison.
``Pencils!''
``Oxygen!
``Water!'' one zealous pupil cried out.
``Water?'' her classmates yelled.
Ten minutes later, the 23 students were heading into the woods, participants of a local Society of American Foresters' first ``Walk in the Forest,'' which took place Thursday.
Modeled after a similar, year-old national program, the nature study was initiated by Laura Barston and the Albemarle SAF chapter, whichincludes about 120 members.
The Society of American Foresters is a national scientific and educational organization representing the forestry profession.
``This program lets us take children out on a walk and teach them a little about forestry and what we do for a living,'' Barston said.
Bertie County, with its champion trees and strong ties to timber industries, was host to the event.
Jennette, owner of Timberlands Unlimited of Windsor, offered use of his 600-acre Merry Hill Lands, near the Washington County border.
``I think this is great,'' Lawrence Academy Principal Tom Gregory said, sloshing through a blanket of brown, brittle leaves.
``How many kids get to come into a forest and actually see it, touch it, smell it?'' he continued as a group headed to the first of four educational stations.
Children examined tree knobs sticking out of swampy waters and learned why cypress bases are so swollen.
They crowded around a trunk to get a closer look at fresh bear claw marks.
Proper pre-harvesting techniques were shown on a poster, and throughout the morning the youth impressed Lawrence, Barston, Jennette and Bertie County Assistant Ranger Rudy Whitehurst with their knowledge of dendrology.
``Someone used the word deciduous. Now that impressed me,'' Barston said at the second stop to survey holly, white oak, poplar and pine trees.
Many students at the Merry Hill private school have parents or grandparents who have logged many hours raising or grazing timber for a living.
Companies such as Weyerhauser, Union Camp and Georgia-Pacific are a strong presence in this sparsely populated region. But two-thirds of Bertie County's 330,000 acres of woodland is privately owned, Lawrence said.
Jennette manages the Merry Hill Lands parcel for timber, wildlife, recreation, aesthetics and soil and water enrichment.
``Dave keeps this place as a showpiece. He's really proud of this area - and he has a reason to be,'' said Barston, assistant district ranger with the North Carolina Forest Service in Elizabeth City.
Students sampled some of that wildlife and recreation at the end of their hour-long tour.
But first, they had to make a stand.
Barston helped the children create their own human forest - a very crowded one that needed to be thinned.
This helped the youngsters understand why some trees are removed from active areas and others remain to prosper.
The 11- and 12-year-olds measured a couple of trees before heading to a duck pond to swap stares with some wild swans.
Barston hopes the program will include more youth and more participating counties in years to come.
Thursday's program, a rain date from the previous week, was supposed to include sixth-graders from both public and private Bertie County schools.
Schedule conflicts prevented all but Lawrence Academy and Askewville Christian Academy from attending.
``We decided on sixth-graders because that's when you start looking at a career, and this might be something they are interested in,'' Barston said before the event. ``Plus, they're starting to get into the sciences in sixth grade.''
At the end of the field trip, the project looked to be a success.
``I'm all for this sort of thing,'' Principal Gregory said as smiling students headed back to the bus, some clutching twigs or pocketing acorns for souvenirs. ``There's so much to be learned.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ANNE SAITA
Laura Barston of the North Carolina Forest Service explains
tree-harvesting techniques during the Society of American Foresters'
first ``Walk in the Forest'' on Thursday. During the field trip to
Merry Hill Lands, children learned about woodlands and the forestry
profession.
by CNB