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Educator's E-newsletter
| October 7, 2011
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 A Look at the Season's Main Events Virginia Barlow First Week of October Some deciduous trees do not contribute to autumn color. Apple, sycamore, and white oak leaves change from green to brown. Barred owls and great horned owls do not migrate. Carotene, a pigment in some tree leaves, is responsible for the yellows and oranges of an October hillside.
Second Week of October
Lady beetles seek out overwintering sites in attics or crevices in buildings.
Fall leaf drop indicates another hormonal change in trees - signaling root growth to take over.
Oak and beech trees evolved in the tropics and have not perfected the deciduous plan; look for their withered brown leaves clinging to the twigs.
These listing are based on observations and reports in our home territory at about 1,000 feet in elevation in central Vermont and are approximate. Events may occur earlier or later, depending on your latitude, elevation - and the weather. |
Autumn Foliage Has Botanists Red in the Face
Chuck Wooster
Last weekend, my four-year-old niece asked me why leaves turn red. Dang it; why couldn't she have asked me an easier one? Like, why do leaves turn green? Or even yellow?...
Full Article TextDownload the Article
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 Investigating Beavers
Sandra Murphy
A Logger with Four Feet and a Tail, by Bernd HeinrichBeavers are what scientists refer to as a keystone species-a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Through their tree-cutting and dam-building activities, beavers have helped shape the North American landscape. Have your students explore the ecological ripple effects of beavers in the Northern Forest. What animals live in the many habitats that beaver activities create (ponds, wetlands, fallen logs, forest openings, standing dead trees killed by the rising water, and so on)? In what ways does beaver "logging" differ ecologically from human logging? Take your students on a field trip to a local site where beavers are active. Have students investigate and record-in words, sketches, and photographs-the ways in which beavers have changed their environment. As follow-up, students can create a display that illustrates the ecology of beaver habitat, including reference to the habitats created and the species that live in those habitats.
In his article, Heinrich raises another interesting subject when he ponders the driving force behind beavers' activities. He wonders whether they are, in fact, thinking and reasoning or just acting from instinct. This opens the door to the whole subject of animal intelligence, which would be a compelling topic for classroom research and debate.
Website: Montclair State University offers a very good on-line beaver curriculum for middle school students here. Book: The Beaver: Natural History of a Wetlands Engineer, by Dietland Muller-Schwarze and Lixing Sun, 2003. Highly acclaimed by both teachers and scientists, this book is available on-line through Google books (click here). Not all pages of the book are available on-line, but the site offers a good sampling of the book's contents. Download the Teacher's Guide (This activity is on page 2) Download the Article: A Logger with Four Feet and a Tail Click here for the complete Teacher's Guide archive! |
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WHAT IN THE WOODS IS THAT?
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 Our Biweekly Guessing Game!
Penny Harris of Cambridge, Vermont took this photo of a pine branch near her home. What's protruding from the branches?
Every other week we run a photo of something unusual found in the woods. Guess what it is and you'll be eligible to win a copy of The Outside Story, a paperback collection of our Outside Story newspaper columns. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner's name, will appear in next week's column.
This week's contest deadline is 8:00 AM, Wednesday, October 19, 2011. |
 Congratulations to our winner Edna Greig of Kinnelon, NJ! Edna receives a copy of our book, The Outside Story.
Bennington County forester Chris Stone took this picture on Friday, September 16. Well?
NW Answer: Boogie-woogie aphids.Well, that's just their nickname. This insect's true name is beech blight aphid (Grylloprociphilus imbricator). Many people guessed incorrectly that this was the woolly alder aphid, which looks remarkably similar, but is a regular pest of alders, not beech trees. The beech blight aphids, which feed primarily on the sap of beech trees, have white filaments protruding from their bluish-white bodies, giving them a wooly appearance. They gather by the thousands to form colonies on branches and the underside of leaves - colonies so extensive they can sometimes be mistaken for a dusting of snow. But it's these pests' defensive antics that earn them their nickname: when threatened, these aphids raise their posterior ends and sway back and forth, creating their own little aphid dance. This week's winner is Edna Greig, who went the extra mile by giving us the insect, the tree, and their scientific names. Visit our What In The Woods Is That? contest archive.
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So there we were, feeling all smug that we'd stumped everyone with our September 23rd WITWIT on maple seeds, when it was brought to our attention that Barbara Mackay's sixth-grade enrichment group at Newport City Elementary School in Newport, Vermont had, in fact, submitted the correct answer. The oversight was our mistake. Below, find a picture of the class standing in front of the sugar maple that sparked their interest in the contest. They are, from left to right: Alyssa, Jacob, Anthony, E., Cole, and Melodee. Congratulations to these savvy dendrologists!
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Green Schools Webinar Series:
School Buildings as Green Teaching Tools
October 19, 2011 7:00-8:30 p.m. The National Environmental Education Foundation in partnership with the National Education Association Foundation and Green Schools National Conference is launching the first of a series of three webinars to help educators around the country learn how to green their schools and curriculum. Webinar participants will interact live with national experts and teachers who are transforming their schools for the 21st Century. Register here for this free event!
Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom Fall Conference:
Greening the School
November 5, 2011 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Clay Conference Center All workshops will focus on composting, gardening at the school, taking the garden into the classroom, herbs, recycling, and other green initiatives. Tour the solar panels, wind turbine, and planetarium at Clay Center. Don't miss this day of discussion, interaction, and opportunities for exploring new ideas for your Massachusetts classroom. Click here for more information and to register.
New Hampshire Science Teachers' Association Fall Conference
October 23-24, 2011 Church Landing, Meredith, New Hampshire This conference will offer various workshops to give you new teaching ideas and strategies. An exhibit hall will help you boost and enhance your classroom. You can gain information on relevant issues and network with peers and professionals. For pricing options and to register, click here.
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If you are an educator who finds Northern Woodlands magazine useful in your classroom, you are eligible for a complimentary subscription. Simply e-mail your completed registration form to the NWGTS coordinator Emily Rowe.
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We Welcome Your Questions and Comments
Postal Address:
Northern Woodlands
1776 Center Road
P.O. Box 471
Corinth, VT 05039
Toll-Free: (800) 290-5232
Phone: (802) 439-6292
Fax: (802) 439-6296
Email: emily@northernwoodlands.org
General inquiries form
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The mission of the Center for Northern Woodlands Education is to advance a culture of forest stewardship in the Northeast and to increase understanding of and appreciation for the natural wonders, economic productivity and ecological integrity of the region's forests. Our programs give people the information they need to help build a sustainable future for our region. Through Northern Woodlands magazine, the Northern Woodlands Goes to School program, and special publications, we make a difference in how people care for their land.
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