This field study engages students in hands-on exploration of trees and forest ecosystems through rotating stations focused on tree identification, adaptation, anatomy, forest health, forest products, and forest management. Students develop a deeper understanding of how trees interact with their environment and how forestry practices can either support ecological balance. Using real tools like Biltmore sticks and tree cookies, students build observation skills, learn how trees survive and grow, and consider how forestry practices can support both ecosystems and climate solutions. Students are guided to explore the vital roles that trees play in healthy forest ecosystems and in addressing global challenges like climate change.

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

• Identify and classify common tree species using field guides, bark, branching, and leaf characteristics.
• Compare structural and adaptive traits of different trees and explain how these adaptations support survival in specific environments.
• Detect and evaluate signs of tree damage or forest health stressors and explain their potential influence on forest ecosystems.
• Analyze tree cookies (cross-sections) to interpret growth patterns, age, and past environmental conditions, making inferences about how weather, competition, and disturbance events shape forests.
• Measure tree size (DBH and height) and estimate biomass and carbon storage.
• Describe how different parts of a tree (roots, trunk, bark, leaves) work together as a system, and explain how resource availability affects growth and resilience.
• Evaluate sustainable forest management practices (e.g., selective cutting, regeneration, maintaining habitat diversity) and propose evidence-based methods for balancing ecological health with human needs.