Total Lesson Time: 90 - 145 min (1 hour, 30 min - 2 hours, 25 min)
Introduction
It’s not hard to remember some of the massive wildfires that have happened over the last few summers all along the west coast. From the Eagle Creek fire in the Gorge started by fireworks to the Beachie Creek fire in Estacada, and all of the devastating fires in California. On a new page in your nature journal, title the top “Forest Succession”. Answer this question in your journal with a hypothesis: What happens after a forest is wiped to the ground? Continue with this lesson to see if you’re right!
In 1980 Mt. St. Helens erupted and leveled over ten miles of forest, and it’s just now starting to fully come back. Today, let’s look at how a forest regrows from a disturbance (a natural or man-made disaster) in a process called Forest Succession.
Watch this video on Mt. St. Helens and think about the question: What happens after a disturbance?
All About Forest Succession
Watch the next video where PBJ helps us to understand the stages that follow a disturbance. We'll learn all about primary, secondary, intermediate, and climax community stages!
Stages of Regrowth: What is Forest Succession?
Stages of Regrowth: What is Forest Succession?
Join Midnight as he breaks it down to the stages of forest succession
Forest Succession Dance Video Break
What makes a forest
First, watch this video and think about the question: What types of trees are there? Then, make a note in your nature journal about the two main types of trees: Coniferous and Deciduous. Include what makes each type unique (Hint: needles vs leaves, age, stage, etc.)
Now that we’ve explored the main categories of trees, let’s find evidence of them in the real world. Go outside for at least 10 minutes and see which of the following evidence of plant diversity you can find. If you can’t go outside, look at these pictures from our Outdoor School site, Camp Magruder and the Tillamook Forest Center.
Instructions: Use the Succession Scavenger Hunt page to look for evidence of plant diversity in the pictures and videos in this slideshow. On each slide think about what stage of succession the place at camp Magruder (or the place at the Tillamook Forest Center) might be in.
Bonus Question: A healthy forest has diversity, or lots of kinds of plants and animals. On each image or video answer this question to yourself: Is this area of camp or the Forest Center healthy? What evidence do I see to support that?
The Cedar People
The Cedar People: How do indigenous peoples care for their forests?
The indigenous people who live in the Pacific Northwest are sometimes referred to as “the Cedar People” because their lives are so intertwined with these redwooded marvels. Tribes and bands throughout the West Coast used controlled burns to manage the summer forest fire seasons, but in the early 1900s laws and curfews were put in place to discourage or ban these practices. Read this article from NPR to learn more and then take this quiz.
Answer these questions after reading NPR Article, "To Manage Wildfire, California Looks To What Tribes Have Known All Along", answer these questions about controlled burns::
Why do indigenous people do controlled burns?
Should the California government allow or encourage controlled burning from its indigenous peoples? Why?
Redwoods are incredibly soft, soft enough to use as blankets and diapers. They are lightweight and make good canoes. The bark can be harvested without hurting the tree and can be woven into baskets and other supplies. Hear more from members of the Quileute Tribe in Washington to learn more about this amazing tree:
While you probably don’t have a Quileute Elder at home to teach you how to strip cedar bark and use it, you can learn to weave at home. Weaving is a skill of interlacing fabric, thread, and other materials to fashion strong objects. Some form of weaving can be found in every culture, so try your hand at this ancient craft with the activities below!
What you’ll need to make a paper basket:
As always try to use recycled materials (like paper shopping bags or old cereal boxes)
Paper bags, newspaper, or other recycled paper
Recycled cardboard
Scissors
Tape or glue
What you’ll need for nature weaving:
Cardboard
Yarn, string, rubber bands, long blades of grass
Understanding Fire Disturbances
How can you tell if a disturbance has occurred?
Investigating a forest can be a lot like investigating a crime scene. Forest investigators can be people that work as forest Rangers or firefighters, and it’s their job to look for clues for what happened. Below are a few examples for natural and man-made disturbances forest investigators look for, can you think of other disturbances people might make on plants, trees, and forests? Make a note of them!
Note: a snag is a tree with its “top missing”, but is still standing.
Let’s practice! Can you find a plant or tree to investigate, or can you go on a nature walk or hike in a park? Pick one plant or area to investigate and see if you can find any of these signs (or ones you thought of) and write them down in your nature journal. Don’t forget to write down the date and location of your investigation so you can check on it again later.
