Regal Douglas firs towering overhead, sword ferns blanketing the under-story, and slanting sun rays illuminating our path: what a spectacular place to learn. Our class was fortunate to spend a morning with Natasha Taylor, environmental educator, in Courtenay’s Millard Nature Park. Our experiences are documented below.
Huzzahnians, what do you remember about our trip? Did one of the activities especially help you learn about forest ecosystems? In your comments below, please tell us what you learned during our morning in the park. Natasha sent some questions along for you to consider. Answer one or contribute facts of your own in your comment.
- What is a symbiotic relationship? Give an example.
- What is the difference between a conifer (evergreen) tree and a deciduous tree?
- A habitat is comprised of three elements. What are they?
- Why do you think it is important to have dead wood (standing dead trees, fallen dead trees, tree stumps) in a forest ecosystem?
- What important job do fungi perform in the forest ecosystem?
Finally, what is the most interesting thing that you learned, saw, or experienced in Millard Nature Park? Would you recommend your friends and family visit the park?
Blog visitors, do you have a favourite nature park or wilderness near you? What is the ecosystem like? Let us know why you value wild spaces.
Hi!
It sounds like everyone had a lot of fun going on the forest adventures! It’s too bad I couldn’t be there. In Italy there is a species of tree that has a camouflage bark, but we still aren’t sure the name of it. In some towns that didn’t have very much plant life they would have rows of trees alongside of the road. Sounds like you had a lot of fun!~Sophie
My favourite nature park is the MacDonald Wood Park because the forest is right behind my house. So I go there often.
Hi, on our trip to Millard Nature park i learned lots of things like all animals need food, shelter and water.
Hi,
I wasn’t on this nature walk but I wish I was. It sounded like lots of fun!
What I remember from the field trip is that moss holds water for trees. It is also a very interesting forest and I really enjoyed the games we played.
Hey everybody at Huzzah!
No, I do not have a favorite nature park, but there are some really nice, lush forests and nature parks around here that are just waiting to be explored. I do, in fact, value wild spaces, because they are the “root” (Mwhehehe) of our valley. Millard nature park was also a great ‘field trip’ for us to go on and explore the forest. I hope we get to do some more exploring soon. What is your opinion on forests and….such?
My opinion is that I can’t imagine living without natural spaces nearby. We are extremely lucky to be so close to the ocean, mountains, and forests. I try to never take it for granted. Where would you like to explore next, Nicole?
Hmmm….
Probably Tofino! I would want to explore Tofino because there are so many beaches to surf there!
HI, Ms. Smith
I think it is important to have dead wood in a forest ecosystem because it is some animals homes and habitats. A lot of animals use dead trees or stumps as homes or shelters or to build their nests in.
I also really enjoyed the fieldtrip and the video!
-Samantha
Hello Huzzahnians
No I do not have a favourite nature park, because there aren’t really any near me, but the one that we visited (Millard Nature Park) was quite nice. I really enjoyed seeing all the nature. It has beautiful trees of all different types with pine cones and wild life too! I love and value wild spaces because they keep us healthy!
Hello,
I had a really good time on this trip and this is what I learned. I learned what a vanilla plant is and what Douglas Fir is, A habitat has to contain of these three things (water, shelter and food). I think a good forest has to contain lots of dead trees for animals to live in, a good water source, and some trails for people to walk though.
Bye Bye
Kyle
Hi Ms Smith, I have a favourite nature park. It is named Highland Woods it is my favourite because there are biking trails and it is a lush forest and has great walking trails.
Hi Mrs. Smith,
On the field trip to Millard Nature Park, I learned that way back then in the olden days the loggers didn’t have all of the fancy stuff they have today so they used these spring board things and what they would do is cut little holes into trees and stick a little board in the hole and they would stand on it to cut the tree down. That is what I learned. Buh Bye!
I was not able to come to that field trip because I was sick but I imagine I would really enjoy it! I think the difference between an evergreen and a deciduous tree is that an evergreen does not change colours during Fall and Winter and does not lose their leaves as for deciduous trees turn bright red, orange and yellow and lose their leaves!
-Elysa
Hi Elysa, other important differences are that evergreens disperse their seeds differently and they have needles instead of leaves. We’ll get you on our next trip!
A symbiotic relationship is were two living things are giving each other resources, habitat, water, food etc. Example: moss on a tree; the tree gives the moss a place to live without competition. The moss also gives the tree another way to get water. Therefor the moss and tree relationship is symbiotic.
Anyways, I love the video Ms. Smith!
-Becky
Hi Huzzah,
The three elements that a habitat is comprised of are, food, water and shelter.
I would recommend going to Millard Nature Park because it is a very cool forest and it has a lot of interesting things to see for example, we found a salamander in the forest and there are lots of cool fungi and dead trees. There are also lots of interesting plants. I hope we go on lots more cool field trips like this!
That field trip was really fun! It was awesome running around the forest looking for the clues in our booklet.
Hi Huzzah,
At the nature park I learned a lot about the forest and how animals live in the wild. The most interesting thing I learned is that if an animal does not meet all of its needs it will not live very long. If it does not have shelter, it will get eaten by predators. If it does not get water are food it will die from starvation are dehydration. In a habitat animals need to meet their needs and their needs are shelter, food and water. It is important to have stumps and dead logs because it is shelter to animals.
Hello Ms. Smith,
Dead wood such as tree stumps, fallen dead wood and standing dead trees have many purposes. For example, tree stumps provide homes for animals. Fallen dead trees often tend to grow fungi on them which is also leading into another answer to the question, “What important job do fungi perform in the forest ecosystem?” Fungi are actually not a plant. They have a very important role in the forest. They help decompose. I had a fantastic time learning in the forest,
Thank you!
Hi Ms.Smith!
The three elements of a habitat is water, food, and shelter.
You can only live a certain amount of time without having those seperate things.
And by the way, I love the slideshow you put together! The trip was very fun.
The three elements habitat is comprised of are food, water and shelter
Hello, My name is Liam
In the forest I learned that our town used to be a forest until people started to clear cut.
Hi Ms.Smith,
I loved our visit to Millard Park. I loved the survival games and the hunt. My mother drove me and my friends over to the Millard Park. I loved learning about the old times logging. It was awesome. Now every time I will go in our forest I will look for spring board holes.
Dear Ms Smith,
I have never been there before the trip. From what I remember I can answer two questions. Fungi grow on dead trees to help decompose them. A habitat contains: food, water and shelter for forest animals and without them no animals could live there.
I really enjoyed going to Millard Nature Park I would go there again, maybe with my family.
Glad you enjoyed it–I did, too! We have taken our dogs for walks there. I think your whole family will love it.
Hello Grade 7s,
My favourite nature area in the Comox Valley is Seal Bay Park. Its forest canopy allows the sun to trickle through, making some of the mist beautiful shadows I have seen. The bird life and crawling forest creatures are plentiful. There are various areas to explore including the swamp, the marsh, the disused railway line that has nearly undetected because it’s been covered with plant growth and the ocean. It is the spot in the Valley where I can go to walk or run with family and friends.
Have any of you been there?
Ms. Bulger! How great to hear from you. We hope your world travels continue to provide your with excitement. I too love Seal Bay. Huzzahnians, what about you?
Hello Ms.Smith! The place Seal Bay does sound very familiar to me but I’m not quite sure if I’ve been there before. I imagine that it’s very beautiful!
-Elysa
Hello Huzzahnians!
Looks like you had a fantastic field trip! Thanks for letting us come along via your blog and slide show. I learned a lot about the purpose of dead wood to an ecosystem. I used to live near woods like the ones in your photos, but now I live in Florida in the United States, and our forests are very different. The land is flat and can become quite overgrown with low growing bushes. Our state has been called the Lightning Capital of the World, and thus it is important for our forest rangers to conduct “controlled burns”. During a controlled burn the rangers start a fire to get rid of all the undergrowth. If the undergrowth were to catch fire from lightning, an uncontrolled burn, a.k.a. a forest fire, could result as the thick, low growth would spread the fire quickly throughout the forest.
We also read a book called Hatchet by Gary Paulsen about a boy whose plane crashes in the woods near a lake in Canada, and he learns to survive in the wilderness all by himself, with a hatchet his only tool. Have you ever read that book?
Thanks for all your great comments to our blog, “Hey, Kids!” I will get back to each of you as soon as I can, and my students will write you some comments on Monday when we are in our computer lab.
I see all of Mrs. Smith’s new 7th grade hires are working out quite well. You are keeping busy and learning a lot! Thanks for helping us to do the same.
~Mrs. Donofrio
Hello Mrs. D,
Ms. Smith has told us lots about you and how you’re just getting into blogging. Most of us are new to it as well, I’m sure we will be talking to your class lots this year and I’m sure your as excited as we are. Florida sounds and looks very nice, I’m sure it is also a lot warmer then it is here in British Columbia.
Hi Josh,
Since I am new to blogging, as your teacher Ms. Smith told you, I didn’t realize until today that I had so many nice comments waiting for me here on your blog! Please accept my apology as well as my delayed response. Florida is a lot warmer than British Columbia. Today it was about 82 degrees.
I like all your new posts. Ms. Smith has lots of cool ideas. She is a GREAT teacher!
We’ll write again soon,
Mrs. Donofrio
Hi Ms.Donofrio!
How are you?
What are the forests in Florida like? I’ve always wanted to go to Florida! My uncle lives there, I might be going there soon. Maybe I’ll go look at some of the forests! Talk to you later!
Hi Summer,
The forests in Florida have lots of palm and pine trees. There are over 2500 different types of palms, although only 12 of these varieties are native to Florida. Others have been brought here from other places. Some of the animals who live in the forests are: wild boar, armadillos, opossums, racoons, rabbits, squirrels, snakes,and gopher tortoises. If you do come to Florida to visit your uncle, I encourage you to go to a forest as well. They are very different from northern forests.
Have fun,
Mrs. Donofrio
Hi! I wasn’t there on the field trip because I was on a trip in Italy. Do you ever go on field trips with your class in Florida? What is the weather like there?~Sophie
Hi Sophie,
Italy sounds like a great field trip as well! I do go on field trips with my class. We have been to a modern day castle, a pioneer village, a walking historical tour of our town, a Medieval fair, and an orange grove. This year I hope to bring my class to a pre-Civil War plantation. We will be reading a book called Elijah of Buxton. It’s a story about a family who moved to Buxton, Canada on the Underground Railroad. Have you ever heard of Buxton? It is on Lake Erie.
~Mrs. Donofrio
Hi, Mrs. Donofrio,
We did have lots of fun, thanks for asking! What are the forests in Florida like? Where did you live before that too? I read the book Hatchet too, it’s a great book.|Thanks for replying to our blog!
-Julia
Hi Julia,
I used to live in a city named Quincy; it’s eight miles outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Have you ever heard of Boston? It is a very historical city in the United States. The American Revolution began in Boston in 1776.
I’m glad you liked Hatchet. Have you read any of the sequels? I have not read them yet.
~Mrs. Donofrio
Hi Mrs Donofrio,
My name is Reece and I am from Huzzah. I have read the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and I really liked the book. We sometimes have forest fires too.
Bye
Hi Reece,
So glad you liked Hatchet. Have you read Brian’s Winter or any of the other sequels? After Christmas we area going to read Elijah of Buxton which takes place in Buxton, Canada. It is near Lake Erie and was the last stop on the Underground Railroad.
Thanks for commenting,
Mrs. Donofrio
Hi, Mrs. Donofrio,
I’m glad you liked the slide show! My class in grade four read Hatchet, too. It was really interesting!
Hopefully our classes will be able to connect during the year!
~Samantha
Hi Samantha,
I’m glad you liked Hatchet. Quite a few of my students went on to read some of Gary Paulson’s other books in the series. They also like Woodsong.
Thanks for writing back,
~Mrs. Donofrio
Hello Mrs. Donofrio,
I’m just answering your question if I have ever read the book “Hatchet.” by Gary Paulsen. No, unfortunately I haven’t read it but I would love to one day. Would you reccomend it for me? I like more of mystery books and occasionally, sad books. I love reading your blog and I can’t wait to read more! Thanks!
-Adena
Huzzah!
Hi Adena,
I would recommend Hatchet. I liked it, but I have to say that it seems more boys like the book than girls. It is about a boy’s survival in the wilderness. Some of my favorite books are The Wednesday Wars, Peak, and Freak the Mighty. Have you read any of these?
Thanks for responding to my comment,
~Mrs. Donofrio
Hi Mrs Donofrio,
I’ve read Hatchet and and I liked it, it was very cool! I hope you enjoyed it! I’m glad you liked the slideshow and thanks for the comments! I really hope our classes will be able to connect more through out the year!
-Jenna
Hi Jenna,
Thanks for responding to my comment. I think your class has very cool slideshows, too. They are inspiring to me! They are one of my favorite parts of blogging.
I hope to see you again soon,
~Mrs. Donofrio
That sounds really fun, what were your favorite parts
Hi Isaiah, I really liked being among the really big sword ferns. In some cases they were bigger than me!
Hi Isaiah,
I’m a Huzzanianan. I don’t have a favourite part because I was sick that day )=. How is it in Florida? I would love to get to see the different ecosystems in your forests. I bet there are lots of different plants just like here.
~Jacob
Hello Isaiah, my favourite part of are woods adventure was being with my friends in the wild. I got stung twice by a wasp though :(.
Thanks for the comment
Bye Bye
Hello Mrs. Smith, my name is Euriel and I’m from Mr. Miller’s class. I love that video! It’s interesting because I like nature and I think nature is very interesting. One of your questions is: Why do you think it is important to have dead wood (standing dead trees, fallen dead trees, tree stumps) in a forest ecosystem? My answer is: I think it is important because some animals might use that dead tree as their habitat. One example is in your video, the salamander. There are other animals that I don’t know the name of but I’m sure they like dead trees as habitats.
Huzzah! – Euriel (http://mrmillersstudent200.edublogs.org/)
Hi Euriel, I am glad you like the slide show and I am thrilled that you learned from the post. And you nailed it about our salamander (it was pretty exciting to find him). Your ecosystem is so different from ours –what do you like about nature in your part of California?
Thanks for writing,
Ms. S.
Hello Ms. Smith,
My name is Yamileth. I’m in Mr.Millers class in California. Mr.Millers told my class about your Edublog page and we decided to give it a visit. I was reading your post”Learning Among The Trees”. After I was finished reading I thought about the questions you put at the of the post.Here is my answer.Here were I live there is so many trees but the one park that has more nature is The Pinnicals. That was it well I really liked the post but have to go bye.You can see my blog at http://mrmillersstudent114.edublogs.org/
-Your Friend Yamileth
Hi Yamileth! I visited the Pinnacles National Monument website and learned that you have condors in your area. What an amazing bird! We have bald eagles here, sometimes we will have up to 10 in one tree! I have always wanted to see a condor. My son and I used to read books about them when he was little–we even had a condor puppet. Have you ever seen a condor when you visited Pinnacles?
Thanks for visiting,
Ms. S.
Hi Ms. Smith I had a lot of fun on this field trip! At first i thought we were just gonna go for a hike which would be kinda boring, but instead we played games and learned about nature which was awesome!
-Cole
Hello, My name Bekkam,
I thought that forest Trip was really fun because we got to run around in the forest and play games to and last of all we got to see a salamander and learn about different plants.
Bekkam
Hi,
I thought the field trip was a lot of fun. I learned about nature and old forests. It is important to have dead trees in a forest because they provide habitats for animals. They also create an environment for new trees and plants to grow on.
Spencer
Hi, its Matt again I love your website and your slide show I think the forest adventures sounds really fun I wish I could go but I dont know where it is . Can you please tell me where it is contact me back at http://bdonofrio.edublogs.org
Hi Matt, unless you visit Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, you won’t find this particular forest. I know that Florida has many State and National Parks. Can you tell us what they are like?
Thanks for visiting,
~Ms. Smith