Chittenden Tree Nursery
Chad T.

Yesterday we went to a place called a tree nursery at Chittenden. We measured trees and tested soil. When my group measured trees we found out that trees can be all sorts of sizes. The biggest one our group measured was about 200 centimeters!

When we were walking back to the school the lady there told the class that there was about 52 species of grass in the fields. All the different kinds of grass help the animals there survive. At one time they had to burn all the grass that was in the fields to help the new grass that will grow there next time.

What data did you record?

Our field trip
Stacey

November 2, 2001 we went to Chittenden. We learned how to measure a conifer and test the soil.

When we had to test for the soil this is what we did. First we put the auger in the ground and then turned with your left hand. Then we pulled it out of the ground and took our finger and brushed the dirt with roots in it off. Then we put the rest in the cup so we could take our test samples.

When we did our experiment, I first filled my test tubes up with sand. Next we folded this paper and put it in a funnel. We put it in the test tubes and shook it up. Then we had to wait awhile and wait to see what color it was. Finally we went to the computer lab and recorded the data that we got from measuring the conifers. I had the best time. I hope to go there again.

Our Field Trip
Luke F.

I went on a field trip learning about trees. We got to augur and measure and do chemistry.

I liked measuring the trees. You measure them by cm. When it's more than 100 cm you mark it with your thumbnail. Then you start at that same spot agin. It is hard but also a lot of fun. That’s my favorite job.

Then there's auguring. Aurgering is a lot of fun to. You stick it in the ground and turn it with your left hand. You can get two kinds of soil, soil A and soil B.

How can you tell what species the tree is?

How do you go about measuring a tree?

• Learning the correct way to handle lab tools
• How should you measure a tree?
• How do you take a soil sample?
• What was it like using Excel to record data
• Can you name the Tree Species?
• Prairie Habitat

Tree Habitat
by Raymond

On November 1, 2001, we all went to a tree nursery called Chittenden. It took a while to get there, but once there, we had a blast!

When we were there, we did some tree measuring & chemistry. We measured different tree species: Jack Pine, White Pine, & Ponderosa Pine. You can tell the Ponderosa Pine from the Jack Pine because the Ponderosa Pine has three needles in a bunch.

We learned how some plants can take some but not a lot of acid. We did experiments on the some "A" & "B" layer soil to see how much nutritional value it had. We use NITROGIEN, LIME, & something else I can't remember.

As you can see, Chittenden is a great place to have a good time.

Science field trip
By Ashley

We went on a science field trip to the Chittenden Nursery. We all had a nice time there. It was fun. We used an auger and measuring sticks and we used cups to put soil in. We were looking for two kinds of soil. They were black color and the other color was golden brown color.

We took an auger and we stuck it in the ground so we could see the two colors of the soil. I got to use the auger first. It is hard to us the auger. You have to push down in the ground.

When we did the experiment on the soil test, we were in the building. We put in a lot of liquids in the test tube when you mixed the soil and the liquids together you got a weird color my group got a sea blue color that was very dark color.

I was glad we went on the trip. I got out of school!

Chittendon
by Kaylyn

We went on a field trip to Chittendon. While we were there we measured trees and did chemistry.

We measured small trees. To measure a tree you need a meter ruler and a tree. First, you put the end of the ruler 0 end down. Next, you see what number the top of the tree is at. If the top of the tree is higher than the ruler you mark were the top of the ruler is at and measure from that point. Use the number at the top of the ruler and add 100.

We also did chemistry. For one of the experiments we mixed 1/4 test tube nitrogen 2 with 1/4 test tube nitrogen 3. After that, we added 1/2 a test tube level B soil. Next, we shook it up until it turned an ugly brownish color. After we were done we made a paper cone, and put it in a funnel. Then, we put the funnel in a test tube and pured the ugly brown stuff in the funnel, and waited. When we were done our results showed us that the soil was 4% nitrogen.

That is a few things we did at Chittendon. I hope we go on an other field trip soon.

Tree Habitat
by Anna

Yesterday we went on a field trip to Chittenden. It was fun. We learned a lot.

One thing we did was measure trees. We had different groups. I was in group 10. We measured Jack Pines and Red Pines. To measure the trees that were taller than you could reach, you had to start from the top and go down. To measure trees that you could reach the top of, you would go from the bottom up. We measured 20 trees per group. Most of our Jack Pines were taller; but then again our group only measured 5 Red Pines.

We also learned a little about adaptations that some trees have for the winter. Some trees like the Cedar have flimsy branches that can bend easy without breaking. That helps them because it makes them able to dump the snow off. Others like the Oak have strong branches that slant upwards. That makes it so that they don’t break under the weight of the snow.

At Chittenden we did some chemistry. The first thing that we did was fill 1/4 of each test tube (except one) with dirt. Then we took the test tube without the dirt and filled 1/4 with #2 nitrogen and then fill it to the 2/4 mark with #3 nitrogen. Next we took a filter and folded it to fit in the funnel. Then we put the end of the funnel in the large test tube. Next we took one of the test tubes with dirt and mixed it with the test tube with the nitrogen in it. Then we put the mixed soil and nitrogen in the filter lined funnel.

Next we took the other test tube with dirt in it. Then we did the exact same thing except with lime instead of Nitrogen. Then we let it sit. This time we switched people and had different people do the chemistry.

While it was sitting we took the one with nitrogen in it and took a book and matched the color to find how much nitrogen seeped through the soil. Ours was 2%. Then we did it with the one with lime in it. Our percent was 6% for that.

Now I’m going to tell you about Michigan’s forest. There are two types of forests, the deciduous forest and the coniferous forest.

Deciduous trees have broad flat leaves. A deciduous tree also has leaves that change color in the fall. They change color because they can’t make chlorophyll. Chlorophyll makes their leaves green. Deciduous trees also loose their leaves in the winter and grow back in the spring.

Conifers are sometimes called evergreens because they stay green all year. They also have needle like trees, but some like the cedar don’t. Conifers also have paper like wrappings around the bottom of the needles. Those paper like wrappings are called fascicles. Conifers have cones.

I’ve learned a lot about trees and their habitat. I had a lot of fun learning about them.

How will this data be used?

Testing the soil

November 1, 2001