Hartwick Pines protects trees. On Friday my class went to Hartwick Pines. There we saw a lot of trees. When our class was with the the guide we saw a tree that got hit by lightning. My class also saw a man, he said he was from the 1880's. Next our class saw an old church and got to see an old lumbermen Museum. After that we went back to the lobby and got to participate in a skins and skulls activity. My favorite part was the lumbermen Museum. On the way back we got to go to McDonalds. We got back at 7:00. Mrs. Bennett gave each of us a Hartwick Pines tree. I loved Hartwick Pines. 
~Lacee

     On May 2nd our class went to Hartwick Pines. Our tourest was Dale, Dale taught us about trees. We saw a Monarch tree that had Maple syrup in it. One time that tree got hit by lightning and the maple got hot and it exploded. Our second tourest was Rod. He taught us about pioneers. I learned that if you were a wood cutter you could get one dollar a day. If you were a cooker and you were very good at it you could get three dollars a day. Next we went and saw the skins and skulls activity. The person that did that with us was Craig. We had to close our eyes and he would put a skin or skull in our hand and we had to guess what was in our hands. I had a great time at Hartwick Pines. ~Madison

Last week 4th graders of Onekama went to Hartwick pines. It's a state park with lots of trees. Three of the trees is white pine, monarch tree, red pine. The needles of white pine has five needles, red pine has only two. After that we went to McDonalds. Hartwick Pines was fun. ~Hunter M.

Our guide was Dale. She led us through the pines. We went to a big tree that got hit by lightning. Dale showed us birds that lived in the trees. We saw a man named Craig. He said he was from the 1880's. Then we went o this big tree. It used to be taller but the wind blew it down.
~Alexa

We got to learn about different animals, different trees, and where the lumbermen stayed. We did Skins and Skulls with Craig. Craig told us very interesting and funny things about animals. My favorite part was the museum and the Lumber Museum.
 ~MacKenzie

     On the way to Hartwick pines I sat with my grandma and my best friend Mackenzie. When we got to Hartwick Pines we ate our lunch. When I was finished with my food I played on the playset. Finally we got to where we could go on the trails. Our tour guide was Dale. She was nice. We learned about wild animals that live there. We also learned about Red Pines. We saw this huge tree called the Monarch tree. Then on our way back we saw a man that thought he was in the 1880's. He was just an actor though. Then we met a guy named Rob. He showed us how it would be like when you lived as a lumberman.   Hartwick pines is a good place to have fun,. ~Rhianan

     Friday, May 2, our class went to Hartwick Pines. It was a two hour bus ride. When we got there our tourest was named Dale. As were walking there was a man that thought he was in the 1812. Then we figured out how to tell a red pine from a white pine. If the bundel has 3 needles it is a red pine. If it has 5 it is a white pine. My favorite thing was the animal skins. We went to a lumbermen camp. It was a museum. Our tour man for that was Rob. After we were done with that we all went to McDonalds. I played DS all the way home.
~Jarrett B.

We learned about animals, nature, lumbermen back in the days. Our forest guide was Dale. We learned that  a white pine has five needles in a bunch and a red pine has two in a bunch. We learned more about trees. At the end we played a game called skins and skulls. I had fun at Hartwick Pines. ~Miah

We got to see where a forest fire was. Hartwick Pines is in Grayling. We took a hike on a trail. We saw wood peckers, owls and animal skins. After the hike we went in the buildings. I learned a lot there. Then we went to the visitor center and played a game called "skins and Skulls". They gave you a skin or skull and you had to guess what it was. Hartwick Pines is a preserved place. We went for a field trip. ~Ashley

When we got there we met in the museum. Then our forest tour guide Dale came and took us out side. First we stopped and she talked about the trees. One of the trees she talked about was split in half by lightening. It was cool. When we were walking on the nature trail we went past a chapel. It was awesome. A chapel is a really small church on top of a hill. After we went to the a logging camp. Inside the logging camp there were bonk beds, tubs, They had only two tubs in the logging camp. one for your clothes and the second for them to clean themselves in. It was gross because they only got to clean themselves once every two weeks. I learned they had to share a bonk with a bonk buddie sometimes you needed to share with two buddies. That would be three people in a bed. Hartwick Pines was a good place to be. ~Jessica

We saw a tree that got struck by lightning. Dale showed us two birds. They were an owl and a woodpecker. Then we saw the monarch tree. It use to be 180 feet tall. She showed us a Pine martin too. Later she showed us a Red Fox and a Skunk. Then we went to a lumber camp and saw a bunch of equipment. ~Trever

In the forest we saw an old tree. It was about 110 years old. We saw white pines and red pines in the forest. Some animals popped out. There were red squirrels everywhere. We also went to a lumbermen camp. There was a guy and he told us that lumber men made a dollar a day. They also wash their clothes and take a bath every two weeks. Then we went to McDonalds and ate dinner. I had fun at Hartwick Pines. ~Keegan

It took one hour and 30 minutes to get there. Taya and I played our DS. When we got there we went on a bridge. We went on the trail. A lot of the trees fell down. When we were done walking we played a game called skins and skulls. My favorite one was the wolf skull and the wolf skin. After the game we went to the gift shop. I got a necklace, a book and a bag of rocks. When we got back to school we all got a baby pine tree. I had fun at Hartwick pines. ~Courtney M.

When we got there we went to the picnic and ate lunch. After lunch we got back on the bus and went to the visitors center. There our tour guide Dale took us on a tour. We saw the monarch tree. Monarch means King. One part of the forest was 120 years old and  the other part was 332 years old. At the logging museum there were displays of a kitchen, general store, and sleeping quarters. When we got back we did a skins and skulls activity. Then we went to the gift shop. We got back to school around 6:00. ~Spencer

We saw owls. The owls were cool. At the end we played a game called Name that Animal. Then we went to the gift shop. I got a squirrel puppet and a heart rock for Mother's Day. We got to see red pine trees and white pine trees. White pine trees have five needles per bundle. Red pines have two needles each bundle. ~Logan M.

We took a walk through the woods. There was someone guiding us through the woods. A person talked about how the lumber men lived in the old days. The we went to skins and sculls. It was a game where you had to guess what was in your hand. My favorite part was the lumber museum.  It was cool to see what lumber men used to sleep in. ~Ethan

Mrs. Bennett's Main Page for 2007-2008

 

34 of us went on the trip. There were a lot of animals there. I learned about lumbermen. Hartwick Pines was the best field trip ever. ~Brandin

     On May second my fourth grade class went to Hartwick Pines. When we got there we ate, then we went to the visitors center.  Once we got to the visitors center we met our tour guide. Her name was Dale. She took us through the forest. At first we saw a tree that got blew open by sap and lightning. Pieces of wood were all over the ground. Dale said that when the lightning struck the tree the sap got so hot it exploded.
     After that we all walked a little farther down the trail. When Dale stopped us again we saw a tree called the Monarch tree. That means it's the king of all trees in the forest. Dale also showed us animal skins and different types of birds. We walked a little farther then a man that said he was from 1840's told us how to identify White Pine and Red Pine. You can tell White Pine from Red Pine because of their needles, seeds and the length of their Pine Cones.  I saw lots of animals at Hartwick Pines. We walked more and then we got to a lumbermen camp. So Dale had to go and a man named Rob told us how it was like to be a lumberman. It seemed hard because the lumbermen would only get one dollar a day. The camp also had cooks and they got more money than the lumbermen. But the cooks have to cook for one-hundred people at the least. So the cooks get two dollars a day. When Rob got done with telling us about lumbermen we went back to the visitors center. We played a game called skins and skulls. Craig taught us that game. He was also the only guy from the tour in the woods., I guess a wolf skull.  My favorite part was the skins and skulls game. I had lots of fun at Hartwick Pines.

Mrs. Bennett's Main Page for 2007-2008

I learned lots of things. One thing I learned was don't mess with the forest. Another thing is don't go in the forest when there is a storm going on. ~ Tiffany

At Hartwick Pines we went on a tour to see what they protect like trees and plants. After the tour we went to see and learn about what lumbermen used to do. ~Courtney L.

Craig, the leader of the game, put an animal skin or skull in your hands and you had to guess what it belonged to. Before he showed you the skin or skull he put a blindfold on you. When I got called  up to guess what animal the skin or skull belonged to I put on a blindfold and then he handed me an animal skin that belonged to a raccoon. Not everybody got a chance to play but almost everybody did. Some people thought that the game was kinda nasty because it had to do with dead animals. I like the game a lot. After somebody took a turn he would teach us a little bit about that animal. I learned a lot about animals that day. ~Faith

We had to stay on the path so we wouldn't harm any tree roots or plants. Every once in a while she would tell us about animals and their habitats. Once when we stopped she told us about how the park is protected by the government. She told us about how when its storming a tree gets struck by lightning. Then it falls down and they can't do anything about it. If nature did it they don't do anything about it. But if there was a forest fire they would put it out. She talked about how you don't want to carve into a tree like when you write something sharp on the tree. You don't want to because it could kill part of the tree. ~Alyssan