sheldon community forest

Nature Trail Brochure

ncote — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:15:43 +0000

It’s published and ready for you! It’s the Nature Trail Interpretative Guide for the Sheldon Community Forest. As you follow the narrow path from the kiosk you see green and white signs that lead you along this Nature Trail. As you follow the numbered posts, each stop tells a different story the about this amazing forest.

It took two years and many hands and many hours from the dedicated members of the Forest Committee to complete this project. Paul Madden and Kurt Valenta selected the path for this new trail in the forest. Paul Madden researched and generated information for each stop. Dan Danyow donated the cedar posts while Kurt and Marvin Bicknell sharpened and numbered each of the 16 posts. Paul Madden and Delbert Cook dug holes and placed the posts. The edited text, photos and layout were designed by Marvin Bicknell, and Kurt Valenta. Annette Baker oversaw the printing and publishing of the brochure at Queen City Printers in Burlington.

The Sheldon Community Forest Committee hopes this brochure makes your walk in the forest more enjoyable. We all love and care for this wonderful forest and feel very fortunate to have the Sheldon community be stewards of this land.

The brochure for the Nature Trail’s Interpretative Guide is available at the school and can be found on the forest website.http://fnwsu.org/forest.

Download the Forest Brochure

rusti — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:56:09 +0000

Grab the forest brochure. Just right click the link below and save it to your computer!

Forest Brochure (101)

Winter Fest 2010

ncote — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:40:26 +0000

Kids had a great time sledding on the hill, going on a storywalk and listening to Bilijean Smith tell a Native American story by the campfire.

Click on this link to hear Bilijean’s story. Native American Tale

Kindergartners Investigate Tracks

ncote — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:08:02 +0000

One early Wednesday morning in February members of the forest committee and other community volunteers hiked with Kindergartners in the forest. Kurt Valenta shows children animal tracks along with other findings like where animals eat and browse from the branches of trees. The children were

Kindergarteners in the forest

eager learners.

Children look at animal tracks with Mr. Valenta.

Links to Websites on Forest and Tree Identification

ncote — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:12:03 +0000

Links to Websites about Forests and Trees

Educational Games on food chains and more. (Grades K-2)

Interactive & Informative Treetures (Grades K-3)

Teachers Domain: science lesson plans, video, short clips (Grades 3-12)

Nature Walks(Grades 1- 6)

Dr. Arbor talks about the parts of a Tree( Grades 1-6)

Take 4 Different Walks in the Forest

(Grades 3-6)

A Dirt Detective: Trees & Soil, Forest Layers Walk, I.D. a Tree, Observing Seasonal Changes, Mapping Forest Changes

Virtual Forest Activity

Interactive Game where students make choices that impact the environment (Grades 3-6)

Exploring the Secret Life of Trees (Grades 3-6)

National Arbor Day Foundation: Teaching youth about Trees (Grades 3-8)

The Life of a Tree

A Seed Takes Root ( Shows how the Pine Cone Seeds Germinate)

The Life of a Forest through its rings

National Arbor Day Day: Teaching Youth

We Get So Much from Trees (Grades 3-8)

From Farm to Forest (historical perspective on forests) Grades (5-8)

Forest Succession(PowerPoint Presentation) Grades (5-8)

Getting to Know Your Forest ( Lesson Plans and observation sheets)(Grades 5-8)

Resources on Forests & Trees for teachers (Grades K-8)

Web Links for Knowing Trees

ID a Tree

Basics of Tree ID

Environment Education for Kids(EEK!) Tree Identification

What Tree is that? Arbor Day Key

Common Trees of PA

Fall ‘Fest October 10, 2009

ncote — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:23:14 +0000

A cloudy Saturday morning in October turned into a beautiful sunny afternoon, just in time for the Fall ‘Fest. A campfire blaze kept all participants warm as the sun began to set. Kurt Valenta roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for everyone. The kids painted faces on pumpkins and on did face painting for each other. Ernie Hemingway read the story of The Legend of sleepy Hollow to the group around the campfire. A wonderful, fun-filled afternoon and evening for all!

A Storywalk in the Forest

ncote — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:24:35 +0000

Parents and children walked the trails and stopped at posts to read from a book titled, Leaves, during the school’s Open House on September 17th. The Franklin-Grand Isle Bookmobile provided us with the story and materials from the Kellog Library in Montpelier. The Sheldon Community Forest Committee plans to purchase picture books and materials for more Storywalks in the future. The books and materials will be given to the Bookmobile to be shared with other communities interested in Storywalks.

Summer Work Days and Bio-Survey

ncote — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:57:36 +0000

Summer rain and wind changes the forest making it time for a trail clean up before school starts. A couple of days may be necessary to ready the trails for the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year since the trails need to be repainted. Several forest committee members will lead the school staff through the various trails and have a conversation for ways they might engage their classes in forest activities on Thursday morning, August 20th.
Earlier in June this year several committee members walked the Nature Trail to develop a Bio-Survey for the trees and wildflowers with a 25 ft. radius of the numbered posts #1-8. This data base will help to prepare an interpretive guide for this walking trail.

marvin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:58:25 +0000

Robert, Paul, Delbert, Kurt, Marvin and Dan were at the forest Sat. morning

to cut up a blow down, remove some potentially dangerous trees and to

assess the logging operation. The rain held off and mission was accomplished.

4/4/09 Marvin

Work Day

marvin — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:52:22 +0000

Saturday, April 4, is a workday at the Sheldon Community Forest.