October is Peak Month for SFL Nature Trail

When I was teaching, I customarily took my class on an introductory walk on the nature trail in late September or early October to establish a "baseline" for observation.  Then when we returned in February, April, and May, we could note the many seasonal changes that take place.

Last Friday, I took some eager second graders on their first walk on the Farm Life Nature Trail.  It started with laying down some ground rules for intelligent viewing and using our eyes and ears.

The ballfield steps were an ideal place to set some goals and suggest what students might see.  And to tell them to expect the unexpected.

What are they looking at?

In a teachable moment, I found some dried pine resin just a few feet away.  I used it to resin up my bird call, which we would use periodically to try to stimulate some conversations with our feathered friends.

I appreciated Mrs. Dumas and Mrs. Cameron inviting me for this special event.  They recognize not only how much students enjoy the nature trail, but the myriad of valuable lessons that can be learned there.  Other teachers that take their classes there are to be commended as well.

Enter the nature trail on the newly widened

path adjacent to the ball field fence.

These students are spellbound by an unusual tree you just can't miss.

It's Old Man Poplar, who leans precariously

on a younger white oak tree

(which is also leaning, as a result)!

Now turn around students, to see another

unusual tree (they're everywhere).

This is called "The Slingshot Tree."

My purpose in making up nicknames for special plants and locations on our trail is to motivate students and stir their imaginations.  There is plenty of time for them to learn the botanical names and terminology in the years ahead.  Sparking a fire of interest is today's purpose.

A nature walk is not complete without a stop

at the venerable poplar tree "Jack, Will, and Tom." 

Each individual student gets to witness

the incredible view.

This is the view.  If you haven't seen

it for yourself, you should.

Big sister shares a special moment

with little sister.  Nature is for sharing.

Cinnamon fern is one of several ferns found in these woods.  Some specimens grow as high as smaller students' heads.  But after a few short weeks of fall and winter weather, these fragile fronds virtually disintegrate.

I like to tell students that even with my hundreds of visits to these familiar trails, every walk is different.  Here's a perfect example.  Just ten days earlier, these toadstools had not yet appeared on this rotten log.  I just love surprises, don't you?

This is part of a frond of Royal Fern, which can grow even larger than the cinnamon fern.  Not pictured are the netted-chain fern and ebony spleenwort, which we also saw.

These lucky students were able to mount Big Rock, thanks to recent dry weather.  Again, one week earlier, it was far too muddy for the girl scouts to try this, and many students miss the opportunity during rainy spells.

When you experience the wonders of nature

firsthand, you're very likely to remember it.

Sisters are joined by Mom.  I love for the nature trail to be a family affair.  It does not belong to me or to the school.  It is a community resource, and the more people who take advantage of it, the happier I'll be.

I wonder how many of these students accepted my challenge to invite their families for a walk some weekend soon.  I know they want to.

An interesting phenomenon seen only in the fall is the red seed clusters of the Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant, one of my favorites.  While not a rare plant, neither is it common.  The greenery has already died down, to re-emerge in April.

"Mr. Loyd, what do you mean, some people return after crossing this bridge?"

Did I mention I'm not above adding a fun "fear" factor?

I used to take my students to the trail to read ghost stories at Halloween.  I would facetiously invite them to meet me at "the Graveyard of the Pines" at midnight.  And if classes were really good, I would let them play "Old Mother Witch in these very woods.  Talk about motivation to show good conduct!

Once across the bridge, we are no longer on school property, and I can not officially sanction exploration.  But neighboring land owners have given their blessing to our sharing of their land for more than 25 years.

But this is where you will find the lovely Christmas fern, one of the few that retains its greenery even through the winter snows.

This young lady is smiling because she has been selected as one of my science assistants.  She will hold this sharp-spined and persistent vine known as cat-brier so other students can safely observe it.  Coincidentally but paradoxically, its scientific name is Smilax, though getting snagged by it will not draw a smile!

Life and death are a constant reality in nature, and quite unpredictable, at that.  I never know when a storm or strong might uproot a tall tree between my visits to the trail.

Last year, Mrs. Dumas's class christened this curve of the stream "Horseshoe Bend."  It was the only spot where we discovered a pool of water.

As we made our way back to the beginning, I showed a few more highlights that I had saved.  Here's a large patch of an unusual shrub called horse sugar.  In the spring, I can show students how the old leaves seem to bow down to the new leaves, before they finally fall to the ground, three months after other plants.

I harvested a single leaf of the strongly aromatic herb wild ginger.  From that leaf, I tore a tiny fragment for each student so that they could keep a sample.  I wonder how many noticed that their fingers would still smell of it until the next good scrubbing.

The last photo I'll share this time is the bright gold root of Yellow Root.  It was used as a dye by native Americans and as a medicinal herb both by pioneers and some in the 20th century.  I have friends who knew a man who used to gather this herb in their swampy woods for a spring tonic. 

Possibly the last "biggie" was that we discovered a tree we named "Sourwood Sally."  We once had another tree by that name, but it finally died and was destroyed by timber cutters.  We once stopped to chew its pungent leaves.  Yes, they were sour (what would you expect?), but if it was good enough for Daniel Boone, it's good enough for us.  So, I gathered enough leaves for all who dared to taste sourwood.  Most begged for seconds, so I got more leaves for Mrs. Dumas to distribute.

Back in the classroom, I showed these enthusiastic nature lovers a book that last year's class had written and illustrated.  You might be surprised to learn that numerous students were begging for the opportunity to write one of their own.  Such is the power of hands-on experiences to motivate students and to raise their own expectations.  Nature study is not the only area in which this is true.  In fact, it is virtually universal.

Why not visit this wonderful nature trail.

And take your family with you!