This lesson introduces students to the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest where they will learn the wonders of the different species in an old growth forest, be immersed in the world of phenology, explore the topic of wildfires, and witness a variety of microclimates. It also introduces students to their field facilitators, science foundation, and tips and tricks as well as safety information for their day spent in the forest. Students will be introduced to their groups and will complete an activity using the I notice, I wonder, It reminds me of framework to delve into the importance of observations in science.

This lists how mentors will prepare for student arrival, greet students, run icebreaker games, and set up group agreements at the beginning of the field trip. This also details how mentors should express appreciation of students and their participation, the conduct assessment provided by community partners as well as our personal assessment on the last page of the nature journals.

This lesson helps middle school-aged students connect with the native flora by building an understanding of phenology, the study of when cycling natural phenomena occur. In this investigation, we teach students about the phenophases of leafout and flowering, and how to differentiate among them. Students learn to identify four native plants and determine how climate change impacts the timing of plant budding, bursting, and flowering. The lesson emphasizes the cyclic nature of the world around us, and through group discussions, we reveal how humans are part of this cycle. Through phenology, we demonstrate why a changing climate matters.

The tree identification lesson introduces students to four Native Oregon tree species. Students are given the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills and experience a connection to the natural world as they learn about and identify the Douglas-fir, Western Hemlock, Western Red Cedar, and Pacific Yew trees.  Students also become familiar with the characteristics used to define an old growth forest.

This lesson introduces middle school students to microclimates using data collection, formulating hypotheses, and graphing data points. Students will record data using thermometers and illustrate the sites to represent vegetation and topographic features to showcase correlations between temperature and site location. While this station focuses on data collection and presentation, the objective of our lesson is to encourage critical thinking about how the data we collect connects to climate change and the impact it will have on these small-scale climates.

This investigation introduces middle school students to fire ecology principles, the impact climate change has on wildfires, and traditional Indigenous land management practices involving fire. Educators will begin with an introduction into these topics, allowing time in each step for peer discussion, then move to an activity that promotes artistic thinking with the goal of creating an emotional connection between the student and the natural world. The lesson will end with a brief assessment that challenges the students to act on the information provided in this lesson.