Walk for 10-15 minutes and as you walk, look at the different leaves on the ground or on the tree near you.  Are there a lot of different shapes or do most of the leaves look the same?  How about the sizes of the trees?  Are they tall, short, skinny like a pole or large like a pillar?  You cannot tell how old the tree is unless you look at the rings inside the tree or you measure the diameter of the tree but looking at the size of the tree, how long do you think it has been around?  Notice the varying bark on the trees, how some have smooth bark and how some bark is rough and deeply ridged.

You can identify a tree by looking at its branches, leaves and bark.  See if you can identify one tree with the tree ID, then count how many trees surrounding you are the same species.  Are there many trees of a different species?

On your walk, collect at least 5 leaves that look like they came from different trees.  If you can collect them from off the ground, that would be best for the tree.

After 15-20 minutes of walking, find a bench or log along your walk to take a break.  Pull out the 5 leaves you collected and pick one or two that you would like to take a closer look at.

• • • What do you notice about your leaf?

      • Look at the color, shape, texture, etc.

      • Does it have any holes or breaks on it?

      • What do the edges of the leaf look like?  Is it smooth, serrated or does it have small teeth?

• • • Sketch your leaf with the little details that you can see.

      • What does the leaf feel like?  Does it have little hairs?  Does the top of the leaf feel different from the back of the leaf?

      • Do a rubbing of your leaf, did you find any details in the rubbing that you could not see previously?

      • From your location, how many trees do you see with similar leaves? 

    • If you would like to identify any of your leaves, use the identification guide provided in the module.

Continue enjoying the walk without worrying too much about collecting, but rather enjoying the majesty of the trees that guard the path.  How do the trees look similar?  How do they look different?  If you find any dead or dying trees hypothesis the reason behind its demise. As you walk along, once again reflect and answer these questions:  What do you notice?  What does it remind you of?  What do you wonder? 

Image Credit: "Leaf rubbings" by chaimann is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0