USING FOREST ECOLOGY EXERCISES IN SCIENCE FAIRS TO INCREASE INTEREST IN FOREST RESOURCE EDUCATION:

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USING FOREST ECOLOGY EXERCISES IN SCIENCE FAIRS
TO INCREASE INTEREST IN FOREST RESOURCE
EDUCATION AN EXAMPLE FROM A STAND DEVELOPMENT
STUDY
Brian Roy Lockhart USDA Forest Service, Southern
Research Station Center for Bottomland Hardwoods
Research Stoneville, MS Buddy Cronk Magallen Oil
Company Knoxville, TN March 14, 2008,
Corvallis, Oregon, Seventh Biennial University
Education in Natural Resources
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Presentation

• Outline
• enrollment
• recruitment
• science fairs
• example

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Enrollment

• Declining
• why?
• forestry interests (timber biases)
• forestry programs dieing?

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Enrollment

• Ways to Increase
• diversify program
• new program offerings
• Spatial Information Systems
• funding, faculty workload
• joint efforts
• between departments, schools, colleges,
• and universities
• coordination, credit, egos
• recruitment

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Recruitment

• Outside Perspective
• visiting groups okay
• slide shows okay
• how many hooked?
• need to be in forests and
• touch trees, listen to
• sounds
• mentoring

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Recruitment

• Mentoring
• one-to-one or few
• NEFs
• time commitment
• how many hooked?

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Science Fairs

• Information
• to provide an opportunity for students to
  enhance
• their scientific and technical knowledge by
• conducting their own research studies
• meet other students
• strengthen communication skills
• http//www.sciserv.org/isef/primer/rules.asp

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Science Fair Example

• Stand Development
• Buddy Cronk
• cousin
• 8th grade
• interested in trees
• stand development on an upland hardwood site
• project title Reconstruction of Tree Growth

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Science Fair Example

• Stand Development

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Science Fair Example

• Stand Development

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Stand Development

• Southern U.S. Bottomland Hardwoods
• natural stand counterpart (clearcut winter
  1956-57)

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Stand Development

• Southern U.S. Bottomland Hardwoods
• natural stand counterpart

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Stand Development

• Southern U.S. Bottomland Hardwoods
• natural stand counterpart (age 48)

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Science Fair Example

• Stand Development
• Question Is the largest tree always the
• oldest?
• Question Does tree size indicate tree age?
• larger trees are older trees

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Science Fair Example

• Stand Development

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Science Fair Example

• Height Development

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Science Fair Example

• Outcomes
• Jay High School Science Fair disqualified
• another local science fair 1st place
• Oklahoma Northeast Regional Science Fair 1st
• place
• Oklahoma State Science Fair disqualified

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Conclusions

• Enrollment/Science Fairs
• potential
• identify students
• hands-on scientific method
• time
• operation
• simple questions, remember judges
• follow rules
• display

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Thank You!