Time for Trees

by Julia Parker, from the September 2005 Newsletter

When I was a child my grandfather indoctrinated me into the world of trees. He showed me different types of trees on his Ohio farm, told me their names, showed me their fruit and leaves, and often told me stories about them. One tree, a Tupelo, he and my grandmother brought back on a long car trip from New Orleans in the 1950s. An old apple tree had been planted by his mother when he first bought the farm. And one of my fondest memories is being taken aside one 4th of July and walking to the mulberry tree with Gramps so we could eat that sweet, musty fruit together.

In my early 20s, I became a naturalist and worked for a metropark district, teaching kids and adults about trees, plants and animals. Later, I entered graduate school in forestry and learned the scientific names of trees and plants. I became a real nerd and would often spontaneously tell people about trees as we walked and hiked. I even named my dog ‘Tsuga’ as in pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas fir). I tell you this to make the point that my love of trees and nature was built over time—a foundation in childhood taught by someone who clearly loved his land helped me build a lifelong affection for the earth and its many inhabitants.

In the autumn, we have a wonderful opportunity to help engender a love of the natural world in our children by learning about trees. It is so easy in the fall to notice our lovely trees in Moscow. Seeds from the basswood, horse chestnut, oak, locust and buckeye literally fall at our feet to be picked up, inspected, and admired by our kids. Red and orange maple leaves, yellow birch, and yellow and brown oak leaves tumble down around us in a kind of natural artist’s pallet.

There are so many ways to help kids enjoy and learn more about trees. Learning tree identification can become a kind of treasure hunt. Using leaves kids can make a kind of puzzle that helps them recognize tree types—oaks, maples, birch, walnut have distinct leaf outlines. Seeds from many trees make an easy dissection project to think about and learn how seeds create new trees.

You don’t need a project to enjoy the autumn trees with your children. But, since I write a column on projects (and if you just didn’t have a grandfather that played tree identification with you or a mother who made wax paper tree books), I’ll give you a few to get you started.

To make a book of tree leaves that stays preserved for a few months, pick 8 or 10 leaves that either strike your child’s fancy or ones that come from different species. While the leaves are still pliable take two pieces of wax paper and a towel. Place the leaves between the pieces of wax paper, cover with a towel and iron over the towel around the edges of the leaf. All the wax paper edges around the leaf should be sealed. You can use a hole punch to make these into pages for a self-bound book or use a 3-ring binder. If you want to identify the trees, try the local library for tree identification books.

To make another keepsake of different leaves you’ve found, use plain paper, water color paint and a broad artist’s paint brush. Gather 8 to 10 leaves of different shapes and sizes (they need to fit on the paper). Hold down the edges of the leaf as you paint the outline of the leaf. To paint an outline don’t try to copy the edge, instead move the brush from about a half-inch inside the leaf over the edge and onto the paper. (It’s like the reverse of stenciling.) When your outline is finished, lift the leaf straight up. If your child is more interested in identification than the art of this project, have them write down other characteristics of the leaf such as color and anything that might identify the tree (for example, whether it had smooth or rough bark).

I think it is important that children learn a love of nature before we expect them to want to preserve or conserve it. Whether it is camping, gardening, fishing on the stream bank or collecting fall leaves, I hope we can all pass on some connection to the earth to our young ones.

Julia Parker will be wandering the streets of Moscow looking at trees all fall.

Copyright: Copyright on articles and recipes are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective authors, except were otherwise noted.

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