Explore Outdoors ~ Trees that Bark!

 

A few weeks ago we hiked at a local nature preserve. I enjoyed comparing some of the bark textures. This looks like difficult terrain for an ant to navigate...

This week, pay attention to trees that live around you. Get to know their bark. Look up and see what their world looks like above.

Explore Outdoors ~ tree trunks

Splotted and splattered

there's more to tree trunks

than bark

What do you see

when you look at your trees?

Explore Outdoors ~ Bark

At this time of the year, most of the trees have shed their leaves. Except for evergreens that are covered in needles, and the papery beech leaves clinging to twigs. So if you want to know about the trees you see, you need to learn about their bark:

• is it smooth?
• is it patchy?
• is it lined vertically?
• is it scaly?

Check out field guides to find out who's who in their bark. Here's one from UNH.

This year I'm encouraging everyone to spend 1,000 hours outdoors. So on Wednesday I'll be posting ideas for nature breaks, field trips, and outdoor play. The goal: to have fun!

Teachers and homeschoolers who want to use nature breaks as field trips can grab a sketchbook or journal, something to draw and write with, and some watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, or markers. Think cross-curricular: art, language, science, math, engineering, movement, exercise! And come back Friday for some STEM book-talk.

Wild Outdoor Wednesday

Go on a Texture Field Trip. Feel the trunks of different trees. Are they smooth? rough? scaly? Capture them with colors and words ~ or make a rubbing of the bark.

To make a rubbing, hold a white piece of white paper against the tree trunk so that it won’t move. Then rub over the paper with the side of a crayon. 


Remember to take your sketchbook or journal with unlined pages, something to draw and write with, and something to add color ~ watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, or markers.

Wordless Wednesday

Seeing the Forest Without the Leaves

This time of year the trees are "bare bones". Except for maybe the beech trees, which hold onto their leaves as long as they can - and a few branches with dried berries.

But mostly it's bark and branches. Still, you can get to know the trees by their shapes. Some have branches reaching up towards the clouds, some alternate up the trunk, and some hang down. Take a good look at the bark: some trees have shaggy, scaly bark, while others are as smooth and white as old bones.

Now's a good time to head outside with some paper and crayons to collect tree bark rubbings, or to draw winter portraits of the trees around your house.

Check out more science resources and some great books over at STEM Friday.

Bark-o-logy

oak

 Bark protects trees by acting as a waterproof layer - it helps prevent the loss of water through evaporation. Bark also creates a shield, or barrier, against insects that would like to eat the inner bark and other woody layers. And, like your winter coat, the layer of bark helps insulate the tree from dramatic temperature changes.

Each kind of tree has its very own pattern of bark. It might look similar to another species, but when you take a close look you will see that each tree is as unique as the members of your family.

The first thing you notice about tree bark is its texture: is it rough or is it smooth? If it’s rough, look closer to see whether it has deep furrows, platy scales, or long shaggy strips peeling off.

cherry

Find two different types of trees in your backyard or a local park. How is the bark of one tree different from the other? See how many differences you can list.

You can make a “bark collection” without hurting trees – just make bark rubbings or take photos of tree bark. To make a rubbing, hold a white piece of white paper against the tree trunk so that it won’t move. Then rub over the paper with the side of a crayon. Make sure you write the date and location of where you found the tree so you can find it again when it has leaves.