Once again the Delta class from Timmins High and Vocational School came for a tour of the greenhouse complex.I enjoy having the older kids that ask good questions and have that keen interest to understand the forest.
I was surprised that they knew the White pine is Ontario's arboreal emblem, our provincial tree.
Wonder about the other Ontario Emblems and Symbols
It was a perfect day for the class to come. In true teenager style they wore running shoes and even one in shorts, while the dusting of snow fell from the sky onto the muddy, very muddy ground. You just got'a love rubber boots!
While walking from the back to the front the class taught me about (oh I know I am not going to get this right but here is my stab at it) potoku, a cree word. It is the area between the snow and the ground where the mice and little creatures forage for food. We could see in the field where this happened this past winter. You could see the trail on the ground from hole to hole.
The greenhouse is green and very hot. It is wonderful to come into the greenhouse on such cold days. Ask the people working there how nice it is . . . cloudy days are not bad, but it can get pretty hot in there on sunny days.
I wonder what they were impressed by the most?
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I believe the word you're looking for is 'Pukak'.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the most interesting facts I took away from the excursion is that Jack Pine cones need a fire to release their seeds. What an interesting evolutionary trait!
It's too bad that tree planting is off this year, I guess I will check again next year!
Thanks for the wonderful tour,
Alex
It was nice to learn, from the perspective of a forester, about a forest's natural lifecycle and how much forest management tries to mimick it. And, like Alex said, it's too bad tree planting is off, it would have been to get out there and try it out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour, it was informative and entertaining. You seem to be passionate about what you do! Thanks again.
Kim