Journal #6: Mapping

For this journal, I choose to make a map of the school forest from my hometown of Portage, WI. It begins on the top left of the page with a greeting/meeting area. From my experience as a student visiting the school forest, entering was always exciting because the greeting area overlooks the three major areas of the forest. The first area (on the upper right) is an open grassy field. This is a great place to have students sit and/or stand in the grass and be told their directions for the day, safety guidelines, rules, etc. This also can be a place for guest speakers to address the students. This open field is often used for snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the winter time.

The next major area of the forest (on the bottom left) is a wetland/pond area. This is used to collect organisms from the water for students to examine. With the water being about 2-2 1/2 feet deep, school forest representatives use hip waders to go into the water. After demonstrating, representatives usually offer students the opportunity to try to get into the water and collect organisms. This can be an enjoyable and educational experience for all students. Finally, the third major area of the forest is the highlight of the trip for young students, and that is the forest area and hiking trails. Similar to Schmeeckle Reserve (only much smaller), this area contains several trails for students to hike on. During my experience here in high school, students were split into small groups and given free time to explore the trails. I have not returned to the school forest since high school, and look forward to returning, possibly as a teacher in the near future.