TREEMENDOUS RESOURCE PACKAGE
Activity Outline
1. Nature Memory Challenge: Students learn about the importance and role of trees, leaves and cones as
well as other natural items as they hunt for a variety of natural items on the forest floor.
2. Get to Know a Tree: Students get up close and personal with tree bark as they explore the trees of the
arboretum using senses other than sight.
3. Decomposition Tag: Students take on the role of a producer, consumer or decomposer and play a game
of tag demonstrating the delicate balance of an ecosystem
4. Hemlock Story: Students hear a story about how all the trees in the forest got their leaves and cones and
with a great lesson too – patience and following direction have their benefits.
Vocabulary
bark
bird
branch
cone
consumer
decomposer
ecosystem
environment
food
insect
leaf
mammal
moss
needle
nut
predator
prey
producer
root
seed
stem
trunk
Extensions
1. Imagine the history of a tree: Choose a tree in your school yard or in your neighbourhood (an older tree is
better). Imagine all the things this tree has seen and all the seasons and changes that it has gone through.
Imagine all the people it has met, children that have played under it and animals that have lived in it or all
the creatures it has fed. Have students do a writing exercise about the tree and draw a picture of it.
2. Plant a tree: Talk with students about the importance of trees and the need for planting them. They
provide oxygen for us, habitat for wildlife, food for us and wildlife, places to play and shade in the hot sun.
They also increase property value by enhancing the beauty of the neighbourhood. There are
opportunities for your class to take part in an organized tree planting through the City of Surrey. Details
for the Releaf Tree Planting program can be found here:
http://www.surrey.ca/culture-recreation/2001.aspx
3. Leaf it to Me: In the fall, there are many leaves that have fallen to the ground. Have the students make
rubbings of as many types of leaves as they can find. Bring an ID book to help identify them. Talk about
why leaves change colour and die in the winter and why certain trees don’t lose their leaves at all. Try
doing bark rubbings as well.
Resources
1. Pojar, Jim. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton, AB.
2. Ministry of Forests Tree Book http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/
3. Arbor Day Foundation Kids. http://www.arborday.org/kids/
4. 4-H Virtual Forest http://www.sites.ext.vt.edu/virtualforest/ A neat interactive website with movie clips.
Pre and Post-Program Worksheets
A set of pre and post-program worksheets are included. Please copy and use them with your class at your
convenience. They are meant to help prepare the students for the vocabulary and concepts used in the
programs as well as reinforce what they’ve learned afterwards.
City of Surrey | Surrey Nature Centre 14255-96 Avenue Surrey
T 604.502.6065 F 604.588.6855 www.surrey.ca/naturecentre
British Columbia Canada V3V 7Z2
Before my visit to the Surrey Nature Centre...
Soon, I will be going to the Surrey Nature Centre for a program called Treemendous. I think this program will be about: ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Three things that I already know about this topic are: 1. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Three things that I would like to learn at the Surrey Nature Centre are: 1. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Treemendous Treemendous Word Search
P N R E C U D O R P G O R G B E R F R U I T C E T C A N E H C I L O A Y R E F U F R E T N D R E S O P M O C E D S S E Q J O T O T D N U P X L N S A S D R I W O S D Y C L E K O E A D E E S I Y O E J C R T Y R T G X D N N A A L I P E H R N V V C E F W O M N E E E S C T ACORN ADAPTATION CONE CONSUMER DECOMPOSER Treemendous F D L FOOD FRUIT LEAF LICHEN MOSS C A R M T Q N NEEDLES PREDATOR PREY PRODUCER SEED TREE Treemendous Word Search
Answers P N P R O D U C E R G O R G B E R F R U I T C E T C A N E H C I L O A Y R E F U F R E T N D R E S O P M O C E D S S E Q J O T O T D N U P X L N S A S D R I W O S D Y C L E K O E A D E E S I Y O E J C R T Y R T G X D N N A A L I P E H R N V V C E F W O M N E E E S C T ACORN ADAPTATION CONE CONSUMER DECOMPOSER Treemendous F D L FOOD FRUIT LEAF LICHEN MOSS C A R M T Q N NEEDLES PREDATOR PREY PRODUCER SEED TREE Treemendous Scrambled Word Poetry
Like scrambled eggs, words can be mixed and mashed together to create wonderful works of art! Think of a bunch of words that remind you of what you saw and learned at the Surrey Nature Centre, then mix them up to make a scrambled word poem. Words Draw a bright and colourful picture to go with your poem. Treemendous Treemendous Poetry
Write your own Haiku poem about the tree that you met at the Surrey Nature Centre. A Haiku is a poem with three lines and it does not need to rhyme. Haiku Pattern Line 1: 5 syllables Line 2: 7 syllables Line 3: 5 syllables Treemendous Critical Thinking
Use what you have learned at the Surrey Nature Centre to answer these questions. 1. Think back to the activity where you “met” a tree blindfolded. Describe your tree using as many senses as you can. Draw a picture of your tree showing as It felt... many of these details as you can. It sounded... It smelled... It looked... Treemendous Critical Thinking
Use what you have learned at the Surrey Nature Centre to answer these questions. 2. Draw lines to match each forest friend with the correct group: Producers Decomposers Treemendous Consumers Critical Thinking
Use what you have learned at the Surrey Nature Centre to answer these questions. 3. What would happen to this cycle if we took away the slug? Deer
Berry bushes
provide food
for deer
Deer eat and
digest
berries
Slug
_______________ Blackberry
bush
___________________ ______________________ ________________________ Slugs turn
the digested berries into
soil for new berry bushes to grow
_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 4. Why do we need to leave all the sticks, cones, bugs and other cool things we find in the forest when we visit? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Treemendous Critical Thinking Answers
Use what you have learned at the Surrey Nature Centre to answer these questions. 2. Draw lines to match each forest friend with the correct group: Ba
na
od
to produce fo
Sl Grasses use the sun
ug
st
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an
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il
Tr pro
ng wood into soil
Woodbugs turn rotti
De
er
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um
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R abb
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L ad y
Treemendous ( ap
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Critical Thinking
Use what you have learned at the Surrey Nature Centre to answer these questions. 3. What would happen to this cycle if we took away the slug? Berry bushes
provide food
for deer
Deer
Deer eat and
digest
berries
Slug
Blackberry
bush
Slugs turn
the animal droppings into
soil for new berry bushes to grow
Without the slugs to turn animal droppings into nutrient rich soil to help the Blackberry bush grow, the cycle would break down. The Blackberry bush would not produce as many berries for deer to consume and the deer population would decrease if they could not find another source of food. 4. Why do we need to leave all the sticks, cones, bugs and other cool things we find in the forest when we visit? Treemendous Everything that you find naturally on the forest floor has a part to play in the life cycle of a forest. If we take one of these parts away, the cycle could break down and the forest would not be as healthy. Student Evaluation
We’re always looking for ways to make our field trips better and need your help! I visited the Surrey Nature Centre and took part in a program called ________________________________________________________________ In this program I learned... A lot A little Very Little I enjoyed this program... A lot A little Very Little My favourite part of the program was _____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ To make the program better, the Surrey Nature Centre should __________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ If I could tell my friends & family one thing about the Surrey Nature Centre, it would be _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ I would like to visit the Surrey Nature Centre again! Yes Maybe No Student Evaluation
Draw a picture to describe a favourite part of your trip to the Surrey Nature Centre. Thank you! We hope you had fun and visit us again soon!