Forestry Education Kits

BioBlitz Kits

The LEAF BioBlitz Kit Series provides hands-on resources to enhance outdoor teaching activities. Students will be able to measure, graph, and collect data in any school ground setting. Get your students excited and engaged with one or all of the kits below. Each kit is available to check-out separately or together depending on availability.

Field Guide Kit

A wide range of field guides are found in this kit. Search for Monarch’s emerging from their chrysalis in September, go on a winter bird watching walk, improve your tree ID lesson with color photos of leaves and branches or discover the names of those creepy crawlies under that log.

Garmin Handheld GPS Kit

Get out, explore and develop your students' mapping skills with the eTrex 10 handheld GPS from Garmin. The device includes a worldwide basemap, 2.2” display, both GPS and GLONASS satellites for fast positioning. Kit contains 10 GPS units. Each device takes two AA batteries. Batteries not included in kit.

Request this kit

Need a lesson plan to go with it? 

Checkout LEAF’s GPS Basics on Your School Grounds

Kestrel 5500 Pocket Weather Meter Kit

Help your students to discover the impact weather conditions have on forest environments. The Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter is a handheld weather-monitoring device that measures essential environmental factors like temperature and wind speeds. Additionally, an external temperature sensor and waterproof casing allow you to gauge the temperature of water (it even floats) and snow, as well as the open air. This kit contains 5 weather meters. 

The Kestrel Meter 3000 Wind Meter measures:

Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter Kit Checklist

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Edible Forest Kits

A wide range of subjects are included in the books and other publications in this reference kit. Reference materials provide information on permaculture, orchards, foraging, and everything in between. Use the kit to help you decide what path to follow and what resources to purchase for your own use.

The kit is available for you to borrow at no cost. Funding for the LEAF Edible Forest Reference Kit was provided by the Wisconsin Environmental Education Foundation under a grant from the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board.

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Forestry Education Kits

Forestry Education Kits are available to check-out and are great for hands-on forestry education. There are eleven kits available - contact information for all eleven locations is below.

The kits contain equipment and tools to facilitate teaching tree identification and management, plot investigations, and navigation using compasses. In addition, one kit contains 10 Garmin GPS units.    

There is no fee for using the kits, but users are responsible for the loss or damage of kit contents. Funding for this project was provided by the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board (WEEB), Wisconsin Environmental Education Foundation (WEEF), and LEAF - Wisconsin's K-12 Forestry Education Program. 

Each kit contains

• 14 Tree scale/cruising sticks
• 9 Diameter tapes
• 10 Clinometers
• 5 100-foot tapes
• 10 GPS Units
• 5 Kestrel weather meters
• 15 prisms
• 14 LEAF tree identification keys
• 1 Set of LEAF tree identification cards
• 15 Forest Trees of Wisconsin booklets
• 1 PLT Focus on Forests Lesson Guide
• 1 Binder containing lessons and instructions   
• 1 Snakes of Wisconsin by WI DNR
• 1 Amphibians of Wisconsin by WI DNR
• 1 Lizards and Turtles of Wisconsin by WI DNR
• 1 Wildflowers of Wisconsin and Great Lakes Region
• 1 Complete Guide to Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota
• 1 Peterson Field Guide: Mammals
• 1 Peterson Field Guide: Animal Tracks
• 1 Peterson Field Guide: Reptiles and Amphibians
• 1 Peterson Field Guide: Insects
• 1 Peterson Field Guide: Birds
• 1 Compass teaching kit

FOREST INVENTORY: Timber Cruise, 9-12 field enhancement 4
Students conduct a timber cruise of their school forest to identify the species of trees, volumes of timber, and basal area on the property. Students work in small groups to collect data and use Kruzer software to analyze the complete class data set.

TREE IDENTIFICATION: Tree Identification, 7/8 field enhancement 1
In this lesson, students learn to use a dichotomous key to identify Wisconsin trees. Students also participate in hands-on activities that help them learn tree identification vocabulary. Students work in groups to study and identify trees and discover the process is not difficult when broken into steps. Link to LEAF Tree ID Cards

ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: Forest Diversity, 7/8 field enhancement 3
In this lesson, students study and collect data on three components of diversity found within a forest: species, structural, and functional diversity. After comparing two types of forests, students discuss the value of diversity and the role it plays in a forest.

INVENTORY PLOTS: School Forest Resource Plots, 9-12 field enhancement 2
In this lesson, students work together to plan and establish research plots in their school forest. Students learn about statistical sampling by using a sampling procedure to estimate the numbers of colored poker chips from a large population. They then use a school forest map and a sampling procedure to locate research plot centers in their school forest. In small groups, students work in the field to establish the plots in their school forest.

Contact one of our twelve participating Forestry Education Kit coordinators for more information. Click on the pins on the map to see contact information.

To request this kit from the WCEE location in Stevens Point click here.

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Forest Health Kits

Forest Health Kits are available to check-out and are great for learning about invasive species, disease, and other aspects that impact the health of a forest. There are eleven kits available - contact information for all eleven locations is below. The kit contains equipment and tools to facilitate the educational aspects of forest health including insect identification, invasive species, disease, and climate.

There is no fee for using the kits, but users are responsible for the loss or damage of kit contents.

The forest health kit is a result of a partnership between the DNR’s Forest Health staff and LEAF. Funding was provided by a Wisconsin Environmental Education Board Grant.

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Forest Health Kit Contents

• Asian Longhorn Beetle Wood Core Sample
• Asian Longhorn Beetle Sample
  
• Annosum Sample
• Oak Wilt Sample
• Emerald Ash Borer Sample
• Collecting Jar (32oz)
• Insect Rearing & Observation Cage
• Plastic Collection Tubes (small)
• Magnifying boxes
• Plastic Trowel
• Forceps
• Insect Nets
• Binder containing information and lessons
• Kestrel 2000 Weather Meter
• Book – Caterpillars of Eastern North America
• Book - Butterflies of the North Woods
• Book - Moths and Caterpillars of the North Woods
• Book - Fascinating Fungi of the North Woods
• Book - Earthworms of the Great Lakes
• Book – Spiders of the North Woods
• Book – Insects of the North Woods
• Book – Minnesota Forest Pest First Detector Manual

 

 

Hands-On, Minds-On…

 

Wondering how to use all the cool equipment contained in the forest health kit? Resource pages and lessons found in the kit’s binder can be accessed here! Simply click and print.

 

 Forest Health Info Sheets:

 

An Introduction to Forest Health

Asian Longhorn Beetle

Crazy Worms

Earthworms

Emerald Ash Borer

 

Spongy Moth Infosheet

Annosum Root Rot

Oak Wilt

 

Lesson plans available online (other lesson plans are available in the binder):

 

 

Management Decisions and Biodiversity, Urban Forest 5-8 Unit Lesson 3

Students participate in a group discussion that defines urban forest management and how different situations require different management. Students then learn about the impact of biodiversity on an urban forest using a map-reading and data-manipulation exercise. Students learn about potential management problems caused by invasive species and plot where exotic species come from on a world map. Finally, students present their opinions to the class in a group presentation, explaining if and how the problems of urban forests are problems in rural forests.

Wisconsin Worm Watch

Did you know that all earthworms in Wisconsin are invasive species?! Although worms can be good for your garden, they are bad for hardwood forests which evolved without earthworms disturbing the soil. The data collected through the Wisconsin Worm Watch survey is very valuable to Forest Health Specialists in the WDNR. Information provided in the surveys helps them understand the distribution of invasive earthworms across Wisconsin and their impact on local forests.​ 

 

Contact one of our eleven participating Forest Health Kit host sites to borrow a kit near you​. Click on the pins on the map to see contact information.

To request this kit from the WCEE location in Stevens Point click here.

Forest Products Kit

The Forest Products kit allows students to learn about forest products, and associated careers, through hands-on exploration. Students will be able to Track that Product: From Forest to Finish, explore a forest product case study and trace a product’s journey through the forest, processing, and product. Each case study includes information about the tree, properties that make it important for specific products, and samples of the products themselves. In addition, students can compare between 12 specially engraved wood blocks of common Wisconsin tree species used in forest products and explore wood properties, density, and cell structure. In-line with both teacher and industry demands the kit contains a mix of career-focused resources and literacy components. There is no fee for using the kits, but users are responsible for the loss or damage of kit contents.

The forest products kit is a result of a partnership between the DNR’s Forest Products staff and LEAF. Learn about Wisconsin's Forest Products Industry by downloading slides for your classroom provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. AG-ED Industry Pre​sentation DNR

Learn What is Inside the Kit

Track that Product

Contact one of our eleven participating Forest Products Kit host sites to borrow a kit near you. Click on the pins on the map to see contact information.

To request this kit from the WCEE location in Stevens Point click here.

LEAF K-8th Grade-based Kits

LEAF has assembled 5 new kits that correspond to the K-1st grade, 2nd-3rd grade, 4th grade, 5-6th grade, and 7-8th grade LEAF Lesson Guides. These kits were made possible thanks to a grant from the Wisconsin Environmental Education Foundation. They are available for you to borrow at no cost.

We understand teachers have a limited amount of time to prep for lessons so LEAF wanted to make it more efficient to incorporate forestry education into your classrooms. These kits contain supplemental lesson materials, fiction and non-fiction books focused on Wisconsin forests, and equipment for students to use when exploring in the forest. Each kit is different based on the lessons within each guide.

Click on the Lesson Guide links below to access the lessons that go with each kit. Simply click and print as they are in PDF form. Click on the representative Kit Content List to see a comprehensive list of all materials included in the kit.

For more information contact Gina Smith at Gina.Smith@uwsp.edu​ or 715-346-4864.

Lesson Guide Kit

LEAF: 2-3 Lesson Guide Kit

LEAF: 4th Grade Kit

LEAF 5-6 Kit 

LEAF 7-8 Kit 

LEAF 7-8 Lesson Guide ​
LEAF 7-8 Kit Content List
Do you want to borrow this kit?
Check-out the LEAF 7-8 Kit from the WCEE Resources Library

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Wildland Fire Kit

The Wildland Fire Kit includes equipment to model what professional wildland firefighter's use in the field. It includes protective gear, digging tools, mapping devices, and weather-monitoring equipment. Increase literacy skills with various fiction and non-fiction books focused on wildland firefighting and the cultural and practices of fire management. Pair this kit with LEAF's K-12 Wildland Fire Lesson Guide (included in the kit) to teach students basic wildland fire principles Note: this kit is for educational purposes only. It is NOT to be used for firefighting.

Wildland Fire Kit includes:

• 24 compasses
• 1 drip torch
• 1 set of fire gloves
• 1 flame resistant shirt
• 1 hard hat
• 1 fire hoe*
• 1 fire pump
• 1 fire shelter
• 1 neck shroud
• 5 weather meters
• 1 K-12 Wildland Fire Lesson Guide

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