Chaperone Duty @ the Forestry Contest: Great Gig

Farmin-Stidwell fifth graders arrive. 

Chaperoning fifth graders from my sister’s Farmin-Stidwell class at yesterday’s Idaho State Forestry Contest turned out to be a wonderful experience.  

I learned some interesting information, saw and visited with some folks I haven’t seen for years and just plain enjoyed hanging out with active, fun and mostly focused young people.

As an oldster, I did run into a few problems, most notably, knowing at lunch time that once I carefully plopped myself, my paper plate with hamburger chips and cookie and my coffee cup onto the ground, I would have to do some serious planning on getting back up.

Codgers, though, figure out a way.  Just turn that body around, get on your knees, and if your knees still work, spring upward.  It worked.

Lunchtime was more than likely the most fun for the kids because of the food,  the game of ultimate tag and the whistling with blades of grass, but Miss Tibbs tells me they really enjoyed the whole field-trip experience.

And, why not when it involved lovely weather, walking through a beautifully groomed forest and learning some fun stuff about compasses, pulaskis, chain saws and finely tuned rigging that suspend logs into the air to transport them up a steep hillside.

Seasoned experts from the forest industry provided some entertaining and educational sessions, sometimes not quite finishing up their talks before the piercing airhorn sounded off through the forest, signaling time to move on to the next session.

One of Laurie’s teams placed third this year's contest, but like every other year, she was thrilled with the opportunity for her students to experience a full-fledged outing the forest.  

Some haven’t spent a lot of time in the outdoors, but they all knew how to enjoy themselves at yesterday’s phenomenal enrichment activity.

Twas a great day at the beautiful Delay Tree farm in Careywood for everyone who participated, even for old, crotchety chaperones.

Bill Love and Karen Robinson give preliminary instructions. 

They're off!

Forester Greg Becker served as main instructor for the fifth graders and a group of 4-H'ers from Careywood Eager Beavers. 

Retired educator Judy Fryberg helped chaperone our group. 

Answering questions in the workbook. 

Idaho Dept. of Lands log scaler Elton Turlock shows how cedar shakes are made by hand. 

Elton brought his chainsaws and woodsworking equipment and explained the use of each item. 

Students learned how to follow a compass. 

They measured trees. 

They walked to lunch in this lovely setting for lunch, and throughout the morning they walked on beautifully groomed trails. 

Pete Van Sickle constructed this model which gives participants hands-on experience at transporting logs up a hillside to a log deck. 

Back to the bus with Miss Tibbs counting heads.  A good time was had by all.