Building Your Tree Team 4-H Forestry Building Your Tree Team

What Trees Do For You… Kentucky’s Forests: Benefits of Trees Trees Clean the Water Trees Provide Habitat Trees Give Us A Place to Enjoy and Things We Need Trees Clean the Air Explain that trees provide benefits to us that are often overlooked. Talking Points: Never underestimate the power of a tree! Across Kentucky, you can see trees growing along fence posts or busy downtown streets, or planted in your backyard or school yard. These trees may not make up a large tract of forest land, but they are nevertheless important. Trees are good for the environment because they clean the air, improve water quality and provide wildlife habitat. Trees are also important for our communities in that they add beauty to our surroundings, provide shade and help save energy. How does a tree clean the air? The leaves on trees and other plants filter the air we breathe by removing dust and other forms of pollution. Plants are able to grow because of a process known as photosynthesis and during this process, the leaves take in carbon dioxide from the air and replenish it with oxygen. How does a tree help water quality? Tree roots absorb runoff and help prevent soil erosion and other pollutants from entering our waterways. How does a tree help wildlife? Trees provide the things that animals need in their habitat…including shelter and food. How does a tree help your community? They provide the products such as lumber for buildings and homes, pulp for paper products, fruits and nuts for foods and plant extracts for many of our medicines. We also depend of trees for peace and quiet, beauty, and outdoor recreation. All that and they save money! A large shade tree placed on the sunny side of your house can help reduce air-conditioning cost by as much as 30%! And evergreens placed on the on the northwest side of your house can serve as a windbreak. There are many more benefits of trees…Can you think of any?

Our Forest Land 48% of Kentucky 33% of the United States 33% of the world

12.4 million acres of forest land

Kentucky has one of the most diverse forest ecosystems in the United States with over 120 different kinds of trees. Explain that Kentucky has a wide range of tree species with over 100 different kinds of trees growing in our forest ecosystems. Define the term ecosystem and explain that eastern deciduous forest ecosystems are the primary type of forest found in Kentucky. Define the meaning of deciduous and coniferous. Talking Points: Now that you have an idea of what the Division of Forestry is all about, lets talk about the different kinds of trees found in the forest ecosystems of Kentucky. Did you know that there are over 100 different kinds of trees in Kentucky? The reason our forests are so diverse is because of long, warm summers, plentiful rainfall and rich soils. The definition of an ecosystem is very simple. It is all the living and nonliving things in a given location that are interconnected. For example, in a forest ecosystem, the plants and animals depend on each other as well as the nonliving things like water and minerals in order to survive. In Kentucky, the primary forest ecosystem is the eastern deciduous forest. Eastern deciduous forests are characterized by tall hardwoods, such as oak, hickory, poplar, elm, and walnut. The trees of a deciduous forest shed their leaves in the fall and grow new leaves each spring. As a result, the ground is covered in a layer of old and decaying leaves which means the soil of a deciduous forest is very rich and this increases the diversity of wild flowers, ferns, shrubs and trees.   A coniferous forest, on the other hand, stays green year round. Coniferous forests have trees with needles and they produce cones. Most coniferous trees are evergreen.

Overall Contribution

4-H Forestry Field Days Events Cost per participant - $3.00 Junior and Senior 4-H youth 4 Field Days scheduled for 2018 Carter Caves State Park – September 4th Mammoth Cave National Park – September 11th Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area – Sept. 10th Pine Mountain State Park - TBA Events Compass and Pacing Tree Identification Tree Measurement Cost per participant - $3.00 http://forestry.ca.uky.edu/4h-forestry

4-H Senior Forestry Competition Senior 4-H youth Currently 1 State-wide Competition Spring – April 23rd, 2018 Bernheim State Forest and Arboretum Events Tree Identification Tree Measurement Topographic Maps Forest Tree Disease Identification Forest Insect Identification Cost per participant - $3.00 Winning Team – represents Kentucky at the National 4-H Forestry Invitational, Weston W.V. – July 29 – August 2nd, 2018 http://4hforestryinvitational.org/

4-H Win With Wood October 2nd, 2018 Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability All eastern Kentucky youth between the ages of 9 – 14 years (junior division) All eastern Kentucky youth 15 - 18 years old (senior division).  This annual competition incorporates both primary and secondary forest products events as well as forestry events. Students are welcome to participate in as few or as many of the events as she/he desires. Free http://win-with-wood.ca.uky.edu/

Kentucky Forest Leadership Program June 3rd – 8th, 2018 U.K. Leadership Center at Jabez This weeklong experience concentrates on forest and natural resources management and related subjects. Throughout the week, students will see for themselves a variety of different careers in related fields beyond forestry, including, entomology, soil science, wildlife habitat management and assessment as well as water quality.  For high school students – Sophomore to Senior https://kflp.ca.uky.edu/

4-H Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Academy 3 year program – meets quarterly Middle School – 6th – 8th grade Designed to educate middle school youth about their natural environment through hands-on investigations of Kentucky’s water, forest and wildlife resources. Scholars concentrate on a different core area each year (water, forestry, wildlife) and interact with experts in each of these disciplines.  https://4-h.ca.uky.edu/NRESci

4-H In-Services Fur, Feathers, Wings, and Water: 4-H Environmental Camp - $10 March 27th, Lake Cumberland 4-H Camp Name That Tree—Adopt a KY Tree and Other 4-H Forestry Projects - $10 May 1st, Scott County CES Office May 3rd, Muhlenberg CES Office May 8th, RCARS

Resources 4-H Forestry UK - http://forestry.ca.uky.edu/4h-forestry 4-H Forestry Invitational – Training Materials http://4hforestryinvitational.org/ Identifying Kentucky’s Tree Webinar http://forestry.ca.uky.edu/previous_webinars Tree Finder Manual - https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Finder- Manual-Identification-Eastern/dp/0912550015 Forestry Suppliers – Tools and Equipment - http://www.forestry- suppliers.com

Contact Laurie Thomas, Extension Forester Laurie.Thomas@uky.edu 859-257-2703