Location:

New Hampshire
Vermont
Maine
Massachusetts
Connecticutt
Rhode Island

Description:
Forest Watch is an environmental education program developed and run by Complex Systems Research Center at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). It is designed to introduce both teachers and their students to field, laboratory, and satellite data analysis methods for assessing the state-of-health of local forest stands. Forest Watch provides workshops which are designed to help K-12 teachers introduce their students to selected hands-on techniques for evaluating the health of white pine (Pinus strobus), a bio-indicator for tropospheric ozone damage. Students and teachers setup permanent sampling plots in a forest stand and conduct several ecological and biophysical measurements using scientific protocols.

In conducting ecological site assessments, students are introduced to several disciplines of science, such as botany, biology, chemistry and physics, as well as other non-scientific disciplines. Students participate in three types of activities in Forest Watch: 1) forest stand assessment, including the selection of white pine trees for study, 2) laboratory-based assessment of foliar damage symptoms for the selected trees, and 3) image processing/data analysis of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data for the area around their school. The student field and laboratory measurements are sent to the University of New Hampshire, where they are analyzed and integrated into an on-going regional white pine study.

URL:
http://www.forestwatch.sr.unh.edu
 

Organization:
University of New Hampshire
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Cost:
Free

Contact:
Dr. Barry Rock, Program Director, or Mr. Shannon Spencer, Program Coordinator, Complex System Research Center, Morse Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824; Phone: (603) 862-1792; Fax: (603) 862-0188; Email: forestwatch@unh.edu

Education Level:
Kindergarten-Grade 4
Grades 5-8
Grades 9-12

Subject:
Biology
Ecology
Natural Resources
Ozone
Remote Sensing

Program type:

Research Program
Student Enrichment
Teacher Training (In-service)

Date Added to teachearth.com:
5/1/00