Forest Week Family Activities - Special Weeks

 
     
 
 
 
Alberta Forest Week and Arbor Day are time to celebrate our connection to trees, woodlands and forests in our Province. Even a lone tree on a boulevard can be celebrated for its beauty and contribution to keeping our air clean and our cities green.

Activity Ideas for Families

Here are some ideas to celebrate with family and friends:

1.Plant a tree (or trees!) with your family or community group. Check with your city or municipality for opportunities to join greening initiatives.
2.Take a hike and discover how trees sprout, grow, die and decay. Take note of what animals and plants live in or on them at each stage. Make a photo journal.
  • Does it have suckers, seeds, pollen or cones?
  • Can you tell which ones are male and which ones are female?
  • Does it grow straight, wide, droopy or round?
  • Which birds, animals and insects are found in or on the tree? What are they using the tree for?
  • Who or what uses the tree after it dies? Is it being used for the same things as before, or new reasons?
  • If you find a fallen tree look for bract or shelf fungus and guess if the fungus attached to the tree before or after it fell
3.Visit Wonderville to learn about tree cookies (cross-sections), then go out and study any tree stumps you can find to learn about the tree's life.
4.Download a free guide to common trees and shrubs of Alberta. Can you identify all the trees in your local park?
5.Adopt a tree in your local park or yard and keep track of how it grows over the years. Have your child sketch the tree each year in different seasons.
6.Make a collage of dried leaf rubbings in different colors. Remember not to take too many leaves from the same branch -- the trees need them too!
7.Find the Hidden Pictures:
Junior Forest Rangers

If you have a child age 16-18 interested in natural resource management or forestry, check out the Junior Forest Ranger program!
  
 
 
 
For more information about the content of this document, contact Wendy Machan.
This information published to the web on April 4, 2016.
Last Reviewed/Revised on March 21, 2018.