www.mndnr.gov/schoolforest
Minnesota School Forest Program
Lesson Title: My Land Project
Name: Brianne Messick
School E-mail: briannem@stma.k12.mn.us
School Forest: Becker Big Woods
Grade(s): 7-10
Materials: Worksheets, GPS unit for marking location of features, measuring tape, calculator (optional)
Objective(s): Students will assess the benefits land offers and negative and positive features that
add/take away from the value of land. Students will do algebra to determine height of trees and how
much oxygen they might produce. Students will use observation and skills to determine the quality of
trees present. Students will present information on what should be done with the forest using collective
data from the lesson.
Procedure:
Students complete tasks 1-5 and finish with a presentation.
Minnesota School Forest Program.
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund.
MN DNR is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Name:______________________
Hour:___________
What is the value of the Becker Big Woods?
Congratulations! You have just landed a job in one of the fastest growing job fields, working for a
developing company surveying and determining the value of land. Your first large project is to assess
and determine the fate of a 40 acre Maple-Basswood forest in a suburban development. In order to
complete this task you will need to first get to know these woods (the history, resources within the
forest, biodiversity, community impact etc.).
Task #1: Your first task is to spend some time in the Big Woods to brainstorm the possible benefits of a
forest of this capacity in its current location.
Things to think about… (what purpose does it serve in its current state; public use, wildlife habitat etc.)
You should brainstorm at least 5-10 uses of the Big Woods. Remember to be as detailed as possible.
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At the same time, you will also brainstorm a list of possible ways this piece of land could be used by the
community. Think of at least 10-15 different uses.
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Respond to the following questions:
1. Which activities would cost most to provide on forest land?
2. Which would bring in the most visitors?
3. Which would have the greatest impact on the forest ecosystem? On the wildlife there? Would
this effect be permanent or temporary?
4. Which would provide for society’s most critical needs?
Name:________________________
Hour:_______________
Getting to Know the Big Woods
Task #2: Now that you have taken some important steps in understanding the history of Becker Big
Woods and have become acquainted with its surroundings and various ways in which the forest impacts
the community; it is time to take a step back and spend some time thinking of what you DON’T know
about the forest.
Today we are going to walk the woods, your task is to come up with at least 8-10 good/quality questions
you feel are important to ask/to know the answers to when trying to assess the value of the property.
Questions should and can range from unanswered questions of its history to how much are certain trees
worth (for lumber?)
Your grade on this assignment will be assessed based on the quality of your questions and their
relevance to the project goal; which is to assess the value and provide a recommendation for the fate of
the Big Woods.
(You may write more on the back)
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Marking the Big Woods
Names:____________________
____________________
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Task 3: Marking and identifying key features within the environment is a key factor in determining the
wealth and value of a property. Today you are going to walk through the Big Woods and find four key
features that you think would either be assets (things that make the value of the woods increase) or
negative impacts (things that would make the value of the land decrease). You will mark each feature on
your GPS units to get the coordinates and present your features as well as your assessments of these
features to the class via a presentation using GoogleEarth. These features will also be a part of your final
presentation to the City of St. Michael. Make sure you choose your features wisely. This assignment may
take more than one class period.
Feature 1 Absolute Location: _____________________ North _______________________West
Describe what the feature is:
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Describe its relative location:
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Give a general assessment of this feature: Good or bad for the overall value? Explain why or why not.
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Feature 2 Absolute Location: _____________________ North _______________________West
Describe what the feature is:
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Describe its relative location:
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Give a general assessment of this feature: Good or bad for the overall value? Explain why or why not.
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Feature 3 Absolute Location: _____________________ North _______________________West
Describe what the feature is:
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Describe its relative location:
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Give a general assessment of this feature: Good or bad for the overall value? Explain why or why not.
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Feature 4 Absolute Location: _____________________ North _______________________West
Describe what the feature is:
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Describe its relative location:
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Give a general assessment of this feature: Good or bad for the overall value? Explain why or why not.
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What is the value of Trees?
Name:____________________
Task 4: For this task you are going to find and measure the largest trees in the Big Woods to get an
estimation of the value of the lumber provided in the Becker Big Woods.
There are four main factors in determining the value of a specific tree.
Find a few trees in the big woods to gather information to determine its overall wealth.
Tree Size: DBH (Diameter at Breast Height) – Measure the diameter of the tree at 4 feet 6 inches from
the base of the tree.
Species: What type of tree is it? Rank it out of 100% based on the value of the type of species. For
example a white oak would be 100%.
Condition: Look at the tree to determine what percentage of the tree is living and in good condition.
Location: Determine whether the tree is in a desirable location or if it was cut down think about the
positive and negative impacts of it. Will other trees grow bigger or just as big? Will the tree be “missed”
or are there others around? Does it serve as habitat for a specific animal? Rank the worth of the tree in
its location on a scale of 1-10; 10 being the most valuable.
Absolute
Location
Tree Name
Tree Size at
DBH
Species
(out of 100%)
Condition (out
of 100%)
Location
(out of 100%)
Name:____________________
Hour:_____________
How Does Science and Math Play a Role?
Task 5: In trying to understand the overall value of a forest, it is important to take into consideration the
impact trees/the forest has on the planet as a whole. Trees are extremely important to the ecosystem.
One of their major roles is converting CO2 (or Carbon Dioxide) in to O2 (or the oxygen that we breathe)
through a process called photosynthesis.
Your job today is to calculate the amount of oxygen one tree in the Big Woods gives off in one hour.
Step 1: Measure the height of the tree by using the proportion method of measuring the ruler as we
practiced previously in class:
Proportion:
Height of Student
on the Ruler
𝑆𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑟
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
Actual Student
Height
=
𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑟
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
Proportion
Show your work!
Actual Height of Tree
(Can convert inches to
approximate number of feet)
Step 2: Measure the height of the tree’s lowest branch in feet. _________________________ft.
Step 3: Subtract the lowest branch height from the total height of the tree.
_________________________ - ___________________________ = _________________________ft.
(Answer from Step 1)
(Answer from Step 2)
(Total leaf producing region)
Step 4: Measure from the trunk of the tree out to the very edge of the branches.
___________________ft.
Step 5: _____________________ft. x
(Answer from step 4)
𝜋 (3.14) = _______________________________
Step 6: __________________________ x __________________________ = _____________________ft2
(Answer from step 5)
(Answer from step 3 or
(Volume of the leaf region)
the total leaf production area)
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Step 7: Use your cubic square we made in class to hold up to the closest part of the tree that has leafs
and count how many leaves you see within that square. _____________________________________
Step 8: __________________ x __________________ = ______________________________________
(Answer from step 6) (Answer from step 7) (Total estimated number of leaves on the tree)
Step 9: ____________________ x 5 (ml per hour)= _________________________________
(Answer from Step 8)
(Total amount of oxygen the tree produces in 1 hr.)
**If you wanted to find out by day:
Multiply the answer from Step 9 ________________ x 12 (hours of sunlight) = _________________
(total amount of O2 per day)
Big Wood Presentation Proposal
Name:____________________
Directions: Now that you have discovered the many values and benefits of the Becker Big Woods, it is
time to put your research together and create a proposal/presentation that answers the question; What
should be done with the Becker Big Woods?
Your Presentation should include the following:
Possible Uses: Explain the top 4 ways that people or the city could use the land along with the positives
and negatives for each of them.
______________/12pts
Important Features: Take a screen shot of your Google Earth and explain what you believe are the most
valuable features of the Big Woods and explain your reasons.
______________/5pts
Your Suggestion: Your 5th proposal should be the one that you suggest.
Explain the positives: Make sure to include scientific/mathematical data that you collected or
researched.
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Explain the negatives: This might be hard, but think about how people would argue if they didn’t agree
with your position.
_____________/5pts
Presentation: You will present your proposal to the class/community. Your presentation should be clear
and well-rehearsed/practiced. You should face your audience and explain your findings instead of
reading them off the presentation!
____________/5pts
Quality of work: Make sure to check your presentation for spelling/grammatical/punctuation errors and
contains appropriate visuals.
___________/3pts
___________/35 pts Total