World Forestry Center Field Study Summary

Enter…. the World Forestry Center, Portland, Oregon. First, be seated in a cushy, reclining chair to watch an eight-minute video on the basics of forests. Exit, and precede to the ground level exhibits that display information (like methods of timber harvest, animals, like the dark-eyed junco, and plants, heaviest types of wood, percentages of who owns forests in Oregon) and activities (like 100% water-free white water rafting, smoke jumping for those paranoid of heights, and finding animals in a Douglas fir) focusing on the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Walk carefully up the main set of stairs, holding onto the (Oak? Pine? Fir?) handrail. Pass over the bridge, observing the towering Douglas firs, birds and insects hidden within lush needles, and stop at the map of the world continents dotted with numbers. Read the brown, tan, blue, and red signs with information like “Canada exports twenty-two metric tons of maple syrup to over thirty countries annually” and “Bushmeat hunting in Africa threatens biodiversity of (sub-tropical) forests”. Conveniently located on the signs in an eye-catching traffic cone orange, find the number (such as “one” or “forty-three”). Next, roll your eyeballs up to the map of continents and find the identical number on the wall. That is where what you just read is located in the world! After this knowledge-boosting activity, stroll to the Russian train cars, where vermilion seats are comfortably placed in front of kitchenette-like tables, perfect for viewing the videos playing on the wall of the train. Feel free to roam to whatever looks intriguing, perhaps getting a picture taken while riding the rapids, or operating a timber harvest. Thank you for joining us today, and hopefully horizon expanding tidbits were learned of the forest of Planet Earth.

My favorite exhibit was the map of continents with the informational signs and Challenges of Forests signs. The Challenges of Forests started me thinking about how income and population relate with fuelwood consumption and damaged forest. I learned several communities in Tanzania, Africa are replanting forests, rehabilitating springs and repairing forest roads, some with the help of Roots and Shoots (an organization I remember Jane Goodall talking about that helps people in Africa restore their land and resources). I also observed that the higher the income per person, the more industrial wood is used by the continent, and the lower the income per person, the more fuelwood is utilized. I enjoyed our field study to the World Forestry Center and appreciated the information and activities presented.

-Claire