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High school Logging and Forestry Class?

Started by Jeff, February 14, 2007, 07:58:51 AM

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Jeff

Yep, one does exist and its up here in Northern Michigan over at Benzie central High School. Thats up near where Ernie Edwards and Darla the blacksmith live.  This story titled "Retro Logging" aired on our local morning news show this morning and I thought it was a good one. Its a video story. If you are on dial-up you should take the time to let it load. Its a good one and was a nice piece to start the day with.  :)

http://www.9and10news.com/category/story?id=113261
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

WH_Conley

That's cool. Give those kids a real world outlook before the tree huggers influence them. 8)
Bill

sawguy21

I sure wish that class had been offered at the high school I attended. That is neat.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

beenthere

Good show, thanks Jeff, fer pointing that out.

Makes ya wanna get outside in the snow, you betcha! ;D 8)

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

woodmills1

here in Hudson the high school is also a vocational school, one of the few combined schools as most of the vokes are stand alone.  Not only does it have a forestry program but also a working farm and a forest as well as a woodmizer.
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

thecfarm

We have one up here in Maine too.It's at Mt Blue high school.It's like a vocational school.The class has been going for 20 years at least.One year they bought a burned up skidder and fixed it up like new.They have a pine platation right across from the school.A girl will take the class each year.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

dail_h

   I took one as a senior in high school in 1970,sponsored by the American Pulpwood Association. Don't think they still offer it.
World Champion Wildcat Sorter,1999 2002 2004 2005
      Volume Discount At ER
Singing The Song Of Circle Again

Jeff

I tried to send the teacher an email telling him how I enjoyed the piece and to tell him about the forum and every email address I had to try with bounced back saying I was spam. :-\   School email filters must be really tight.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Ernie_Edwards

I'll try to call him this morning. The segment was on the news again this morning. Nice program.

Ron Scott

Well done! I saw it 4 times, thanks to the wife letting me know that it was on.

Yes, the Forum needs to get a Well done! message to the teacher.
~Ron

Jeff

I've tried my luck at sending again but recieved the same error message back. I'm hoping that it actually gets into his spam box and maybe he will find us there.  :D  What a wish eh? To be found in someones spam? :D

Anyhow, in case Mr Block never gets the email, maybe he will find us here thanks to Ernie's call and he can read what I sent him.

**********************
Hello Mr. Block,

My name is Jeff Brokaw and I am the webmaster for the Michigan Association of Timbermen, (www.timbermen.org) The Michigan adopt a forest website (www.cleanforests.org ) and several other Forest Product related sites.  I am also the founder of "The Forestry Forum" a website that has over 3500 members comprised of Foresters, Loggers, Sawmill owners, Arborists, Landowners, and all sorts of other folks that have trees as a common love and interest.

I wanted you to know I saw the piece on 9 and10 news this morning and was very pleased and impressed to see what is going on at least in your class in Northern Michigan. Its refreshing to see your positive influence on the young people in your charge. I wanted to thank you and also invite you to come look at www.forestryforum.com I think you will enjoy what you find. We are a bunch of family oriented hard working folks that have a home base of the forum on the Internet where we try to help each other with information, advice or just an outreached hand. I've posted a link to the 9 and10 story for other members to read as I think they will really enjoy it.

The Forestry Forum has
Board Stats: Total Members: 3574
Total Posts: 336436
Total Topics: 21928
Total Categories: 9
Total Boards: 39

I welcome you to use our forum as a resource for yourself and for your students and invite you to join if you are so inclined. Its absolutely free as our bills are paid by business sponsors.

Thanks again Mr. Block for working with 9 and 10 and bringing your story to us.

Jeff Brokaw

(p.s., I am resending this in hopes that it gets past the benzie spam filter. Its apparently a good one! My friend Ernie Edwards has told me he gave you a calI to warn you :o), so I hope this one finds you o.k. :o) )


Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

LT40HDD51

Jeff, maybe try printing it off and going the snail-mail route? Almost forgotten already...  :D

I have been thinking lately about high school and the lack of almost anything REAL for the students to do (basically since I graduated in 2000... nah, before then... ::)). It frustrated me that we were learning about 2 stroke and 4 stroke motors out of a textbook instead of taking one apart and maybe fixing the problems it has. Old leaky torches nobody used, crappy 110 arc welder (nobody knew how to use it, really), nice but unused sheet metal gear, that sort of thing... I could go on all day  :).

I played rugby in h.s. and took almost all the shop courses I could, and the shop teacher was (and is) the rugby coach and a real good guy. I've been pondering helping them with a fundraiser of some kind to help the team, arrange for them to buy some nice logs and we would provide the sawing. They could use the lumber in shop class (instead of the stuff we had to try to use...) and sell a bunch to raise some money and pay for the logs. We could do the work during school hours, the team could do the piling and sawdust shovelling, and the kids could discover that a person can do something with their life other than go to university and work for a big business (nothing wrong with that, but its not for everyone  ;)). Maybe get WM involved for a bit of sponsorship... might need them for the insurance. Kids could even learn about how to process lumber, a grade 10 student could be using wood in grade 11 and 12 that he (she) helped process, stack and dry, then dress into whatever they need. Learn how to use a moisture meter. Wow, wood doesnt really just come from big stores in town  ;D.

I always wondered why equipment makers dont go to career fairs and the like. Is it discouraged by the schools? For the price of 4 years in college you could have yourself well set up to custom saw (or excavate, or grind stumps, or run almost any piece of equipment working for yourself) and quickly be making good money without spending years in school. My brother and myself are a perfect example. Good, solid employment is not easy to come by in Nova Scotia. I wish there was something like that here for a bunch of my buddies from high school when we graduated...
The name's Ian. Been a sawyer for 6 years professionally, Dad bought his first mill in '84, I was 2 years old :). Factory trained service tech. as well... Happy to help any way I can...

jon12345

You're certainly right about the money spent on college could be used to start a business, but then I wouldn't know what I was doing  :D  Fortunately I only had to take out a few small loans for my college edgumacation.   ::)  I had a great time becoming an alcoholic and made some good friends and in the end it was(n't?) all worth it.


not an alcoholic - anymore  :)
A.A.S. in Forest Technology.....Ironworker

Phorester


I'm on a committee to recommend forestry topics to be taught in our local Vocational Agriculture classes.  A lot of high schools in VA dropped this cirriculum altogether due to a lack of student interest and that the school administrators, composed of people brought up in the suburbs, no longer think it's needed.

I've got my own ideas, but I'd like to hear your ideas on what should be taught to high school students about forest management, logging, forest fire topics, etc.

jon12345

 I'd suggest as much outdoor, hands on stuff as you can, if the kids are interested in the class they will be a lot more at home in an outdoor classroom than behind a desk. Here's a few more ideas if they aren't already on your list dendrology, harvesting methods,  mensuration, BMP,multiple use, urban forestry, wildlife.
A.A.S. in Forest Technology.....Ironworker

Jeff

I say teach stand improvement for the health of all the components of the forest. Teach that the forest is more then its trees, that the trees are only a part. Teach that value increases comes from what you leave behind, not what you take away. Teach that harvesting is a good thing when done for the right reasons.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

mike smith

I was glad to see this topic. I'm a forest land owner in the Missouri Ozarks and a shop teacher. For the past several years I have been teaching a section on forestry in Missouri in my woodworking class. The more I teach this section, the more I enjoy it. I am fortunate to have such great resources like the Pioneer Forest to tap into.

As a teacher, I recognize that this is one of the few places that my students have an opportunity to learn about their own region. Most of them know more about the rainforests than they do about their own Ozark forest.

Mike Smith
Washington, MO

isawlogs

  Teach them to see the forest past the trees .. but to never loose site of the trees in the forest ...
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

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