Creating a forest laboratory...

Richard and Anne enjoy the forest. They like to share their enjoyment with others through guided forestry tours. They wanted to present a working tree farm to visitors as well as creating an educational opportunity. Over the past several years on the home place, Gales Creek, Richard and Anne have been in the process of creating an outdoor forest laboratory with easy access trails to historical and forestry management sites. Anne has fashioned a logger, Woodsy, who has become the official greeter and a hit with the youngsters. On a recent field trip, a group of students decided that the unnamed tributary to little Beaver Creek should be called "Woodsy's Stream". The idea sounded great to them so the creek now has a name.

In the spring of 2000, to accommodate the increased need of parking for tours, Richard and Anne have taken an area between two log landings, cleared the understory and leveled the ground. This has created a space for mutipurpose use. Forest educational activities such as aging and measuring trees are now within easy access to other teaching stations. The wildlife are also enjoying the increased forage.