Kits to borrow

Eligibility: Teachers at School Forest sites may check out the School Forest GPS kit. The kit is only available for use at schools in the School Forest Program.
Availability: Teachers can borrow the kit for up to 3 weeks. To request the GPS kit, send an email to Sam Ballis with the name of the kit you want (school forest GPS kit), your name, school forest name, shipping address (no P.O. boxes), and at least two 3-week windows for when you want to use the kit.
Cost: Nothing! The School Forest Program will ship the kit to your school and pick it up when you’re done. Your school pays nothing for shipping.

• 30 Garmin eTrex 20 units. These units provide GPS functions only, without the distractions of YouTube and the internet. Batteries included, but you may need to provide more.
• Binder of GPS lessons

What is GPS?

GPS, or “Global Positioning System,” consists of collecting location points triangulated from the 30+ satellites that constantly orbit around the Earth. Students use these hand-held GPS units to communicate with the satellites and get a three-dimensional description of their location.

Why teach GPS skills?

While we take GPS for granted as it’s loaded onto our mobile phones, Google maps, and other applications, there is value teaching students why and how our GPS works. Students can apply GPS skills to real-world problems such as mapping:

• All the trees on a school campus and then record data—such as their size, species, and condition. 
• The vacant houses or graffiti in their neighborhood.
• Locations of trail cameras, feeding stations, outdoor classroom spaces, and other features in your school forest.

Teachers have also used GPS to teach:

• History. Have students use GPS units to explore historic sites, such as settlements or cemeteries. Include information about what took place at the locations to draw a connection between the places students are seeing and the historic events that happened there.
• Geology. Have students use GPS units to guide students to specific locations where they can observe the geologic features on the school’s campus. Ask students to describe these features and hypothesize about how they were formed.
• Science. Students can use GPS and GIS to plot specific points on a river or stream. Have students measure water quality at those points and ask them to research explanations for the differences in water quality in one area vs. another.
• Geocaching. Set up a high-tech scavenger hunt in your school forest by hiding containers filled with a trinket. Students will enjoy the friendly competition while practicing GPS skills.

GPS lessons on the School Forest Activity Board

• Story-Building GPS Lesson
• GPS Review Challenge

Eligibility: Teachers at School Forest sites may check out the School Forest Orienteering Kit. The kit is only available for use at schools in the School Forest Program.

Availability: Teachers can borrow the orienteering kit for up to 3 weeks. To request a kit, send an email to Sam Ballis with the name of the kit you want (school forest orienteering kit), your name, school forest name, shipping address (no P.O. boxes), and at least two 3-week windows for when you want to use the kit.

Cost: Nothing! The School Forest Program will ship the kit to your school and pick it up when you’re done. Your school pays nothing for shipping.

Kit contents:

• Binder of Orienteering lessons
• 1 extra-large compass for teaching/demonstration
• 30 standard compasses

Best used with a detailed printer map of your own school forest. You can make your own map using Google maps or Google Earth.

What is orienteering?

Orienteering is an outdoor adventure sport similar to a cross-country race. The difference is that it involves walking or running while navigating around a course. Participants use a detailed map and compass, rather than following a set course, reaching set points along the way.

Why teach orienteering?

Orienteering skills are a good way to learn and apply concepts of the cardinal directions and map-reading skills. Students improve their skills of observation and focus while gaining confidence being outdoors. Students should learn orienteering before introducing GPS skills.

You can also teach students to find pre-hidden geocaches or other setups or features using map and compass skills.
Three basic orienteering skills are “Plan, Picture, Direction”:

• Plan a route on the map.
• Picture in your mind what you will see on the way.
• Use the compass to keep the map lined up to north and navigate in the right Direction.

Eligibility: Teachers at School Forest sites may check out the School Forest Inventory kits. Kits are only available to schools in the School Forest Program.

Availability: Teachers can borrow either the Small or Large Inventory kit for up to 3 weeks. To request a kit, send an email to Sam Ballis with the name of the kit you want (small or large), your name, school forest name, shipping address (no P.O. boxes), and at least two 3-week windows for when you want to use the kit.

Cost: Nothing! The School Forest Program will ship the kit to your school and pick it up when you’re done. Your school pays nothing for shipping.

Kit contents:

What is forest inventory?

Forest inventory is the practice of measuring and estimating tree height, volume, density, and species.

Why teach forest inventory?

Taking inventory of a forest it is a great way to apply mathematics skills, including concepts of trigonometry.

Final results can be used to assess forest health and merchantability.