Envirothon, a yearly event at the Oregon Garden, tests students' knowledge of natural resources.

via OFRI: Busy spring at the Rediscovery Forest

The Rediscovery Forest is bustling with a bevy of forest education programs.

"We're busy out here" is an understatement from Julie Woodward, OFRI forest education specialist. This year, the Rediscovery Forest program she directs at the Oregon Garden in Silverton is livelier than ever. Thousands of students, teachers, chaperones and garden visitors are taking part in the forest's many educational activities.

K-12 education program season: 3,500 students visit
From September through June, students arrive in buses to take part in field trips and a variety of lessons. For the youngest, there are topics like wildlife and forest habitat. Older students study forest food chains and tree identification, while high schoolers participate in an outdoor laboratory focused on forest management.

Earth Day: 3,000 people visit; 1,000 tree seedlings go home
The theme of 2010 Earth Day was Ten Acts of Green. A thousand tree seedlings were given away as part of the philosophy, "An act of green lasts a lifetime." Throughout the day more than 3,000 people visited the Oregon Garden.

AmeriCorps teams: 300 Christmas trees planted
An AmeriCorps team worked to replant the Rediscovery Forest's Christmas tree demonstration area. The area's 10-year-old trees were harvested last December. This new crop begins the second rotation with primarily Turkish fir, Nordmann fir and Douglas-fir species.

Envirothon: 150 students compete
Envirothon is one of the largest natural resource high school competitions in the state. Groundwater was the theme of this year's challenge. Teams of students, accompanied by teachers and adult coaches, tested their expertise in solving real-life problems in the field. Testing stations included forestry, wildlife, aquatics and soils. The winning team from Newberg High School will travel to California to complete in the North America Canon Envirothon, the championship event for all 50 states and Canadian provinces.