Think like a botanist. What kinds of plants do you want to observe? (Wildflowers, trees, shrubs, mosses, ferns, fungi, etc.)
What questions would you like to ask? Make a list of questions you have about changes that occur in fall.
If you walked the trails in another season, think back to what you saw or did. Which observations might be the same or different in fall?
Observe changes in trees and bushes. Look at the same vegetation before and after a frost.
Make a fall collection of fallen leaves. Compare shapes, identify the plants.
Which edible plant parts are gathered by people and animals for a fall harvest?
Look for different ways seeds travel.
Use a camera and a notebook to keep a record of what you see and learn. Close up photos of plants are especially helpful in identifying likenesses and differences.
Be sure to DATE journal entries. When do plants begin to bud, bloom or go to seed? What plants could you expect to see at certain times in fall? How and when are they affected by other plants and animals? Dated journal entries can help citizen scientists record the interrelationships among different living things.
Habitats
What kinds of habitats exist along the trail that would be suitable for certain kinds of plants? (Soil conditions, temperature, moisture, light, competition with other plants and invasive plants) Write about what you find.
Uses of plants for habitats. (Shelter, wind break, special environments produced by one plant for the benefit of other plants) Notice how the growth of some plants may benefit other plants, but in some cases may take over the space needed by existing plants. Invasive species such as buckthorn may crowd out desirable plants.
Parts of Plants
Photograph plant parts and compare the pictures with some taken earlier in the season.
Are there seeds on plants?
Wildflowers
Look at composite photos of wildflowers on this website.
What plants along the trail have buds on them that will open next year? These are an indication of ways in which they will soon change.
What is happening to branches and buds on bushes and trees in fall? Are there some that are beginning to get bigger? What color are the buds? Which plants are deciduous and which are evergreens?
Find bark of various colors. (Red bark -- Red Osier, White bark -- White Birch, Gray, black, brown or tan bark on various bushes and trees.) How does the color and shape of bark help you identify trees and bushes? Look at the bark on composite photos of bushes and trees. Find some of the different kinds of bark. Photograph the bark. Notice how field guides describe the bark. How does the guide description compare with what you observe?
Why does some bark have holes? What animals may have made the holes? (Squirrels, woodpeckers, chipmunks, insects, etc.)
Take photos of the various kinds of conifers. Learn to identify the trees by their bark, shape, and needles. Look for cones under the trees to get close up pictures.
Shake seed cones and observe the shape and size of seeds that fall out. Have some opened and has the seed flown out while the cone was still on the tree? Is there evidence that some of the seeds have been eaten?
What products are made from different trees that you see? (Lumber, fuel, food source, etc.)
Identify a sugar maple tree along the trail. Why could it be tapped for sap in spring rather than in fall? What happens to the sap in fall?
How would a forester, a farmer, a landscaper, and other users of plants look at those along the trail?
How might a botanist explain the differences between the colors you might see in summer and fall? What colors might an artist use to let a viewer feel that a picture was painted in fall time? Look for colors you are more likely to see in fall rather than spring, summer or winter.
Use what you learned about plants on this trail to research or study the plants near your house or in your neighborhood.
Lichen, Mosses, Ferns and Fungi
Find lichen on trees and rocks. Take photos of different kinds of lichen. Compare the photos with those in a field guide and learn to name the various kinds of lichen.
On which side of trees is lichen most commonly found? Why?
How many different kinds of moss can you find? How are they alike and different? Where do they grow?
How many of these kinds of ferns can you find? (Sensitive, Bracken, Lady, Interrupted, Oak and Ostrich ferns)
Can you find old or new mushrooms growing on plants or the ground? How does the amount of moisture affect their growth?
Other Plant Information on this Website
Look at the PowerPoint presentations about the Kuse Nature Preserve in Fall.