Much
of Wisconsin was once covered by forests. With the
coming of loggers, the landscape changed. By the 1920's,
most of northern Wisconsin was land covered with stumps.
These land could not be used for farming. The soils
were not good for farming and the growing season of
the north was short. The trout streams were also damaged
by the loss of shade. Many people began to wish that
the forests had not been cut down. People began to
realize that something needed to be done.
In
1927, a group of concerned citizens in Forest County
heard a good idea. The idea was that schools would
buy a large area of land and plant trees. The people
who worked for the Crandon school district thought
that this was a great idea. They bought a plot of
land, and students spent an afternoon planting small
trees. The students took care of the trees and watched
them grow. As the children grew older and bigger,
so did the trees.
The
developing forests provided an area for kids to learn
about trees. It also taught them about our natural
resources and their importance. Teachers and students
spent many hours caring for the trees. These forests
were called school forests. Other school districts
began to hear about Crandon's project. They thought
it was a great idea and soon many other school were
doing the same.
About
337 school forests were planted across the state in
the 1930's and 1940's. Today the small, hand-planted
trees have grown in to tall beautiful ones. The many
children who planted or worked on school forest projects
are now older. Maybe one of them is your grandpa or
grandma, or someone who lives down the road from you.
Ask them about it.
Source:
Peterson, T., "School Forests: Opportunity and Challenge."
Wisconsin Conservation Bulletin Vol. 24. No. 11, November
1959.
