Fourth grade students from Wiscasset Elementary School made their first trip to Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson.

They met with naturalist educators Sue Kistenmacher and Cami Wilbert to learn about tree identification. The students hiked to the barn and used field guides to learn which trees a given leaf or needles came from. Then the students were invited to “Meet a Tree.”

Every student was given time to search the immediate area for a tree friend just right for them. They wrote observations about the tree in a journal and estimated the age of the tree by measuring the circumference of the trunk.

After a fresh air lunchtime, the students walked to a bog and enjoyed learning about the variety of carnivorous plants living there. They also observed how the trees in the bog area were shorter than trees just a short distance away. The students learned that the bog does not have the nutrients necessary for trees to grow tall. Students enjoyed finding different tree species on their walk out of Hidden Valley Nature Center and they are looking forward to their next trip.