A Day in the Forest at Uwharrie Ranger District

Source: Montgomery Herald Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Twenty sixth-graders from a local middle school learned about forest service careers and hiked with staff on the Uwharrie National Forest January 19. 

Wheatmore Middle School students and staff with Woodsie

Student Advocate Ashley Albertson, of Wheatmore Middle School in Trinity, called Uwharrie National Forest District Ranger Susan Miller this past fall to ask if some of her sixth-graders could come out to the Forest and “get off the pavement.” 

Albertson’s goal was to take the students out to not only have a fun day outdoors, but also to get to meet with Forest staff and learn about what different forest service jobs are really like. She wants her students of all ages to stay motivated to finish high school and learn more about careers that may not be your typical 9-5 office jobs. 

“That doesn’t work for everyone,” said Albertson, a statement which many people in the forest service can agree with. Many staff joke about “being ADD” and find they are more suited to hands on, outdoors work. So Uwharrie staff were happy to join the kids for a hike, connect them to the forest and hopefully inspire some in the next generation to be stewards of their public lands.

The Wheatmore Middle School students, three teachers, Alberston and nine Uwharrie staff hiked the 2.3-mile, long loop of the Denson’s Creek Trail. The trailhead is located behind the Uwharrie office on 789 Biscoe Rd. Throughout the hike, the group stopped for short discussions of the history, plants, timber and fire related information along the trail, giving the students an idea of what each department’s job duties might look like. Two archaeologists discussed evidence ofgold mining, the remains of settlers’ homes and Native American history in the area. The district biologist, fire engine captain and district ranger talked about timber stand management, the longleaf pine and the importance of implementing regular prescribed fires in our ecosystem. At the end of the hike, Woodsy Owl surprised the group, and our HR specialist discussed the importance of Woodsy Owl’s Leave No Trace message. 

After the hike, the group moved to the Forest’s work center, where the engine captain and a senior wildland firefighter showed kids the fire engine, some of our firefighting tools and how we safely conduct prescribed burns or respond to wildfires by burning a pile of leaves as an example. The firefighters put the leaf burn out using the engine’s hose and water supply. Next, the group met with the recreation staff, looked at different recreation and maintenance tools, and learned from staff about maintaining campgrounds and trails and working with visitors.

Finally, the group returned to the district office to receive goodie bags and check out some Native American artifacts, quartz crystals found on the forest, and our taxidermied fox squirrel and red cockaded woodpecker. Both the squirrel and the woodpecker are part of the longleaf pine forest habitat, their presence or lack thereof indicating the presence of good longleaf pine habitat. In the office, the kids met with our law enforcement officer, learning about safety in the forest, as well as visitor services and support services staff in order to learn about the kinds of jobs you can get involving both working with the public and managing internal and financial affairs. Many federal and state forest service jobs are in offices and are essential to keeping the forest operations running smoothly. Even those who may not want to be outside all day can apply their skills to jobs in the industry.

Suzanne Miller and Jenifer Jay

Additional info: For North Carolina National Forests HR specialist, and one of the A Day in the Forest event organizers, Jenifer Jay, creating and implementing the project went toward the completion of her North Carolina Environmental Educator’s License. She hopes to use her license to bring more educational opportunities, including programs such as A Day in the Forest, to people of all ages.