Golden Eaglet - Tree Finder

I thought that since I had been planting trees for almost eight years now, I’d know everything about trees. I could never have been more wrong!  The photo is actually during my Gold Award in the fall of 2012 when I distributed 500 free street trees to my community.  Alvin and his wife asked me if I would plant theirs.  It felt great planting it.

One of the things I learned most about trees is what the different types of woods can do. For instance, Apple wood is good for cooking, Walnut for gunstocks and cabinetry, Mahogany is warp resistant so it’s good for boat construction. Oak doesn’t swell or take in moisture so it is often used in boat framing, Cherry wood for boat trim and Spruce wood for boat spars and masts. Cedar is good for dock planks and from my own experience with Cedar, its good for making bows because if you get the right branch it bends well but it’s sturdy. And Cherry wood is a hard wood and is difficult to work with making it great for instruments so it can resonate sound… it also tends to have a pretty grain and vibrant color once stained.

            And from my experience with trees, I had fun studying ones I knew so I could identify ten just by either bark, seed or flower.

 

If you like environmental badges or environmental anything -- the 1934 and even the 1947 versions of Bird Finder, Tree Finder, Conservationist, Land Animal Finder, Fresh Water Life Finder, Wildflower Finder, etc.  Are awesome for hands on field work and observation skills.  This is more work than most of my science classes combined -- for just one of the badges.

            I enjoyed this badge… much better than the current Cadette tree badge.