Greenville County 4-H had their first meeting of the 4-H Forest Explorers Zoom Club. Twenty youth (ages 5-9) will meet via Zoom every Tuesday at 10 a.m. to explore the Clemson Experimental Forest with Patricia Whitener and Jaime Pohlman. Patricia streams live from the forest and Jaime manages the Zoom room and the technology side of things. The youth participants get to help direct Patricia while seeing what she sees and where she goes. Each meeting will highlight an aspect of education, research, management, recreation, and careers associated with forestry and natural resources.
The club will meet weekly and follow the seasonal changes in the Experimental Forest while learning about geology, entomology, botany, ecosystems, food webs, animals, habitats (aquatic and terrestrial), and forestry practices.
“We loved your lesson and followed up today with a nature hike and stopped in a clearing between two forests, and you would have been SO PROUD!!! I asked the children, what kind of habitat are we in right now? Do you remember what Mrs. Patricia called it? Emerson shot his hand up and said, “Successional habitat.” I about fainted! See, you are making a difference, and they are GETTING IT!! We have new nature journals to practice observations with and did that today as well. ”
Penny D. Singer
Lower Elementary Teacher
Montessori School of Mauldin
Submitted by: Patricia Whitener, Greenville County 4-H Agent
