Hey kids! I'm Ranger Jen. And I'm Ranger Brad. Welcome back to our virtual Howland Hill Outdoor
School field trip. We sure have talked about a lot of things so far, haven't we? We looked
at the different structures that a banana slug has, and the different functions of those
structures that help the banana slug to survive in its environment. Then, we looked at how
you can tell what an animal eats just by looking at its teeth.
So just like banana slugs, and elk, and bears, and mountain lions, and park rangers, and
kids have many different structures that have different functions, plants also have different
structures with many different functions.
A very special plant that we have growing here at the Howland Hill Outdoor School is
the redwood tree. Redwood trees are the tallest trees on Earth. There are four special structures
that we're going to talk about that help these trees get to be so tall.
The roots of the redwood tree are generally located under the ground. That's why we usually
don't see them. However, this redwood tree has fallen down, so we can take a closer look
at its roots. The roots of the redwood tree are very important because they soak up water
and minerals from the soil. They kind of act like the straw that students and park rangers
use during lunch.
In addition to being the tallest trees on the planet, redwoods are some of the oldest
trees as well. They're older than you, me, Ranger Jen, your teacher, your parents, and
even your grandparents. To get to be so old, redwood trees need something that can protect
them against things that can kill them, like bugs or diseases. Redwood trees do not like
to get sick, just like students don't like getting sick. They have very thick bark that
protects them from things like bugs or diseases. In fact, the bark on redwood trees is so thick,
that it can hold enough water to protect the tree from things like fires. You might think
of the bark as a suit of armor or a shield for the redwood tree. The bark protects redwood
trees.
Okay everyone, I have a very important question to ask you: where does an animal's food come
from? Hmmm...
An animal has to find their food. An elk finds different kinds of plants to eat, mountain
lions find different types of meat to eat, and students find different types of food
at lunchtime to eat. That's the main difference between plants and animals: animals have to
go and find their food, while plants make their own food. Redwood trees use their needles,
or leaves, to make food. The flat needles soak up the sunlight and use it in a very
complicated process called photosynthesis to make their food.
There's one more structure on redwood trees that we haven't talked about yet: the cones.
Cones are very important to redwood trees because they carry about a hundred seeds,
and each one of those trees can grow to become the next super tall redwood tree.
By now, your teacher should have posted four different pictures around the classroom, and
will now pause the video to point them out to you.
Now, we would like to do a little activity with you. Ranger Brad is going to name one
of the structures a redwood tree has, and then your teacher will pause the video so
that you can walk to the picture of that structure.
Everyone walk to the needles.
Everyone walk to the roots.
Everyone walk to the bark.
Everyone walk to the cones.
Excellent job everybody, we were able to identify the structures of the redwood tree. However,
we have already learned that all structures have many different functions. So, we are
going to play this game again. This time, though, Ranger Brad is going to tell you the
function, and we would like you to walk to the picture of the structure that performs
that function.
Everyone walk to the structure of the redwood tree that holds the seeds.
If you walked to the cones, great job! You got it right.
[cheering]
Now, everyone walk to the structure of the redwood tree that soaks up sunlight to make
food.
If you walked to the needles, great job! You got it right.
[cheering]
Everyone walk to the structure of the redwood tree that soaks up water and minerals from
the soil.
[cheering]
If you walked to the roots, hey! You did it right!
[cheering]
Everyone walk to the structure of the redwood tree that protects the tree.
If you walked to the bark, you got it right!
[cheering]
We have prepared one more activity for you to do before your virtual field trip to the
Howland Hill Outdoor School is over. To do that activity, we're going to turn things
back over to your teacher. But before that happens, Ranger Jen and I would like to thank
you for joining us, and spending all of this time here at the Howland Hill Outdoor School.
We really hope you get a chance to go to Redwood National and State Parks in person some time
in the future.
We hope to see you soon! Goodbye!
Bye!