Forests NSW staff have  been busy demonstrating the scientific side of forestry to primary and high  school students at a range of events including ‘Science in the City’ at the  Australian Museum, Sydney, ‘Science in the Bush’ at Coffs Harbour and ‘Science  Exposed’ at the Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney.

Staff went in armed with  timber slices, microscopes, slides and scales to set up educational displays on  carbon storage and how to measure it, as well as the different cell structures  of softwood and hardwood and what products they make.

‘Science in the City’, an  initiative of the Australian Museum and the University of Sydney, is  Australia’s largest science event for students with hundreds of classes with  hands-on demonstrations and daily workshops over six days. ‘Science in the  Bush’ brings the event closer to rural communities, with staff from Forests NSW  joining the Coffs Harbour event in late 2009.

‘Science Exposed’ is a  free event supported by the NSW Office for Science & Medical Research  staged over two days in October 2009, with more than 1500 students attending.

Cumberland State Forest  ranger, Mike Hill, attended the events and said the exercise was great for  expanding forest education to a wider audience.

“It is rewarding  conveying the forestry messages across to students,” Mike said “There are many  disciplines of science involved in the forestry industry, from basic cell  structure to carbon storage and climate change issues.”

To cater for different  age groups, staff tailor their demonstrations.

“With primary school  students the focus is more concerned with just how many timber products we use  every day like timber house frames, books and even toilet paper and how  environmentally sustainable timber products are,” Mike said.

“For high school  students, we work out how much carbon is stored in a tree by measuring the  circumference, finding out whether it is hardwood or softwood, then using an  online formula to calculate. We can then explain that the carbon is locked away  in products after the tree has been harvested for hundreds of years.”

For more information  about Forests NSW Education program contact Forests NSW education coordinator  on T: (02) 9872 0105.

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This article appears in the Autumn/Winter 2010 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.