Ten members of Boy Scout Troop 715 traveled to southern Indiana to finish the requirements for the Forestry Merit Badge.
Two foresters, Andy Calahan and Scott Stockwell, met the scouts at Pike Lumber Company's Brouillette Forest near Carbon, and spent the weekend teaching the Scouts about the woods. The Scouts were split into two groups for the two days.
Calahan taught species identification and leaf collection. He discussed leaf, branching, plus seed and bark characteristics. This aided in tree identification, especially when the trees were similar. Also discussed were the logistics of harvesting trees and general forest characteristics.
Stockwell talked about Dendrology (the study of woody plants with one central trunk), Dendrochronology (what can be learned from the study of tree rings), and the uses of the different species of wood. The Scouts were shown a display of different types of wood. The boards were varnished on one side with the other side left natural. This way the boys could see how the appearance of wood is altered by varnish. And with the boards the same size, they could feel the different density/weight of the boards.
How to manage a forest, the different uses of a forest, and how the end product relates to how a forest is managed were other things discussed.
Christine Tinkey organized this weekend retreat. Adult leaders assisting were Bill Becker, David Johnston, Robert Lee, Will Slone, Christine and Byron Tinkey and David Zigon Sr.
