Mountain School @ Home: “Hello, It’s Tree” singalong

“Hello, it’s tree
I was wondering if you would like to learn about these?
There’s so many to see
So grab a pen and paper, and come along with me!

One kind is evergreen
It keeps most of its needles
Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring
There’s also deciduous
With leaves that fall each year
Standing stark, conspicuous
There’s such a difference between them
And both grow in the Cascades

Hello from the Big Leaf Maple
You are sprawling and so playful
And moss clings to you
Just like a best friend
And your five-lobed leaves they
Change, die, grow again

Hello from the Douglas Fir
Your thick bark, it will deter
Small forest fires
And let’s not forget
Mouse butt cones that scatter
Around the Northwest

So why, are trees essential?
For air, shade, food, and shelter
All that is instrumental
Sustaining life up here
For dirt and decomposers
Or plants, squirrels, and deer

We’re all connected
And trees do their part
And are really really cool!

Hello from the Red Cedar
Your scaly leaves are not like Fir’s
And your bark it peels in
Vertical lines
And people have used you
For a real long time

Hello from the Red Alder
You kind of look like Paper Birch
But you’re not, you’ve got
White lichen spots
Instead of bark, with lines,
That peels right off

Hello from the Mountain School team
We hope you liked our song on trees
And we’d love to see you
Exploring up here
But for now you can
Explore somewhere near, to your home”

Now we invite YOU to sing US a stanza!

“So hello from the Western Hemlock
You like to grow on nurse logs
And your needles look like
Crazy hair day
But they let in light and
We like you that way”

Thank you for helping us create and share these at-home lessons for transformative learning experiences in nature by making a gift at www.ncascades.org/give.

Photo by Brett Baunton.