Stories Through Nature: Leaf & Tree Identification
Written by Evelyn; October 23, 2020
Hello you. I heard you are interested in Leaf and Tree Identification! You are in the right place. ?
First, I want to share the resources I have used to identify my collection of leaves so you can later identify yours!
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The Urban Forest Program
Second, pick leaves you like and are interested in learning about! As you will see from some of my past and future posts, the leaves hold a special meaning to me — whether it be the first red leaf I had seen or a leaf with a gorgeous, shiny black color I was curious about. Also, keep track of the leaf's surroundings.
Some questions to ask yourself for better understanding your leaves are:
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What park were the leaves in?
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What kind of environment was around it?
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What season did you pick this leaf in? What was the weather like?
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Was the leaf damaged? Were there small ecosystems on or within the leaf?
Remember: follow all Austin Public Health guidelines when in parks. Make sure to keep a 6-foot distance from others and wear a mask. A bottle of hand sanitizer won’t hurt either. ?
Third, I strongly recommend having a journal or paper around to keep track of the characteristics of the leaf as you follow along on either of the website tools I listed above. This could also help you retain the information better.
Fourth, have fun with it! I decided to take a more artistic approach by doing leaf rubbings and labeling the characteristics on paper. Learning about nature can be fun!
How to create a leaf rubbing:
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Have a blank piece of paper, a crayon, a leaf, and a flat surface ready.
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Place the leaf under the blank piece of paper
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Using the side of your crayon (or pencil/colored pencil), rub it on the paper while holding the paper and leaf in place
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After rubbing/coloring, you should have a beautiful traced leaf on the once blank paper!
Stories Through Nature is a project of the 2020 Youth Forest Council. You can learn more about the program at www.austintexas.gov/youthforest.