Learn everything you wanted to know about the woods at Family Forestry Expo

The Family Forestry Expo is an annual, weeklong event that offers hands-on exploration of the role forests play in our everyday lives. This year the Family Forestry Expo is scheduled May 4 through May 9 with the theme of “Forests - Landscapes of Many Uses.”

During the week, over 1,300 local fifth grade students from 29 schools, stretching from Eureka and Charlo and across the Flathead Valley, will visit the Expo to learn about natural resource topics. The students visit stations that provide educational presentations about fisheries, aquatic/riparian systems, archaeology, wildlife, fire, backcountry ethics, plant identification and forest management. The program is curriculum-based, and the field stations complement the students’ classroom study.

Sixteen classes will tour either the F. H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. mill or Weyerhaeuser mill; the remaining classes will have the opportunity to take part in a portable sawmill demonstration and visit stations representing lumber manufacturing and forest products.

On Saturday May 9, families are invited to share in expo activities from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Trumbull Creek Educational Forest, located about two miles north of the junction of US Highway 2 and Montana Highway 40, just west of Columbia Falls. 

The Saturday family-oriented event features a short forest walk, offering educational stations and demonstrations along the way. Each station provides information and hands-on activities that allow participants to learn about the many uses of our forests, private and public. Various exhibits will also be on display featuring local organizations, businesses and agencies that care for natural resources.

The Saturday schedule also includes:

10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.: Grandstand demonstration of logging equipment, Forest Service Spotted Bear Ranger District mule pack string, and logging sports, brought to you by the Flathead Valley Community College Logger Sports Team.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Free logging camp lunch, compliments of Family Forestry Expo.

The Family Forestry Expo event takes place through the dedicated involvement of over 40 diverse organizations such as local service clubs, forest industry, government natural resource agencies, conservation groups, professional societies, local businesses, many interested individuals and numerous local donations.

For more information visit www.familyforestryexpo.org and www.facebook.com/familyforestryexpo.