Identify 10 different types of trees or plants.

“Today when I arrived at my site, I decided I wanted to play a little game with myself. My goal was to see how many different tree species I could identify by their characteristics such as bark, leaves, and anything else that could help me. As a forestry major, who has yet to take dendrology my tree identification skills are still pretty limited. With that being said, in about 10 minutes I was able to confidently identify quite a few trees in the area. The first tree identified was a Sugar Maple. [...] Then I identified an Eastern Hemlock and this one was a little bit tricky because it looks fairly similar to a Balsam Fir tree, but they have softer needles that are not as “sharp”. The last tree I was able to identify was the American beech tree. I find this tree very easy to identify because they have this smooth grayish silver bark. In the short amount of time, I was out in the field, I felt that I was able to accurately identify a lot of trees. This is something that made me extremely excited, and I’m hoping that every time I go I can learn more about the species in the area.”

“I figure the best place to start is by learning how to identify trees and studying a few at a time. All of the trees below were found at some point on the Olentangy Trail, from Tuttle Park to the Wetlands Research Park. On my very long walk, I looked at a lot of trees. It was a sea of leaves and twigs and trunks and, at first, it was hard to distinguish between the trees. After the first few identifications, though, it was much easier (and less frustrating) to differentiate and identify the plants around me.”