Ann Hewitt’s 5th grade class was recently treated to lessons in forestry with Dr. Dan Miller (who also happens to be Hewitt’s dad) during a forestry tour in the woods of North Idaho.Miller knows a thing or two about forestry. In addition to being a guide on nearly 40 Idaho Forest Products tours for educators and opinion leaders, he has a doctorate in forest pathology and worked as a silviculturist for Potlatch(Deltic) Corporation for 34 years. You’ll find Dan running off into the woods with his hatchet if he sees a tree with an insect, disease or fungus when he isn’t consulting and doing trainings for the Idaho Department of Lands and University of Idaho.
Hewitt attended the Sustainable Forestry Tour for Teachers and Counselors in June of 2022 and was excited to take her experiences from the tour to her classroom.
“I made use of my resources from the teacher tour and took a forester to the woods for the PLT Fallen Log lesson,” said Hewitt. “My students had so much fun and learned so much about decomposing trees, fungus, pests and rot!”
The Sustainable Forestry Tour for Teachers and Counselors includes tours of beautiful forests, high-tech mills, the opportunity to meet passionate people, eat delicious food, and come away with proven activities for the classroom.
“For the fortunate teachers and counselors who come on this special tour, they get VIP treatment,” says tour organizer and head of Idaho Project Learning Tree, Michelle Youngquist. “And they get the full-circle experience of modern sustainable forestry.”
As for Dr. Miller, Youngquist says he’s pretty special. “We think the world of Dan. He is an all around wonderful guy.”
“My students had so much fun and learned so much about decomposing trees, fungus, pests and rot!”
– 5th grade teacher, Ann Hewitt