Local Students Learn About Their National Forest at Outdoor Classroom

About 100 students and teachers from Double Springs Middle School and Curry High School got outdoors for a fun and experiential learning opportunity on May 3.  The students came to the Payne Creek Demonstration Area on Bankhead National Forest for an Outdoor Classroom event.  Partners from the Bankhead National Forest and Alabama Cooperative Extension shared lessons about forest management including wildlife management, fire management, timber and silviculture programs, archaeology and shortleaf pine restoration. 

The Payne Creek Demonstration Area is a site on Bankhead that shows visitors and students alike an active, working forest.  Shortleaf pine woodland restoration is on-going at the site, with active timber harvest, midstory removal, shortleaf reforestation and prescribed burning of the uplands.  Visitors and students can also visit the Payne Creek Canyon, a beautiful canyon and stream at the end of the Payne Creek walking trail.  In the canyon, students learn about the importance of clean water and riparian forests to animals, plants and people!

To learn more about the Payne Creek Demonstration Area, including directions or inquiries about outdoor classroom events, please call the Bankhead National Forest at (205) 489-5111.

A special thank you goes out to the local schools and the Winston County Natural Resources Council for making this great day possible.