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Aloha, for wanting to learn more about dry forests and plants. The following provides an overview and links to lessons and quizzes which will reinforce your dry forest knowledge, especially for those going into the forest to volunteer, work and learn at dry forest sites. Whether an individual, group, student or teacher—we hope you will enjoy these resources.
Introduction to Dry Forest Lessons:
- Lesson 1: About Dry Forests – This will be useful before going into the forest. Click on the lesson, and afterwards try the quiz at the bottom of the lesson.
- Lesson 2: Seeing Plant Shapes, Colors and Patterns – This will begin the journey to learn how to identify plant species from one another. Plants have unique features just like people. Begin to train your eyes to discern between different features by studying a few vines. Then take the quiz at the bottom of the lesson to see what you learned .
- Lesson 3: Seeing Invasive Plants – These are plants that may be okay where they came from or in another setting, but not wanted in the native forest since they challenge the health and survival of many native species. Begin to train your eyes on a few key invasives. Click on the lesson, then test yourself after by taking the quiz. Fountain grass is not shown in this lesson, but is the most invasive grass in Hawaii Island dry forests which you can read about on the Invasives Threat page.
- Lesson 4: Have fun learning new research that might explain why some people are happier when they’ve spent some time in the forest or garden getting close to the dirt.
- Lesson 5: This is an activity sheet in the form of a pdf to download. You will graphically learn about “pulse rain systems” using Ka`ūpūlehu as an example. Pulse systems were mentioned in Lesson 1. The activity sheet includes a 10-year rain chart and several questions.
- Lesson 6: This lesson offers multiple activities to learn about the following: flowers of dryland native plants of Kekaha (North Kona), endangered plants. and a few endemic and indigenous plants of Laʻi ʻŌpua at Kealakehe. The Hoʻola Ka Makanaʻā (Kaʻūpūlehu) & Hui Laʻau Kamaʻāina (Kealakehe) collaborative mural shown here with the numbered flowers is an important part of Lesson 6.
- Lesson 7: Can you match the color of the flowers using the mural or the Gallery photographs? Here are two sections of the mural: Kaʻūpūlehu and Kealakehe. Download the sketches made my Leah Ingram and Pua Herron-Whit who prepared the mural for painters. Use watercolors, colored pencils or crayons to capture the flower colors.
Links to Quizzes: