One of the best parts of Autumn is all the beautiful colors that spread out across the trees. It is fascinating how each tree has its own coloration and how it closely matches the colors of the leaves when they first emerge in the spring.

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I do have a love/hate relationship with trees. I love seeing the new leaves in the Spring, but my allergies go crazy at the same time. And then when the leaves are falling, my ragweed allergy is off the chart (along with other end-of-season pollen). But, I still enjoy looking at and learning about all the trees and my latest fascination has been the mutualism between the trees and the plethora of creatures depending on them. Birds, insects, mammals, and even the fungi and worms and other plants are so interconnected that it makes me want to plant my whole yard with native tree species (actually, I grew pawpaw trees this year from seed and am just about ready to put three into the ground. Zebra swallowtails, here we come!)

Some great activities we’ve done with the kids is to go on a scavenger hunt to identify trees, categorizing them into native, non-native, and invasive. You can collect leaves, where allowed, press them and seal them in a journal with wax paper, or make rubbings or illustrations of the trees and leaves with notes about the types – probably for older elementary and up.

I hope you get out and enjoy the changing leaves and learn more about the trees around you! And go read some great books!

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