Show some love for Wisconsin forest products

We don’t often stop to notice the variety of paper products we use in any given week. Toilet paper is a necessity of course, as is facial tissue during cold season. Even in an increasingly digital world, we still jot meeting notes on a notepad, browse grocery store ads on glossy inserts, and sign medical forms on standard white paper – not to mention open our online purchases in their many cardboard boxes.

Paper products are ubiquitous in our lives. Beyond the everyday uses, there are specialty papers that help make holidays the fun events they are, and especially so on Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day means candy, and many candies come wrapped and packaged in specialty papers made in Wisconsin. From the plain brown paper holding your peanut butter cup to the shiny coated wrapper of your banana taffy, we owe much of our confectionery paper to the advanced paper making processes of companies in Wisconsin – and the trees that grow here.

The sustainable paper straw in your cup of soda, the bag of microwave popcorn, and the heart-printed liner holding your homemade cupcake are all Valentine’s Day party staples that use food papers made in Wisconsin. Even the cupid napkin you wipe your fingers with is probably made here!

Whether memories of elementary school Valentine’s parties give you warm fuzzy feelings or thoughts of your first heartbreak, there’s no doubt that the colorful cards handed out that day are an important part of childhood. And there’s a good chance that the cardstock and construction paper that those cute little cards are printed on was made in Wisconsin too.

Cardstock, like standard paper, is made through a chemical and mechanical process that uses pulp from “hardwood” trees like birch or maple and “softwood” trees like pine and spruce. Cardstock can stand up to glue, paint, and folding better than standard paper because it is made with a different pulp composition than regular paper and a layering process not used in writing paper. To an opposite effect, wrapping tissue and crafting crepe papers are made to be light and airy by changing the pulp composition, increasing the heat at which they’re produced, and applying an adhesive coating.

Why not use Valentine’s week to explore some specialty paper products with your students? The lessons in LEAF’s Forest Products curriculum bundle make that easy to do. Or, if you want to make your own paper for homemade valentines, check out this Project Learning Tree lesson. When you’re done, send some pictures to leaf@uwsp.edu. We love to see what your students create!

Hands-on learning: Forest Products Kit

The Forest Product Kit allows students to learn about forest products and associated careers through hands-on explorations. It includes wood blocks, samples of forest products, loupe magnifiers and more!

The Forest Product Kit can be checked out from the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education at UW-Stevens Point or from one of 10 host sites throughout the state.

In-depth learning: Track that Product

The Track that Product lesson engages students in an in-depth exploration of a Wisconsin forest product. During the lesson, students develop a model to tell the journey of their product from a Wisconsin forest, through processing, to the finished product.

Students examine factors that may impact the tree and forest product in the future and investigate careers related to the production of their forest product. The lesson is created in Google format so it is easy to download and modify.

Track that Product pairs well with the Forest Products Kit but can be completed independently. The lesson can be found on the LEAF website.

Save the Date: School Forest Summit July 25-26, 2023

LEAF, Friends of the Merrill School Forest, and Merrill School Forest Coordinator Russ Noland are hosting the Wisconsin School Forest Summit July 25-26, 2023 at the Nels P. Evjue Memorial School Forest in Merrill.

Participants must be affiliated with a registered Wisconsin School Forest. There will be opportunities for networking, professional development and outdoor recreation.

• School Forest maple syrup taste contest and pancake breakfast
• Tour the 748-acre Merrill School Forest
• Onsite lodging in bunkhouse of lodge, camping onsite or nearby Camp New Wood County Park or Council Grounds State Park
• Optional 3rd Day - Foundational Planning Workshop on July 27, 2023

Whether you teach at a large forest with well-developed programming or a small forest with no established trails, we look forward to seeing you this summer! Mark your calendar!

Registration opens in April.

Contact Us! 

Have questions or need additional resources? Contact us at leaf@uwsp.edu. We are here to support educators and students with forestry opportunities.

Published for February 2023