Elanora Heights Home Page List of Forests Trees and Forests Page

Forest Report from Gloucester, Ontario, Canada

Written by the students of
Chapel Hill Catholic School

Class or age :
Special Computer Group

Name of Forest:
Great Lakes - St.Lawrence Lowland Forest
Chapel Hill Catholic School
Chapel Hill Catholic School
Can you see the cars in the carpark?

General information

The name of our forest is the Great Lakes - St.Lawrence Lowland. The Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowland, is spread out along the St. Lawrence River.

St. Lawrence River is in the southern part of the province of Quebec, in Eastern Ontario, and North of the Great Lakes in Southern Ontario in the province of Ontario.

Our forest is filled with many types of trees:- the most common of these are pine and spruce, which are coniferous trees, as well as Yellow Birch and Maple, which are decidious trees.

The Douglas Fir, a giant Coniferous tree which is most commonly found in the Province of British Columbia, is the type of tree that generally reaches the oldest age in our country.

Appearance

We do not single out small parts of our forested area. Our forests are named because of the environments they grow in.

Our forest is spread over hills, flat land, valleys and lowlands. Though it depends on where in our forest one decides to hike, in most areas it is pretty easy to walk around.

The biggest circumference of a tree in our forest is about 32 feet.

Seasonal Changes

Of all the trees that grow in our forest, only decidious trees loose their leaves in the fall. Our forest is famous for the changing of the leaves. They change into bright reds, oranges and yellows.

A lot of snow (several feet) falls on our forest in the winter time, but because of the size of it, the amount is different from place to place.

Life in this forest

There are also many animals in our forest that can be hunted like rabbits, deer, and also birds like ducks and partridge.

Importance of this forest

Edible plants
Many of the plants in our forest have edible parts. There are berries, nuts, and leaves of various plants that can be eaten. There are also mushrooms, and a fern called a Fiddlehead that can be picked in the spring when it is still curled up.

Wood
The wood of trees harvested from our forest, is used to make furniture which is sold comercially.

Craftwork
Craftwork like grape-vine wreaths are made from forest products as well.

Cottages in the forest
Most people do not make their homes in the forest, but some communities are surrounded by the forest. Many people have cottages in the forest where they can go to enjoy the summer.

Furniture
Many types of furniture are made with the wood from the forest. They include chairs, tables, desks and cabinets.

Recreation
Lots of people enjoy walking, hiking and camping in our forest. Much of this is done in parks like the Gatineau Park (nearby), and Algonquin Park.

Future of this forest

People are cutting the trees in my forest for paper, building materials, and furniture. When companies cut down trees in my forest, they are supposed to plant new ones, so yes there are people planting trees.

In the land in the forest set aside for parks and recreation, people care for the forest. Because of the size of our forest, much of it is left to care for itself.

People in my land are supposed to plant trees to replace the ones taken away, but there are still some people who cheat.

Literature, Art, Music, Dance and your forest

There is a famous poem about Big Joe Mufferaw that you can find by clicking on his name and reading down the Ottawa River report to the section on Mythology.

A famous group of Canadian artists known as the Group of Seven have painted many paintings inspired by our forest and other landscapes. Tom Thomson, a member of this group, was inspired by the Canadian wilderness, and painted many paintings that depict the landscape with its trees, such as 'The Jack Pine'. Emily Carr has also painted paintings of the forest.

Two Quebec artists, Henri Rousseau "Exotic Landscape" 1910 and Marc-Aurele Fortin "Landscape, St. Rose" 1950 were also inspired by the landscape in our forest.

History and Mythology

At one time, before Europeans began to settle in North America, the native peoples of Canada lived in the forest.

They hunted animals for food and furs, and gathered local plants, roots, berries and seeds for food and medicine. They made weapons and tools from things found in the forest and also built their houses from materials found in the forest.

The famous birch bark canoe which was a primary method of water transportation, was also built by native peoples.

The contact person for this report is Basil Tomlinson

Chapel Hill Catholic School
Chapel Hill Catholic School - Headmaster's office
Where is Mr Tomlinson?
He is down in the library
helping children research about the forest.
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This page has been visited times since 5th Nov, 1996.

Computer Co-ordinator : Judith Bennett : This page was last modified 2nd Mar, 1997