OFA Field Trip to the Farmstead

By Ed Nizalowski, Bement-Billings Farmstead Director —

Ms. Berry had participated in my hike to the Black burial ground in the spring. I spent a fair amount of time covering forest history as it pertains to the clear-cutting that took place prior to the Civil War and the reforestation that occurred once farmland was abandoned. When she learned what the farmstead itself had to offer, she proposed a field trip for her biology classes on Oct. 21. This is quite late in the year for such activities but the weather cooperated. It was a beautiful, mild fall day.

The first 20 minutes of my “station” were very similar to what I do with 4th graders when I conduct a nature tour. We start by looking at a cross-section of what had been New York State’s largest American elm some 20 years ago. We stood back about 20 yards, and I told the students to use their imagination to see what images were suggested by this big chunk of wood.

Next, we got much closer, and I told them, “Now we need to be more scientific; we are going to be botanists and study the specific area of botany known as dendrochronology.”

This is the study of tree rings. The elm was about 150 years old when it met its demise from an invasive species that was brought over from Holland about 100 years ago with some elm burl logs. Most elm trees, however, never reach that size, so this one kept its immunity for a significantly long time. What is fortunate is that the Farmstead itself has a number of healthy elm trees that are beating the odds.

Next, we went to our interpretive kiosk, which was designed by Isabella Shiel. She did this as part of a Gold Award project for Girl Scouts. She did a marvelous job of showing the layout of our trails and what one can see on the trails at different times of the year. She also revised our interpretive signs along the trail and re-established the trail that had been wiped out along the edge of the creek.

One of the images was that of a bald eagle, a species that has re-established itself in the Southe

rn Tier. I engaged the students in looking at the factors that cause a species to go extinct and the role that DDT played in the eagle population drop, along with other birds of prey.

Next, we crossed the creek over the Sycamore Bridge to see a very large sycamore. This is the largest species of tree that we have in the Eastern United States. It is a type of tree whereby the bark does not expand with the growth of the tree and gives a “mottled” appearance of white, light gray, and dark gray. It can be referred to as the camouflage tree. Its preferred environment is along streams and rivers.

Along what we call the “red trail” we do a detour because of a large American ash that has fallen prey to the emerald ash borer. We walked around an abandoned cornfield that shows the process of succession after about 20 years.

At the south end of the property, I pointed out the place where Asa Bement, Jr. had placed a dam for his sawmill and gristmill over 200 years ago. There is one log from the dam that can still be seen when the water is low.

While I engaged the students and piqued their curiosity with our nature walk, Ms. Berry’s, Ms. Kelley’s, Mr. Hoey’s (Ms. Kelley’s student teacher), and Mrs. Wilcox’s students were immersed in various activities at the Farmstead and across the way at the Maple Grove. These activities were patterned around the theme of interconnectedness and balance as it relates to forest health and climate change mitigation. The students used quadrat sampling to determine biodiversity levels, measured tree circumference to estimate carbon storage, conducted soil health assessments, analyzed different types of plant litter, and approximated the tree density of the forest.

The group’s chaperones, Mrs. Gretz (former OFA biology teacher and administrator), Ms. Chandler, Mr. Zetzsche, and Mr. Bingley assisted the students with their work. Each separate “test” was used to develop a holistic picture of how all the individual pieces are intricately connected and, if balanced optimally, will continue to allow the forest to operate as the type of carbon sink needed to cycle carbon in such a way that climate change can be mitigated to some extent. This pairs well with New York State’s 2033 ‘25 Million Trees’ reforestation initiative, as well as the new Regents ‘NYS Life Science: Biology’ curriculum.

At the end of the day, the entire group went across the road from the Farmstead to visit with “Asa,” the current co-champion shagbark hickory for New York State.

The Big Tree Register was started by the National Forest Service in the 1940’s to help promote forestry and forest conservation. It is based on a point system: a point for each inch of circumference, a point for each foot of height, and a quarter point for each foot of crown spread. If two trees are within five points of one another, they are co-champions.

Asa’s current measurements are as follows: circumference 174.125”, height 77′ and crown spread 11.44 pts., making a total of 263. We have placed a fence around the “drip edge” of the limbs to reduce compaction of the soil from vehicular traffic.

Another interesting point is that the name is derived from a Native American word referring to the oil that would rise to the top when boiling hickory nuts. This was used as a food supplement because of its nutritional value, having almost four times the protein of cow’s milk.

We will probably never know the correct age of the tree, even with a coring tool, because the tree is completely hollow, but in all likelihood, it dates well back into the 19th century to attain that size. (I like to joke that if Asa were in the middle of the forest, it would be a raccoon condominium.)

As a tree ages, goes into decline, and develops all these openings and hollows, it serves an important purpose in the biodiversity of the environment. If a mother bear is able to dig under the roots, she could spend the winter safe and sound inside a tree like Asa, give birth to her cubs, and not have to worry until spring weather makes it safe to come outside.

Asa is a tree that has certainly witnessed some history. It has lost some limbs over the years, but because hickory wood is so tough, it has survived countless storms over the years (including the hailstorm and near hurricane force winds from this summer) even though it stands completely by itself with no other trees to protect it.

It was a witness to the Northern Tioga County Fair, which ran from 1880 to 1916. It is still quite healthy and produced a bumper crop of hickory nuts in the “mast” year of 2024. Society members started measuring this tree in the 1980’s and it has generally put on an inch of circumference nearly every year. Let’s hope that it enjoys many more good years and that many more people can marvel at its longevity and size.

Visions Federal Credit Union awarded a grant that was utilized for supplies for use during the field trip, including PVC pipe and elbows, leather gloves, tape measures, scissors, weigh boats, and garden trowels.

If you would like to learn more about the Bement-Billings Farmstead Museum, grounds, and programs, visit https://www.nvhistory.org.

(Note from the Author: As you can probably tell, I was quite pleased with the field trip. The students were engaged, took notes, and asked questions. Several students thanked me personally for the experience. Since this was an experiment, there was no charge to OFA, but the teachers and students did make a contribution to the Farmstead. What more could you ask for?)