What's That Plant? Educational Module

What's That Plant? is a fun and interactive plant learning module developed for educators to use with children grades K-12. The series of activities help students develop an awareness of fourteen plants that are important culturally and ecologically by exploring these native plants in their communities. The goal is to develop youth who will become wise stewards of the Earth. The young people who participate in the program will develop a heightened awareness of the natural world around them – including the challenges they face in protecting cultural and natural resources.

The module includes four activities:

1. Plant Bingo (ZIP; 2.2 MB) is an audio bingo game that teaches Cherokee, scientific and the common names of fourteen plants.
   • Plant Bingo Cards - Cherokee names (ZIP; 96.8 MB)
   • Plant Bingo Cards - Scientific names (ZIP; 95.9 MB)
   • Plant Bingo Cards - Common names (ZIP; 95.8 MB)
2. Plants and the Cherokee is a movie that shows the Cherokee cultural significance of each plant.
3. Plants Outdoors (ZIP; 13.7 MB) takes children outside with a set of small cards that they can use to identify plants in their communities.
4. Native Plant Garden provides information on creating a native plant garden.

Fourteen individual Plant Information Sheets (ZIP; 29.3 MB) provide information about traditional uses of each plant, as well as its ecological significance, ways to identify it, sustainability issues, and correct harvesting methods.

Please download the What’s That Plant? Plant Module Guide (PDF; 935 KB) for full instructions.

Background

The U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) collaborated to develop this education module for children grades K-12.

The plant module focused on fourteen culturally and scientific significant plants, such as, white oak, flowering dogwood, ramps, and sochan. The module integrated traditional ecological knowledge from the EBCI tribe and scientific knowledge from SRS researchers. The goal of this partnership was to incorporate current science-based knowledge of the ecosystems where Cherokee youth live and to complement the traditional knowledge passed down from generation to generation.

Southern Research Station and Bent Creek Experimental Forest staff developed the module with input from many experts.

Collaborators

• Gary Kauffman, Botanist, USDA Forest Service, National Forests in NC
• Barbara Duncan, Education Director, Museum of the Cherokee Indian
• Jerry Wolfe, Cherokee Elder, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
• Mary and Janie Brown, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
• Mary Miller, Cherokee Elder and plant specialist, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
• Joanne McCoy, North Carolina Arboretum
• David Cozzo, Area Specialized Agent, Agriculture Extension Officer, NC Cooperative Extension - EBCI Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian
• TJ Holland, Junaluska Memorial and Museum