Litchfield logger Richard Taylor talks with fourth-graders from Carrie Ricker Elementary School during a timber harvest field trip at Smithfield Plantation in Litchfield on Nov. 9. Six classes of fourth-graders got to see firsthand how a working forest is managed by two district foresters, Taylor and a sawmill operator. The field trip was part of their Maine Studies class, said teacher Beth Pfeffer. Smithfield Plantation is a 103-acre tract that has been set aside for conservation. Students from Litchfield, Sabattus and Wales go on Vernal Pool Day, Forestry Day and the occasional Timber Harvest Day field trips each year at Smithfield. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)
Jeremie Cote, 9, looks at the treetops as Litchfield logger Richard Taylor talks about how he selects the trees that he cuts. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)
Carrie Ricker Elementary School teacher Beth Pfeffer describes what sawmill operator Jim Cunliffe of Monmouth is doing during a timber harvest field trip at Smithfield Plantation in Litchfield. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)
Fourth-graders from Carrie Ricker Elementary School watch as Davis Larrabee, far left, Jim Cunliffe and Patti Donnell demonstrate how a portable sawmill is used during a timber harvest field trip at Smithfield Plantation in Litchfield. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)
Smithfield Plantation trustee Davis Larrabee holds up a freshly cut board for students to study during their timber harvest field trip at Smithfield Plantation in Litchfield on Nov. 9. Larrabee organizes school field trips to the 103-acre tract of conservation land each year. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)
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