SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Mother Nature offered the perfect classroom April 10 as members of Fresh Air Family descended upon Five Rivers Delta Resource Center for “imPRESSIVE Plants,” a hands-on botany tutorial complete with flower-pressing activities.

“I’ve been to a lot of programs, but I was very impressed by this one. It was interesting, in depth and fun for everybody,” said Fresh Air Family founder Verna Gates.

The five-year-old Birmingham-based nonprofit stresses the importance of outdoor activities with an educational component in a variety of family-friendly settings. Although the group boasts about 10,000 members statewide, the Baldwin County chapter accounts for only about one-tenth of that volume, but Gates said opportunities like those found at Five Rivers will help the local troupe gain traction while she expands the Youth Ambassador program.

As part of the ambassador program, 13-year-old Kaleb Hollbrook of Mobile submitted an essay following Saturday’s event summarizing his “imPRESSIVE” experience, noting he learned myriad ways to classify plants, trees and shrubs.

“First, we learned that if you cut a tree and count the tree rings you can roughly guess how old it was,” Hollbrook said, noting that because tree trunks grow like a funnel, it’s important to cut the tree at the four- to five-foot mark or one risks miscalculating the true age.

The group then learned leaves are classified by veins, which carry water and nutrients; blades, or the leaf’s shape; and placement.

“We also learned that you can make byproducts with plants, like the flax plant has fibers that can be used for fabric, and that the flavor of licorice and jelly beans is produced from a plant,” Hollbrook said.

Five Rivers Assistant Manager Shonda Borden said the students were taken into the surrounding woods following the instruction portion of the program to “put their skills to work” collecting samples.

“We teach them how to tell the difference between the species of trees and other plants by using the bark, the shape of the leaves and even the smell of the leaves. Then we turn them loose and let them see what they find,” Borden said,

Manager Hank Burch then instructed the newfound experts on the finer points of making plant pressers, wherein, a piece of square wood is covered with cardboard and then newsprint before the flower or leaf is placed upon it. The newspaper is then folded over the plant sample, topped by more cardboard and another piece of wood before being tied together with rope.

“Some people use (the pressed leaves and flowers) for decoration, but you can also start a photo album and start your own key book to help you remember the different species you’ve collected,” Borden said.

Five Rivers’ next course, slated for Saturday, will explore the world of turtles and is geared toward third- through fifth-graders.

The course will focus on native Alabama species, including the red-bellied turtle, and will involve walking the compound’s turtle fence for a closer look at nests. The course will culminate with a turtle release into the delta.

Although there is no charge for the Saturday courses, class size is limited to 20. For more information contact Borden at (251) 625-0814.