Bald Cypress Swamp

Our partner for this outdoor classroom is the US Forest Service and our housekeeping staff. The bald cypress tree is native to the southeastern United States and is a  deciduous conifer.  A deciduous tree sheds its leaves each year and that is why it is called a “bald” cypress. There are only about 20 species that are both deciduous and conifers. We call it the swamp because all of the water from heavy rain runs off on a slope from the school building through the faculty parking to the swamp. We have almost 100 bald cypress trees planted in this area because they grow well in the saturated soil. The bald cypress tree is cone-bearing and can grow up to 25-40 meters. You will notice when you walk to the fishing pond there are a couple growing there too. The swamp on our campus is part of a three-tiered wetland. Water flows from each area and is filtered by the soil and vegetation. The US Forest Service provided the funding to purchase the trees. Our science classes do research and presentations on the growth, reproduction and habitat of the bald cypress. The chemistry classes do water quality tests using this classroom as the first area of testing and finish with the testing of water in the wetlands.