Little Charlie Tucker was so excited. The long weekend was fast approaching and he and his dad were going fishing up in the interior of British Columbia. He wasn’t sure how he could sleep because he kept thinking of the mountains and rivers he would pass on his trip up to the lake with his dad in the morning.

Mr. Tucker was a master planner, and he had planned a very special weekend for his son and himself, informing his son that, “We’re going to stay at a reforestation campsite and drive a short distance to the lake each day, Charlie. Better pack some warm clothes, as it can become quite cold at night up there, especially when we are in a tent.”

“I’ve already put extra wool socks in his back pack, some snacks, the water jug, and of course, the first aid kit just in case,” Mrs. Tucker replied.

“I also packed some socks, mom, and I have my winter sweaters, too, and my gumboots. Can I bring Lucky?” Charlie asked.

“No, I think your kitten will miss our dog, and besides, Lucky would prefer not to be left alone in the car or tent when you two are out on the lake fishing,” Mrs. Tucker replied.

“Now that you put it that way, Lucky shouldn’t be coming on our fishing trip,” Charlie replied.

As always, Charlie was curious, and so he asked, “What’s a reforestation camping site? That’s a lot to say dad,” little Charlie said laughing, as he rubbed his mouth.

“A reforestation campground is a place where people can go and camp while taking part in a sustainable process. You see, unlike other campgrounds where we would have to pay to pitch our tent, Charlie, this campground is happy for us to pitch our tent for free as long as we plant twenty trees each,” Mr. Tucker responded.

“Wow, that’s really cool, dad, but how big are these trees?” little Charlie questioned with a look of concern.

“They are very small trees, maybe a foot tall, and my plan would be to go back each year for an annual trip with you to see how much bigger they have grown,” he replied.

“Oh, they are just baby trees. That’s really exciting, dad,” Charlie responded.

“You know, at this campsite we will learn how our twenty trees each will be helping to rebuild the natural habitats of different species and ecosystems, too,” Mr. Tucker said while walking to the kitchen.

“What is a habitat, dad, and an ecosystem?” Charlie asked.

“A ‘habitat’ is a fancy word for a natural environment where a particular species of animal lives,” Mr. Tucker replied.

However, before he could answer the second part of Charlie’s original question, his son asked quickly, “What type of species would be living in the new forest we are going to plant, dad?”

“Oh, bears, and cougars, and birds, and squirrels,” he replied.

“Bears, oh wow, real bears,” Charlie blurted out.

“Speaking of which, you two mustn’t leave any food out, just in case one of those bears is hungry,” Mrs. Tucker responded.

“We won’t,” both Mr. Tucker and Charlie said in unison.

“So, an ‘ecosystem’, Charlie, to finish answering your question, is also a place that consists of all the organisms that would live in a particular area, but it also takes into consideration what makes up the habitat these organisms live in such as air, soil, water, trees, and the list goes on,” Mr. Tucker said.

“Then the ocean is a different ecosystem to the rainforest which we are going to help replenish tomorrow?” Charlie asked for clarification.

“Yes, it is a very different ecosystem, you’ve got it,” Mr. Tucker responded.

“I can’t wait to plant trees, dad. I’m going to go and pack my volleyball knee pads right now,” Charlie said, as he slid out of the kitchen in his sock feet.

“Knee pads, did you mention he needed those earlier today?” Mr. Tucker questioned his wife.

“Nope, your son just thought ahead as to what he would need when planting trees,” she replied with a smile.

“Ha,” Mr. Tucker said is amazement, continuing with, “I guess he learned that from you!

© 2011 Crystal Buchan