Children study the forest in Litchfield

: Third-graders from Carrie Ricker School in Litchfield and adult volunteers examine owl pellets during Forestry Day at Smithfield Plantation in Litchfield on Thursday. Each student was given a mass of undigested parts of an owl’s diet to see what they eat. With the help of volunteers Sharon Thibault, second from left, and parent Tanya Lynch, far right, students found bones and skulls of birds, moles, rodents and shrews. The pellet workshop was one of six learning stations that 105 students visited throughout the day. This is the eighth year that students from Litchfield, Wales and Sabattus have made the field trip to the 100-acre, permanently protected area, said David Larrabee, vice chairman of the Smithfield Plantation board of trustees. From left are Leanne Bourgoin, 8, Thibault of Litchfield, Dominic Bachelder, 9, Hunter Lynch, 9, and Lynch’s mother, Tanya Lynch of Sabattus.

: “Who knows, maybe we are looking at the next surgeon,” retired science teacher Donald Dunn said as he helped students lift bones from owl pellets.

: Rayna Leibowitz, right, of the Historical Society of Litchfield tells third-graders the history of a house foundation on the 100-acre, permanently protected Smithfield Plantation in Litchfield on Thursday. More than 100 students from Carrie Ricker School in Litchfield visited the plantation during the annual Forestry Day. It is believed that a blacksmith named George True lived and farmed on the land in 1856. The history workshop was one of six learning stations that students visited throughout the day. This is the eighth year that students from Litchfield, Wales and Sabattus have made the field trip to the wooded area, said David Larrabee, vice chairman of the Smithfield Plantation board of trustees. From left are Logan Moore, 9, Hannah Walton, 8, Maddison Malloy, 9, Kaci Versluis, 8, Adam Greenwood, 8, and Leibowitz.

: Retired teacher Sharon Thibault works with students on dissecting owl pellets. Thibault of Litchfield taught at Carrie Ricker School for 21 years, mostly as a fifth-grade teacher.

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