With school back in full swing, many of you may have to write reports or develop projects soon. If you are having trouble coming up with an interesting topic, look no farther than the world of plants right in your own neighborhood.

Many of the plants that grow here in the Pacific Northwest have a fascinating history. For a perfect example of a good plant story, consider the Northwest native Douglas fir tree.

Captain James Cook (1728-1779) was a great British explorer and the first European to reach the Hawaiian Islands. Later, when he sailed to the coast of Washington state, he was the first European to see Douglas fir trees. Here was a single tree that was tall and sturdy enough to use as a ship mast. Prior to this use of Washington’s native tree, it had taken British ship builders two or three trees spliced together to form a ship mast.

Or consider the foxglove. Not native to this country, it was brought over from Europe in the 1800s. In the Victorian era, it was a common flower in domestic gardens and flower beds. It was also used by some as a medicinal plant. It contains a chemical called digitalis that was used to treat certain heart ailments.

Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood was named incorrectly by Capt. George Vancouver. He saw beautiful madrona trees covering the bluffs of the peninsula from his ship and thought they were magnolias.

Historic plant stories like these are easy to find and make for interesting reports. However, sometimes teachers want more than just a report. There are some cool natural science demonstrations or experiments you can have as a project.

These could, of course, include the standard potato or lemon experiments. But if you really want to impress your teacher with something he or she hasn’t seen a million times before, consider some of these other simple, but not-so-cliché natural-science projects.

A SIMPLE PROJECT

Pine cones provide easy opportunity for projects, and best of all, they are free. Pine cone seeds are attached to a pair of papery wings inside the cone. When the cone opens, the seed can travel on the breeze. As the cones ripen and dry, the scales that hold the seeds spread apart at just the right angle and allow the wind to dislodge them, catching the wings and blowing away the seeds. By the time the cones fall to the ground, they are very dry and most of the seeds are long gone. But the cones still have a reflexive action to moisture.

If you place an open, dry cone in water, it will close. If you take it out of the water and let it dry out again, it will open back up for you. This is an adaptation of the cone to protect the seeds and ensure their wide dispersal. If it is raining, the papery wings would get wet and not fly well. During rainy periods, the cones close to protect the seeds inside and then open again when things dry out so the seeds can fly.

Here is a simple experiment to do using two pine cones. Place one in the water next to one that remains dry and watch the difference between them. To expand on this experiment, you can time the reaction. You can use several different kinds of cones and compare the times it takes for different varieties to close when wet or open when dry. Do larger cones open more quickly than smaller cones? What about fir cones compared to true pinecones?

There are many books in the library on nature science projects. Plant field guides often have useful information and interesting anecdotes.

You can find information online, too, but make sure you get your parents’ permission first. With a little imagination and curiosity, you should be able to find enough to bring home an “A.”