Courtesy photo Georgia Peterson and Bill Cook figure out how to measure the height of a tree in a BeLEAF It or Not! video. The videos aim to educate students in fourth through seventh grade about forestry topics.

ESCANABA — This year, COVID-19 has had a major impact on traditional education. Fortunately, families interested in ways to learn at home can enjoy a free series of educational forestry videos titled “BeLEAF It or Not!”

The series was co-created by a pair of MSU Extension foresters and educators.

“It was a brainstorm among (MSU Extension forester) Georgia Peterson, James Ford, and myself, around 2017,” retired MSU Extension forester Bill Cook said.

Cook said the goal of the series is “to provide entertaining and educational forestry videos for school classrooms, fourth through seventh.” The series — which is provided at no cost as an open educational resource — was made possible by financial support from a variety of forestry organizations, including the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, the Society of American Foresters, the U.P. Sustainable Forests & Wildlife Fund, the Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund, and the Michigan Forest Foundation.

“In-kind support has been generous from many entities and individuals,” Cook said.

According to Cook, high production values were an important part of the plan for BeLEAF It or Not!

“We wanted professionally-done, high quality videos, which is why we involved James Ford,” he said.

Ford is an assistant professor teaching multimedia journalism at Grand Valley State university.

Since the series launched last year, its YouTube channel has attracted roughly 10,000 views and 300 subscribers.

“Feedback from teachers, students and parents has been favorable,” Cook said.

A total of 17 episodes have been posted so far, including a music video featuring Escanaba students and area music teacher Lorne Watson.

“Originally, the goal was 30-35 episodes. We’ll see how close to that we get,” Cook said.

Production on BeLEAF It or Not! has been impacted by COVID-19.

“The pandemic has slowed our ability to get together, especially early on,” Cook said.

However, it may have also given the series a boost in popularity.

“There was a substantial jump in monthly views beginning in April,” Cook said.

To learn more about BeLEAF It or Not!, visit the series’ support website at www.beleafitornot.org.