- HI THERE.

I'M DR. SCOTT THE PALEONTOLOGIST.

CHECK OUT THIS AMAZING TREE.

TREES ARE NICE TO LOOK AT, AND THEY ALSO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT BY MAKING THE OXYGEN WE BREATHE AND BY PROVIDING HOMES TO ALL KINDS OF ANIMALS, LIKE BIRDS, SQUIRRELS, MONKEYS, AND RACCOONS.

BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT TREES CONTINUE TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT EVEN AFTER THEY'VE DIED?

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS ROTTING, OLD, FALLEN TREE.

IT'S GOING THROUGH SOMETHING CALLED DECOMPOSITION.

THAT MEANS THE TREE IS SLOWLY BREAKING APART AS IT'S EATEN BY ANIMALS LIKE TERMITES AND WORMS.

SMALLER TREES MIGHT TAKE JUST A FEW YEARS TO DECOMPOSE, BUT A LARGE TREE CAN TAKE HUNDREDS OF YEARS TO DECOMPOSE.

AND IN THE MEANTIME, A DECOMPOSING TREE MAKES A GREAT HOME AND FOOD SOURCE FOR LOTS OF DIFFERENT CREATURES, LIKE BEETLES, ANTS, WASPS, AND SPIDERS.

ALONG WITH OTHER REALLY SMALL ANIMALS, LIKE MILLIPEDES AND WOOD LICE, THEY MAKE SURE THAT NO PART OF AN OLD TREE GOES TO WASTE.

IN A WAY, THESE ANIMALS ARE ACTUALLY RECYCLING THE DECOMPOSING TREE.

SO TREES PLAY A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE FOREST WHEN THEY'RE ALIVE AND HEALTHY AND EVEN AFTER THEY'VE STOPPED LIVING.

OKAY, REMEMBER, GET OUTSIDE, GET INTO NATURE, AND MAKE YOUR OWN DISCOVERIES.