The current rapid decline of Earth's biodiversity represents an enormous crisis for humanity. Among the factors producing declines in biodiversity, changes in land use may have the greatest effect in the near term. It is well known that land-use history produces strong, lingering effects on biodiversity. This phenomenon has become known as the "land-use legacy." Studies of land-use legacies are critically important for understanding how land-use practices alter biodiversity over temporal scales. For the past five years, these authors have involved 10th grade biology students at New Philadelphia High School, New Philadelphia, Ohio, in field experiences that quantify land-use legacy effects on forest biodiversity. They call these field "experiences," rather than field "trips," to reflect their emphasis on having students directly involved in the intimate study of nature. The over-arching goals of these experiences are to provide opportunities for students to connect with their local environment, to observe forest ecosystems from a new perspective, to study ecology in its natural context, and to apply the scientific method while investigating an authentic question. The authors feel that this project provides a general model that could be applied by other teachers to involve their students in the study of local ecosystems. (Contains 3 figures.)