| Accomplishments for Fiscal Year
1998 |
Sustainability of forest, grassland, and aquatic
ecosystems:
Delaware—An outdoor classroom and
demonstration forest site called The Education Trail at the Redden State
Forest was established. A self-guided trail brochure leads the public through
the area.
Indiana—The Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) with the Indiana Forestry Education Foundation and Indiana
University-Purdue University continued developing the Virtual Forest
CD-ROM series. Field work was completed for the Southern Pines, Montane, Boreal
and Temperate Rainforest ecosystems.
Maine—regional
teacher workshops on Sustaining Maine’s Outdoor Heritage focused on
service learning, community sustainability, and alignment with the Maine
Learning Results using natural resource themes.
Maryland—DNR and Department of Education staff collaborated on
development of and training for middle school teachers about a unit on the
importance of riparian forest buffers.
Massachusetts—Teachers
and administrators in the Frontier regional school developed a watershed unit
for an 8th grade earth science class as a way to involve high school students
in the Mill River watershed project. A workshop on Making Watershed
Protection Work: Fostering Community-Based Planning and Action enhanced the
capacity for communities to manage natural resources through watershed based
planning and management.
Michigan—The White Pine
Era video at the State Historical Museum was updated to incorporate
reforestation practices from 1900 to present and to reflect the positive
actions taken in Michigan to restore natural resources. The Museum has more
than 150,000 visitors/year including many school groups.
Interrelationships in natural systems and between people and the land:
District of Columbia—The Thomas L. Ayers Outdoor Classroom
program helped beautify the grounds of DC Public Schools while teaching
conservation principles; through gardening projects students learn about soil
management and plant propagation. Varied approaches to teach conservation
education are used such as essay writing, poster making, landscape design, and
community surveys.
Iowa–Trees for Kids/Trees for Teens is
a tree education and planting program that targets Iowa’s elementary and
middle school students. In its 9th year over 4,800 teachers received packets. A
Reading Rangers program promoted reading by promising a tree would be
planted in the Loess Hill State Forest for every 20 pages of books read during
Earth Week.
Maine—Maine Forest Service assisted with
launching a forest industry educational initiative called LEAP: Long-Term
Education About Forests. LEAP sponsored four regional Forestry Teacher
Tours. LEAP partners also assisted with outfitting 200 “tree trunks”
located at school districts around the state.
New
Jersey—The NJ Forest Resource Education Center held a Fall Forestry
Festival; a field day event that enabled visitors to connect with trees and
forests, and the many benefits and connections we share daily.
Woodsy Owl—“Lend a Hand and Care for the Land”:
Six Woodsy Owl costumes are maintained at Northeastern Area (NA) locations
and through state partners in RI and NJ. Woodsy had over 40 appearances in the
NA in 1998 to about 300 teachers and 5,600 children. Woodsy also appeared
before large numbers of people of all ages at a few special events including:
“The Morning Show” on NJ television, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York
Mets Major League baseball games, and the Minnesota State Fair.
On-going support for national programs:
Project Learning
Tree (PLT)--PLT is a K-8 grade curriculum focusing on trees and forests to
learn about the environment. Issue driven secondary modules for grades 9-12
including Focus on Forests, Forest Ecology, Municipal Solid Waste, and Focus
on Risk have been completed. State coordinators are located in all 20 NA
States and DC. NA technical & financial assistance have helped with many
projects such as development of Tree Trunks of resource materials for
educators, state specific supplemental materials (VT and NH), and resource
specific supplements such as the Butternut Educational Packet. For more
information call 202-463-2462 or www.plt.org
The Envirothon is a conservation education competition for
high school students. All 20 NA states and DC participate in the program. At
the National competition a new “ecostation” approached was which
integrated forestry, soils, aquatics, and wildlife questions at each station
representing a different land type. For more information call 1-800-825-5547
(ext. 16) or www.envirothon.org |
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