North Dakota State University

The NDFS Information and Education (I&E) Program is responsible for administering a statewide PreK-12 education outreach program for the agency to raise public awareness about natural resource values, help support informed decision-making, and foster individual responsibility in stewards of all ages regarding the wise use and conservation of our forest resources.

The goal of education is to make the best citizens possible. A good program provides life-long learning opportunities, which encourage a greater understanding and appreciation of our forestry and related natural resources. Understanding our natural resources is too critical to our future to avoid acting now to increase awareness and understanding of the environment. Through educational experiences and activities targeted to a great variety of age groups, education enables people to more easily comprehend

• the intricate relationships within ecosystems,
• the value of natural resources within our society, and
• the importance of conservation and management.

The public's perception of our forest resources is constantly changing. Changing demographics are accompanied by changing perceptions of the roles trees and forests play in society. An understanding of our dependence on the land-base and its resources for subsistence is no longer inherent in society. Incorporating forestry focused conservation education into youth and adult education efforts is a challenge that must be faced collectively.

Project Learning Tree Program

Today's youth are tomorrow's citizens; their voices, votes, and values will determine the future of our trees and forests.

A disconnect from our natural environment is developing in Americans, especially in children. Children lack a sense of awareness of the natural world, largely because they do not get out to experience it as much as children once did. The reasons are many, but one of the most important is that children today spend more time indoors watching television, playing video games, and otherwise using electronic media.

Baba Dioum once said, In the end we will conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand. 

Americans also face a changing economy and environmental challenges around energy, water, and the use of natural resources upon which we depend for our health and well-being.  Environmental education is vital to prepare students for the jobs of the future and to help them understand the role that healthy natural resources play in our economy.  

The Information and Education (I&E) Program uses Project Learning Tree (PLT), which is widely recognized as one of the premier environmental education programs in the world, to reach K-12 and university pre-service students and educators. Environmental education is a process that increases the learner's awareness and knowledge about the environment and related issues. www.plt.org

PLT has been a program of the American Forest Foundation since 1976. PLT is used in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico and several other countries all over the world. From the start, PLT has been on the leading edge of educational reform, while building on tried-and-true principles of learning and teaching.

The PLT goals are to develop the necessary skills and expertise to address issues, and foster attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action. 

Environmental learning is teachers with PLT lesson plans that use the natural world as a tool, like leading a study on a local forest or park, which can include language, math and social studies. "If you take kids outside, it typically engages them, especially ones who are struggling," says Jerry Lieberman, an educational researcher. Studies from the State Education and Environment Roundtable show that students exposed to nature-based curriculum score higher more than 90 percent of the time than students taught the same subjects in the classroom out of a textbook.

PLT teaches students how to think, not what to think about the environment.

Since the program began, over 500,000 educators have used PLT to teach about both the natural and built environment-forests, wildlife, water, air, energy, waste, climate change, invasive species, community planning, and culture, to name a few. PLT activities guide students through a process that begins with awareness, moves to knowledge, challenges preconceived ideas, and seeks constructive avenues for environmental action. PLT provides educators the tools they need to bring the environment into their classrooms-and their students outside into the environment.

Social Media Opportunities

• ·www.facebook.com/ProjectLearningTree.

•  www.twitter.com/AmForestFndn!

•   Blog www.forestfoundation.org/blog

PLT Curriculum for PreK-8 Educators

PLT PreK-8 Resources for Activities

PLT Curriculum for Secondary Educators

Dichotomous Key Teaching Tools for K-12 Educators

GreenWorks! and Grants for K-12 Educators

New PLT Social On-line Community for K-12 Educators

PLT Evaluations

PLT Correlations to National and ND State Education Standards

The NDSU-North Dakota Forest Service does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in the provision of/or sponsorship of educational programs.