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PLT Releases New Guide for Early Childhood Educators

PLT Releases New Guide for Early Childhood Educators

2/18/10

Just as more attention is being focused on the need to connect students to nature at a younger age, Project Learning Tree® releases a new curriculum guide and music CD to engage children ages 3 to 6 in outdoor exploration and play.  Eleven field-tested, hands-on activities showcase over 130 “early childhood experiences” which integrate investigations of nature with art, literature, math, music, and movement.  Early childhood educators and caregivers can obtain a copy of PLT’s Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood curriculum by attending a PLT professional development workshop in their area.

Workshops in this new guide for early childhood educators will be scheduled soon.  Interested?  Contact NHPLT and we will notify you when workshops are scheduled.

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Prospect Mountain High School Awarded Project Learning Tree Green Works Recycling Grant

The Environmental Club at Prospect Mountain High School has received a Project Learning Tree GreenWorks Grant. The funds will primarily be used to purchase new recycle bins and hold interactive recycling workshops provided by the Northeast Resource Recovery Association. The new recycle bins will include the traditional recycle image, which will improve the visibility of recycling opportunities within the school. According tp Madison Morton, club president, “the club hopes to set a strong foundation for future students who will be able to build upon the community goals of the Environmental Club.”

The Environmental Club at Prospect Mountain High School have been working hard to spread the importance of recycling and caring for the environment within their school and community. Every other Friday the students volunteer to load paper that is dropped off at the recycling center. Additionally, the group greatly enjoys spending time creating new trails for the field ecology class and creating posters to spread recycling awareness around the school grounds. The group meets every Thursday morning to talk about great ways to improve “green” choices in school.

In the fall of 2014, the group of ten students submitted an application to Project Learning Tree, hoping for a grant to assist with their goal. In December, faculty advisor, Sarah Thorne, was excited to announce to her students that they had received a grant of $770.

The grant program is administered by Project Learning Tree and the United States Forest Service. Project Learning Tree is an award-winning environmental education organization that provides curriculum materials and professional development for teachers. For information about Project Learning Tree opportunities in NH go to www.nhplt.org

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Jon Nute – 2009 National PLT Outstanding Educator Honoree

Jonathan Nute, Forest Resources Extension Educator, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire

Jonathan (Jon) Nute is a professional forester who uses PLT to make the connection between natural resources and education. After growing up in New Hampshire’s forests, he earned an undergraduate degree in history and considered a career in law before returning to the woods. He worked as a logger for seven years and then earned a graduate degree in forestry. In his current position, Jon leads nature walks, works with urban youth in a summer program, and trains teachers how to use PLT in their classrooms, among  many other initiatives. He draws on PLT in his work with pre-service teachers, landowners, and community stakeholders. Jon promotes PLT to other foresters across the state, encouraging them to use PLT’s resources in their forest education programs. He continually embodies PLT’s goals in his work while modeling its effective use to students and parents.

Jon was named National PLT Outstanding Educator Honoree in 2009.

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Fifth Grade Students Discover the Wonders of the Forest

Fifth Grade Students Discover the Wonders of the Forest

7/1/09

Linda Bettony knew her fifth graders needed more opportunities to learn outdoors, but she also knew she needed some help to make it work. Inspired by an article she read last year about a school group visiting HHP, Inc., a hardwood sawmill in Henniker, this teacher from the Gilford Middle School contacted NHPLT to see if she could arrange a similar trip for her class. Linda wanted her students to experience learning in the outdoors and to connect this learning with their
curriculum.

Click here to read the full article

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Outdoor Learning Takes Place Year Round at Bicentennial Elementary School

Outdoor Learning Takes Place Year Round at Bicentennial Elementary School

2/1/09

Any teacher knows that preparing a class of young students to go outdoors in the winter can be a frustrating task, as they wrestle with cumbersome boots, twisted snow pants and the ever disappearing pairs of mittens. Now add 25 pairs of snowshoes with their straps and buckles to the mix and what have you got? Twenty‐five excited winter explorers is the answer! Because as any kid knows, the chance to go out and play in the snow is literally a breath of fresh, if cold, air during a long winter indoors.

Click here to read the whole story (PDF document)

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Ina Ahern – 2008 National PLT Outstanding Educator of the Year

Ina Ahern teaches chemistry, physics, and environmental science at Plymouth Regional High School. A high school science teacher for 25 years, Ina often makes presentations to other educators about how to incorporate the local environment into teaching.

In 2006, she was one of a pioneer group of teachers to participate in the yearlong program, A Forest for Every Classroom, cosponsored in New Hampshire by PLT, the U.S. Forest Service, and Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, and has since formally presented her experiences to incoming teachers. Ina is committed to making environmental education a part of New Hampshire schools.  Last year, she participated in a summer institute to sequence and correlate PLT activities (along with four other environmental education program materials) to New Hampshire’s science frameworks for grades K-12.  She also participates in the Merrimack River Watershed Ecology program and collaborates with the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest to adapt their biogeochemical forest ecosystem research for the high school classroom.

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Katharine Fralick – 2007 National PLT Outstanding Educator Honoree

Katharine Fralick, Professor of Education, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, New Hampshire

Katharine (Katy) Fralick has taught at Plymouth State University for 20 years. All of her undergraduate education students receive PLT training to introduce them to various teaching strategies and to help them become comfortable with both the content and skills they will need to teach. Her students are required to apply what they learned in the PLT workshop in their field assignments in local public schools, as well as to demonstrate their PLT lessons to their classmates. As part of their course requirements, students in her methods classes design and teach an interdisciplinary unit on an environmental topic using PLT activities. Katy is leading the way to further embed PLT in Plymouth State University’s coursework and has encouraged fellow faculty to become trained PLT facilitators. Furthermore, Katy has been instrumental in helping the New Hampshire PLT staff develop an established, effective pre-service program.

Katy was named National PLT Outstanding Educator Honoree in 2007.