Our History

Here are some milestones along the way –

The 1970s
PLT began in 1973 when natural resource managers and educators from the American Forest Institute (now the American Forest Foundation) and Western Regional Environmental Education Council (now the Council of Environmental Education) formed a partnership to develop an unbiased, educationally sound program for elementary and secondary students and their teachers.

The partners designed PLT to be shared through trained facilitators (educators, resource managers, or other interested people) who, in turn, train others in how to most effectively and efficiently use the curriculum and materials. In 1976, the first workshops were held in the 13 states that made up the Western Regional Environmental Education Council.

The 1980s
PLT went global in the 1980s. Canada was the first country to join the PLT community. Now, it is used in the United States, U.S. Territories, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, Slovakia, China, Finland, Brazil, Jordan, and the Philippines. Materials have been translated and adapted for use in these countries.

The PLT network got stronger in 1987, when we began holding what are now annual conferences for PLT coordinators.

By the end of the 1980s, PLT had reached 49 states.

The 1990s
In 1990, PLT launched a major, multiyear revision of the curriculum. Over several years, more than 300 people participated in regional writing workshops and revision sessions to revamp the elementary and secondary curriculum. Another 300 educators participated in the pilot test, field test and formal evaluation of the materials.

In 1993, the new PreK-8 curriculum was released. Each year the guide is reprinted to meet demand as well as provide an opportunity for updates and revisions. The guide is now in its eighth edition.

In 1993, GreenWorks! was launched. This service-learning and community action program assists educators and students with developing action plans to improve their neighborhood environment through partnerships and grants.

To better address teachers and students at the secondary level, PLT created stand alone modules on such topics as forest ecology, solid waste, and risk. The first module appeared in 1995.

PLT in the City began in 1995 as a targeted way to involve urban educators and students in environmental education. PLT is used in many cities across the country with special PLT in the City initiatives in New Orleans, Houston, Richmond, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.

The 2000s – PLT continues to grow
In 2002, we premiered our newest PreK-8 module, Energy & Society. This curriculum uses hands-on activities, music, and dance to teach this critical topic. Upcoming PLT secondary modules will cover biodiversity, forests of the world, and the places we live.

As we approach our 30th anniversary in 2003, we continuously evaluate and update our curriculum to ensure that it meets educator and student needs. Now we have a grassroots network of 3,000 active volunteers and state coordinators who have trained more than 300,000 educators to reach students. New workshops are taking place almost every week.