About PLT

PLT materials bring the environment into the classroom and students into the environment. The program covers topics ranging from forests, wildlife, and water, to community planning, waste management and energy.

PLT has grown over 30 years into a network of 3,000 grassroots volunteers and over 70 state coordinators that work with teachers, schools, state agencies, foresters, businesses and civic organizations, museums, nature centers, and youth groups to provide professional development programs. More than 300,000 educators have been trained in PLT materials, reaching approximately 26 million students in the United States and abroad.

PLT improves student learning.
Through PLT, students across the nation have learned environmental content that correlates to national and state standards in science, social studies, language arts, math, and other subjects – and strengthened their critical thinking, team building, and problem solving skills.

PLT works for teachers and other educators.

• It is broad based: topics cover the total environment and are local, national, and global in scope.
• It can be easily adapted to many contexts: classroom, playground, nature center, home.
• It can be easily adapted to many audiences: prek-12 students, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, nature center and museum visitors, 4-H clubs, and other community groups.
• It accommodates busy schedules: activities require minimal preparation to be included in lesson plans or aligned with state curriculum objectives or guidelines.
• It is cross-curricular: easy to infuse its environmental lessons into science, language arts, special education, and other classes.