Washington, D.C. - Project Learning Tree'sŪ GreenWorks! program was honored by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) at the Winter Olympics with a Spirit of the Land Award. This award honors outstanding efforts to educate people about environmental issues in all areas of society - business, education, community, youth and government. SLOC created the award to celebrate "environment" which joined "sport" and "culture" as the third pillar of Olympism in 1994.

"Environmental education is the cornerstone to understanding how we have enhanced Utah's environment . . . the Spirit of the Land Award honors the achievements of local and international environmental education leaders," stated Mitt Romney, SLOC president and CEO. A panel of 15 experts in environmental education from around the world individually reviewed and scored submissions in each award category.

Project Learning Tree's Kathy McGlauflin, Vice President, Education and Caroline Alston, Associate Director, Community Programs, participated in an award ceremony in Park City, Utah. Bill Nye, the Science Guy, hosted the event that also recognized other outstanding national and international awardees.

GreenWorks! is a national program that encourages Project Learning Tree (PLT) teachers and their students to pair with local and state organizations (e.g., youth groups, PTAs, Rotary clubs, arboretums, nurseries, etc.) to undertake community environmental assessment and action projects. GreenWorks! mini-grants are made available to address various community environmental and ecosystem issues, including tree planting, wildfire recovery, recycling, energy conservation, graffiti paint-overs, urban gardening, native plant restoration, schoolyard demonstration gardens and storm water runoff. PLT trained educators receive curricular materials that can be integrated into service learning projects.

Project Learning Tree continues to set the standard for environmental education at the elementary, middle and secondary levels. PLT increases students' understanding of a complex environment by teaching them how to think, not what to think about environmental issues. The program blends service activities with academic curricula to address real needs in communities across the country.

For more than two decades, PLT has been working with diverse groups to develop and implement environmental education curriculum. PLT is one of the most widely used environmental education programs in the United States and abroad. More than 25 million students worldwide have participated in PLT activities through a network of more than 300,000 trained PLT educators.

PLT is a program of the American Forest Foundation, a nonprofit organization working for healthy forests, quality environmental education and helping people make informed decisions about our communities and our world.

For more information contact Brigitte Johnson, Director of Communications, 202.463.5163, email: brigitte_johnson@affoundation.org or visit www.plt.org.