Students to Learn While Creating “Outdoor Habitats”

Los Angeles, CA – Some of America’s leading wood and paper companies have united to educate local children about the environment by bringing forests to the urban classroom. Four local schools have been selected as winners of Project Learning Tree’s® 2006 GreenWorks! educational grant program for their plans to engage students in hands-on environmental learning, including urban forestry and schoolyard habitat projects.

The grants have been awarded ahead of National Arbor Day (April 28, 2006) and projects at each school will begin immediately.

The grant program, which was funded through a partnership with the Abundant Forests Alliance, was open to all Los Angeles-area schools interested in promoting environmental education, particularly through “service learning” projects that engage community volunteers, including students, teachers, parents and local businesses.

Project Learning Tree and the Abundant Forests Alliance are pleased to announce the following schools and projects have been selected to receive funding:

Thomas Jefferson High School ($5,000) – This project will enable students at Jefferson to learn the basic concepts of native habitat and land use issues by creating an outdoor lab to study biomes, biodiversity, native species and water conservation. The high school students will also work with nearby Harmony Elementary School, tutoring younger students in a program of environmental education.

Environmental Charter High School ($5,000) – High school students will become “Green Teachers” and will conduct an Earth Day Festival for more than 600 near-by elementary school students.  The “Green Teachers” will also host a weekly booth at the local Farmer's Market where they will conduct mini-workshops for local residents.  On-site, students plan to install gardens and learn to convert diesel powered engines to biodiesel engines.

Grant High School ($2,500) – Students at Grant High School will take the lead in preserving natural space on their school campus by revitalizing and beautifying former agricultural areas.  Included in the project is the creation of a community vegetable garden, a reflection pond, a butterfly house, small gardens, and a wildlife habitat native plant garden.

Cowan Nature Center ($2,500) – The nature center will work with the local Cowan Avenue Elementary School and Middle School to install six themed planters - one for each grade level - in a one-acre fallow canyon next to the school. The canyon is being restored into a wildlife habitat where children can learn about science, nature and the environment.  Educational emphasis will be placed on native plants, wildlife habitats and composting.

These grants were selected from a variety of local entries that highlighted the outstanding environmental education programs both planned and underway in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.  For more information about the grant competition or the GreenWorks! grant program, please contact PLT at www.plt.org.

About PLT
Project Learning Tree® (PLT), the environmental education program of the American Forest Foundation, is an award winning, multi-disciplinary environmental education program for educators and students in PreK-grade 12. PLT is one of the most widely used environmental education programs in the United States and abroad.  Developed in 1976, PLT has an international network of more than 500,000 trained educators using six curricula covering the total environment.

About AFA
Members of the wood and paper products industry in North America have formed the Abundant Forests Alliance. We share information with consumers and customers about the many ways our industry is helping to ensure that with proper care and management there will always be abundant forests. We also listen and respond to environmental concerns about our forests and products. Through sustainable forestry practices, improved recycling and new technologies, our industry is helping to preserve the delicate balance between supplying the wood and paper products people need while giving the forest what it needs to flourish. By working together to renew, reuse and respect our forest resources, we can balance the needs of people with the needs of nature so forests can remain abundant. AFA members include Anthony Forest Products Company | Georgia-Pacific | Green Diamond Resource Company | Gulf States | International Paper | MeadWestvaco | Monadnock | Plum Creek Timber Company | Weyerhaeuser

For more information about Project Learning Tree, please visit www.plt.org.
For more information about the Abundant Forests Alliance, please visit www.abundantforests.org.