By Vanessa Bullwinkle

An article by Olivia Griset, 2009 PLT National Outstanding Educator from Maine, about a field ecology course using PLT for high school students was published in the February 2010 “Going Green” issue of The Science Teacher, a peer-reviewed journal of the National Science Teachers Association (www.nsta.org/highschool). 

The article describes an experiential environmental education course that primarily uses the school grounds as a field site.  The course was designed by Olivia as an elective at Lisbon High School in Lisbon Falls, Maine, in 2005. Since then, the class has attracted diverse learners and regularly has a waiting list. While the school’s setting does facilitate the logistics of outdoor learning, the article points out that field-based experience benefits students no matter the size and ecology of the available site.

Community experts, including a forester and woodlot owner, help make the learning relevant, and they also serve as real-world role models for “green” careers. At-risk students normally disengaged in traditional classroom and lab settings have excelled in the course, many going on to take three or four science electives. Discussions about current environmental controversies in the state and service learning opportunities have also emerged as students conduct field investigations.

The article includes the adapted activity “Cast of Thousands” from PLT’s secondary module The Changing Forest: Forest Ecology.

Please contact vbullwinkle@forestfoundation.org for a copy of the article.