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Karen Blodgett, a Special Education teacher in the Loudoun County School District, started her work with a PLT GreenWorks! grant several years ago. She continues to make a difference at her school by working with her students to improve the school site and to share her love for the environment with her students by including PLT activities in her classroom.  
 
Karen is not new to Project Learning Tree. She has been using the activities from Project Learning Tree for years. She has assisted in the writing, piloting, and reviewing of the materials since the 1990's. She has played a key role in the current revision of the PreK-8 Guide by participating in writing groups and writing some of the Differentiated Instruction supplements that have been added.
 
Karen's sister, Kathy McGlauflin, and the rest of the PLT staff applaud Karen's efforts - she really does make a difference. We hope you enjoy the article.

Ball’s Bluff Students Study in Outdoor Classroom 
Now that the sun is out and the temperatures are warming, the combined classes of Karen Blodgett’s first- through third-graders at Ball’s Bluff Elementary School periodically move to an outdoor classroom for instruction.

Eager young horticulturalists pretend they are trees and learn the elements necessary to grow (water, sun, nutrients) in a Project Learning Tree (PLT) interactive lesson.  The open-air classroom was developed for environmental study in the courtyard at the center of the school.

Project Learning Tree is a multi-disciplinary environmental education program for teachers and students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.  The PLT program is a project of the American Forest Foundation and provides curriculum materials and other tools teachers need to bring the environment into the classroom – or in the case of Ball’s Bluff Elementary, outside in the classroom.
The students are led in games and projects to help them understand topics that range from forests, wildlife, and water to conservation.  In addition to environmental content that builds upon science, social studies, math and language arts, students have strengthened their critical-thinking, team-building and problem-solving skills.

05/12/05/wbb
Reprinted with permission from Loudoun County Public Schools.