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Focus on Forests

Focus on Forests

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“The activities within this curriculum provide a wealth of information for the student, as well as the educator. The activities are presented in a balanced approach, and require students to utilize higher order thinking skills.”

– Chad Garick, Geography Professor
Jones County Junior College, Ellisville, Mississippi

 

“I was thoroughly impressed with the questions provided within these activities, which in turn guided some amazing debates. The discussions and discourse among my juniors and seniors was wonderful! The students and I really learned a lot.”

– Susan Duffy, 11-12th Grade Biology Teacher
Hillsboro High School, Hillsboro, North Dakota

 

 “This curriculum allows students to participate in activities that teach them the job skills of foresters and other natural resources professionals. I like to provide my students with career information that covers the entire spectrum, and they loved the hands-on learning outdoors!”

– Kathey Roberts, 10-12th Grade Environmental Science Teacher
Lakeside High School, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Overview

The Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Forests module is designed to foster student understanding of- and appreciation for- the forested lands throughout North America. The module’s activities provide an opportunity for hands-on study of forest resources while addressing concepts in biology, civics, ecology, economics, forest management, and other subject areas. 

Through the activities found within this module, students examine ecological systems of a forest; analyze interdependencies within a forest ecosystem; and explore factors, such as fire, that shape the development of forests. In addition, they develop critical thinking skills and discover the importance of scientific analysis when making decisions about forest issues.

This resource was created, in part, with support from the USDA Forest Service and the Idaho Forest Products Group.

 

Get the Materials

To obtain this resource, educators must attend a Project Learning Tree professional development workshop.  Contact your PLT State Coordinator to find and register for a workshop near you.

 

Student Activities

  • Activity 1: Monitoring Forest Health
    Students will conduct a forest health checkup of a local forest area, will take forestry measurements, and will evaluate the ecological services provided by trees and forests.
  • Activity 2: Story of Succession
    Students will learn about succession by studying the reestablishment of ecological communities following the 1980 volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens and by setting up experimental plots to observe successional changes over time.
  • Activity 3: Who Owns America’s Forests?
    One of the most critical challenges facing America’s forests today is changing forestland use and ownership. In this activity, students will research forest ownership in the United States, will interview forest landowners about changes they have experienced, and will analyze scenarios to learn about the complexities of intergenerational forestland transfer.
  • Activity 4: Tough Choices
    We expect forests to provide various ecosystem services, beautiful surroundings for hiking and recreation, wildlife habitats, clean water, and steady supplies of wood and other products. It’s not always easy to meet all of those demands. In this activity, students will read and discuss several short articles and will propose solutions to real-life forest dilemmas.
  • Activity 5: The Nature of Fire
    Students will learn about the role of fire in forest ecosystems, will examine issues of fire in the wildland-urban interface, and will conduct a wildfire safety assessment in their community.
  • Activity 6: Forest to Faucet
    Forests provide a variety of ecosystem services and help to maintain a clean and plentiful water supply. In this activity, students explore the connection between forests, watersheds, and their community’s water. Students will identify local watersheds and their forest cover, will analyze a specific watershed in Maine, and will evaluate the extent to which their own community’s water supply is affected by forests and forest management.
  • Activity 7: Forest Invaders
    Students will consider what makes invasive species a problem for forest ecosystems, will work in teams to present different methods of controlling an invasive species, and will conduct research to find out how invasive species may affect their local forest.
  • Activity 8: Climate Change and Forests
    Students will use a carbon footprint calculator to analyze their personal effect on carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere, will calculate the amount of carbon stored in a single tree, and will explore how carbon sequestration can affect CO2 levels.
  • Activity 9: Words to Live By
    The writings of different environmental authors reflect the views of their time periods, as well as their own feelings toward forests. In this activity, students will express their views about forests and will explore different perspectives by reading excerpts from the writings of different authors.

 

Additional Resources

The resources below are relevant for the entire module.  For additional activity-specific resources, such as Student Pages, please visit our searchable resources database.

 

Reprinting and Copyright Information

All PLT curriculum materials are protected under copyright laws. Contact the National PLT Office for permission to adapt or distribute Project Learning Tree curriculum materials.   Please remember to reproduce responsibly.

PLT has partnered with many countries to bring environmental education to speakers of multiple languages. This webpage was selected for Estonian translation!

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