PLT in the City

There are successful PLT in the City initiatives in New Orleans, Richmond, Houston, Atlanta, and Washington, DC.

Building on What Already Exists
PLT in the City programs use the existing national and state PLT network to build partnerships with community leaders and organizations. These partners, in turn, assist PLT in recruiting community organizers, developing an urban steering committee, and identifying volunteers and educators to take part in and provide PLT training. In addition, the local partners help PLT sustain the initiative beyond an initial funding period.

PLT in the City is a cooperative effort between the national PLT office, a PLT state program and coordinator(s), and a targeted urban community. Once the city has been identified, the state PLT program coordinator(s) work with the PLT national staff to identify an urban organization that will take the lead in administering the community initiative. Community colleges, universities, African-American/Asian/ Hispanic community groups, school districts, and local businesses have filled this role.

Once the Community Organization is in place, it works with PLT to identify a Community Organizer. The Community Organizer identifies members to serve on a local steering committee, plans and implements facilitator and educator workshops, promotes the program in the community, and maintains communication with the state PLT program.

A Steering Committee made up of representatives from universities, local businesses, church groups, school administrators and other diverse organizations ensures the program is community driven. The Steering Committee takes ownership of the PLT in the City program – providing program direction, securing a commitment from schools and government agencies, and seeking local funding to sustain the program in the future.

The Steering Committee and Community Organizer then identifies and recruits a core group of program volunteers. These volunteers go through a two-day facilitator training to learn how to plan, organize and conduct their own PLT 6-hour educator workshops. In return, each volunteer facilitator plans and conducts a specific number of these workshops. The program is rounded out by providing trained PLT educators and their students with the opportunity to participate in responsible community action projects through GreenWorks!

PLT in the City Goals

• Provide educators with quality environmental education by distributing PLT materials

• Prepare them to use the materials with young people, and increasing their confidence and skills in teaching environmental education.

• Increase students' knowledge and concern about the environment by exposing them to quality environmental education and involve them in environmental community action projects.

• Strengthen PLT in target communities and insure its continuation by recruiting volunteer training facilitators and forming a Steering Committee that will take ownership of the PLT in the City program

For More Information

Caroline Alston
Associate Director, Community Programs
Project Learning Tree
1111 19th St., NW #780
Washington, DC 20036
phone: 202/463-2472
fax:202/463-2461
e-mail: calston@plt.org