Spurge Hawk-moth

Everything is Here for a Reason – Celebrating Biodiversity

Did you know that forests contain the world’s largest reservoir of plant and animal species on land, serving as home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity? Pretty incredible. That’s just one of the many reasons we love forests! Let’s celebrate the variety of trees, other plants, fungi and countless animals, from bears to beetles, that contribute to our biodiverse planet.

A Day in a Forested Wetland

Introduce biodiversity to young readers through this nonfiction picture book that explores a typical day for animals that call a soggy forest home.

Recommended Summer Reading for Forest Lovers

As the days stay sunny for longer, summer can be the perfect time for kids and adults to relax under their favorite tree and catch up on their reading lists. Explore some of our favorite all-ages books about forests and trees to connect with the natural world!

Jonathan and a group of educators smiling for a photo

People of PLT | Becoming a Better Naturalist

This month’s People of PLT highlights the work that Mississippi PLT State Coordinator Jonathan Smith is doing to share his love of nature and inspire educators to bring nature to life in the classroom!

thermometer-sticking-out-of-snow

Activities to Explore Winter Ecology

Winter ecology studies the inter-relationships between animals, insects, and plants with their habitat in the winter. Explore the plethora of adaptations trees and other living things have to survive winter conditions.

A family of four taking a gratitude walk in the forest

Take a Gratitude Walk

As the holiday season approaches, it’s a great time to get outside to refuel and recharge yourself by taking a gratitude walk! A gratitude walk helps us pause, reflect, and give thanks to every person and living thing in our natural world.

monarch butterfly resting on leaf

Max and the Milkweed

Max is a young boy who strikes an unlikely friendship with a monarch butterfly named Lilly, who asks him to plant milkweed so she can lay her eggs on it the following spring. In a world filled with instant gratification, this book highlights how change happens over time and that we sometimes must wait patiently for those changes to occur.

Berry Song

Michaela Goade celebrates the gifts of the forest with wisdom, gratitude, and kinship with the land in PLT’s latest recommended read, Berry Song.

Hands-on Activities & Advice for New Environmental Educators

Explore PLT resources to help you teach students about the environment, whether you’re new to teaching or looking for new environmental education resources to explore! PLT provides easy-to-teach, hands-on activities suitable for various settings, and a range of resources to support and mentor new educators.

tree grows from a fox lying down surrounded by forest friends

The Memory Tree

Teaching young children about the loss of a loved one can be a difficult topic. In this picture book, a fox lives a long and happy life in the forest, but he is now ready to sleep and closes his eyes forever. As the fox’s friends begin to share memories and tell stories, a tree starts to grow taller and stronger with every memory.