PARTNERING FOR SUSTAINABILITY: GROWING EFFECTIVE FOREST PARTNERSHIPS
Join us for the 39th Project Learning Tree Annual Conference in Clemson, South Carolina from March 10-13, 2025!
PARTNERING FOR SUSTAINABILITY: GROWING EFFECTIVE FOREST PARTNERSHIPS
Join us for the 39th Project Learning Tree Annual Conference in Clemson, South Carolina from March 10-13, 2025!
2025 PLT ANNUAL CONFERENCE
We invite you to learn about and discuss opportunities to connect young people to the outdoors, use PLT to build skills and the ability to make informed decisions, and encourage young people to take personal responsibility for sustaining the environment.
REGISTRATION & TRAVEL
VENUE
The Clemson University Conference Center & Inn: 240 Madren Center Drive, Clemson, SC 29634
REGISTRATION FEE
- Early Bird (until February 6):
$600
- Standard (from February 7 through March 4):
$650
- Forest Sector Partners: Wednesday/Thursday only (includes field experiences):
$300
- Adult Companion Pass (does not include field experiences):
$375
- Youth Companion Pass (does not include field experiences, dinners—which are for 21+ attendees only, and provides box lunch alternative to Awards Luncheon):
$250
- Included in Registration:
Monday: Networking Lunch, PM sessions, Welcome Dinner
Tuesday: Breakfast, AM sessions, Awards Luncheon, PM sessions
Wednesday: Breakfast, AM Field Experience, Lunch, PM Field Experience
Thursday: Breakfast, AM sessions, Networking Lunch, PM sessions, Closing Dinner
HOTEL
The Clemson University Conference Center & Inn: 240 Madren Center Drive, Clemson, SC 29634
The main hotel block at the James F. Martin Inn at Clemson University is now sold out.
Overflow hotel block:
Hampton Inn Clemson-University Area
851 Tiger Blvd.
Clemson, SC 2963
Shuttle service to and from the Madren Center will be provided in time for the first and last events of each day.
Room rates: $129 per night for both double queen or king rooms. Use the booking code CHHPLT.
Make your hotel reservations before the cutoff date of February 6, 2025!
GETTING THERE
Clemson University provides travel suggestions for air, car, and train travel which can be accessed via the button below:
Please disregard the details on using the Clemson University Tiger Transit for transportation to and from the airport as this is unavailable for non-Clemson students, but note there are suggestions for other airport transit options with websites and phone numbers below the student shuttle reservation link.
These suggestions are external services that are not affiliated with PLT or SFI, but have been used regularly by Clemson visitors in the past.
The Conference venue, the Clemson University Conference Center & Inn (also referred to by its former name, The Madren Center), is adjacent to campus and familiar to local shuttle and taxi services.
THINGS TO DO IN CLEMSON
Check out these places to visit, great restaurants, and more during your stay in beautiful South Carolina!
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
This is a tentative schedule and subject to changes as planning progresses.
Sunday, March 9
PM
Pre-Conference PLT Training for Local South Carolina Educators, Sponsored by ICPF
Monday, March 10
AM
Arrivals and Registrations
Conference Buddy Breakfast
PLT Coordinator Regional Breakout Meetings
LUNCH
Networking Lunch
PM
Indigenous Welcome from members of the Catawba Nation
Welcoming Remarks
Keynote Address
Networking Break
Concurrent Seedling Sessions
- SESSION A: Focusing on Organizational Relationships for Enduring Partnerships: Grow (and Fund!) PLT Offerings in Your State Through PLT Program Centers
- SESSION B: Using PLT Activities to Certify as an Arbor Day Foundation K-12 Tree Campus: Strategies for Sustained Collaboration and Impact
- SESSION C: Long-Term PLT Preservice Relationships with HBCUs
- SESSION D: Advancing EE Through Collaborations Across PLT, Wet, & Wild
PLT Coordinator Delivery Partner Org Breakout Meetings
DINNER
Welcome Dinner: Mass Timber and the Future of Green Jobs
Tuesday, March 11
AM
Clemson Campus Guided Urban Forestry Walk (optional)
PLTree Pose Yoga on the Green (optional)
Come and Go Breakfast
General Session: PLT's Forests, Water & People
Networking Break with Silent Auction Open
1-hour Concurrent Sessions
- SESSION A: Designing the Hybrid Future of Professional Development, a Hands-On Discussion-Focused Session
- SESSION B: Empowering Educators and Caregivers with PLT Trees and Me Outdoor Experiences
- SESSION C: Positioning PLT for Successful Engagement with School Districts
LUNCH
PLT Awards Luncheon
PM
1-hour Concurrent Sessions
- SESSION A: Strategies for Strengthening Your Facilitator Network
- SESSION B: ForestryWorks® and PLT Green Jobs: An Effective Partnership for Career and Technical Education (CTE) Programs
- SESSION C: Perfect Pairing - PLT and “Don’t Waste It!” for Thematic Workshops
Networking Break
General Session: Sustained and Intensive Forestry-based Professional Development for Educators
'55 Exchange Ice Cream Social
DINNER
Downtown Clemson Exploration and Dinner Options with Shuttle Service
Wednesday, March 12
AM
Clemson Campus Guided Urban Forestry Walk (optional)
PLTree Pose Yoga on the Green (optional)
Come and Go Breakfast
Morning Field Experience: Clemson Experimental Forest
LUNCH
Box Lunches at the Madren Center
PM
Afternoon Field Experience: Fant's Grove, Clemson Experimental Forest
DINNER
Downtown Clemson Exploration and Dinner Options with Shuttle Service
Thursday, March 13
AM
Clemson Campus Guided Urban Forestry Walk (optional)
PLTree Pose Yoga (optional)
Come and Go Breakfast
General Session: Tom Bailey Sawmill Renovation Project: A Success Story in Collaborating to Advance Forest Literacy
Networking Break
2-hour Concurrent Sessions
- SESSION A: Engaging Youth and Community as a Non-Educator Using PLT’s For the Trees and Forest Literacy Framework
- SESSION B: The Power of a One-Two Punch: PLT’s Trees & Me and Growing Up Wild, A Winning Combination in Early Childhood Education
- SESSION C: Together for Birds, Together for All
- SESSION D: Using PLT to Develop Interdisciplinary Programs Advancing 21st Century Comm Skills
LUNCH
Networking Lunch and Final Silent Auction Bidding
PM
1-hour Concurrent Sessions
- SESSION A: Teaching Trees: Working with Forest Sector to Provide Place-Based PLT
- SESSION B: Forest-Based Education as a Tool for Workforce Development, SIC Collaboration and Community Science
- SESSION C: Beyond Land Acknowledgement: Using PLT Tools to Build Authentic Relationships With Indigenous Communities
- SESSION D: Integrating Climate Concepts Into Forest Literacy
Networking Break
Show-and-Tell Exhibitions and Discussions
DINNER
Closing Celebration with Dinner
SPONSORSHIP
Learn more about the benefits of each sponsorship level in our Sponsorship Prospectus.
FOREST: $10,000
Our Forest sponsors will each be the exclusive sponsor of one of the following:
- Keynote
- PLT Dinner
- Closing Celebration
- Experimental Forest Field Experience
- Model Teacher Tour Field Experience
STAND: $7,500
Our Stand sponsors will each be the exclusive sponsor of one of the following:
- Awards Luncheon
- Networking Lunches (2)
- Field Experience Lunch
- Local Educator Training Lunch
- Program Printing (recognition on back cover)
TREE: $5,000
Our Tree sponsors will each be the exclusive sponsor of one of the following:
- Carbon off-setting
- Networking Breaks (6)
- Local Educator Training Classroom books and PLT Guides
- Plenary Sessions (Multiple)
SAPLING: $3,000
Our Sapling sponsors will each be the exclusive sponsor of one of the following:
- Morning Breakfast (3)
- Hospitality Suite (3)
- Attendee Gifts (Multiple)
- Coordinator Scholarships (Unlimited)
SPROUT: $1,500
Our Sprout sponsors will each be the exclusive sponsor of one of the following:
- Concurrent Sessions (Multiple)
- Coordinator Scholarships (Unlimited)
- Local Educator Training Networking Breaks (2)
SEED: $500
Our Seed sponsors will be recognized as one of the following:
- General Support
- Local Educator Training activity supplies
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Sponsorship is one of the best ways to support environmental education, forest literacy, and career pathways. We hope you’ll consider a sponsorship opportunity in support of this exciting and educational conference in Clemson, South Carolina.
Your sponsorship will help to ensure this year’s PLT Annual Conference continues to deliver dynamic speakers, invaluable networking opportunities and sessions offering engaging discussions around environmental education, forest literacy, and career pathways.
THANK YOU TO OUR 2025 SPONSORS!
- Conference Registration
Cancellations received by Friday, February 21 will receive a full refund. Beyond February 21, attendees must reach out to SFI to request a refund based on specific extenuating circumstances such as illness, family emergency, travel cancellations, or other unforeseen circumstances that directly prevent attendance. Refunds after February 21 will be granted on a case-by-case basis.
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