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Texas SAF Koontz Fund Success Stories:
Project Learning Tree reaches out to educators across Texas
by Linda Moon
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Staff Forester Rob Grotty facilitates the Project Learning Tree workshop, which included teachers from all over Texas. |
On July 25, Project Learning Tree (PLT) training was held as a part of the Environmental Health Sciences Summer Institute in Austin, which is designed to bring combined environmental health and science curricula to the state’s schools and educators. Conducted by Rob Grotty, staff forester—Austin, and Angie Soldinger, PLT co-coordinator—College Station, this one-day session was an integral part of the Institute, which provided professional development opportunities in health sciences for thirty-seven kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers. After introducing Project Learning Tree to the teachers, hands-on activities became the next focus. PLT, as a segment of the four-day Institute, addressed meeting the needs of teachers, while the demonstrated activities exposed children to the outdoors, utilized interdisciplinary (Math, Science, Reading & Social Studies) tactics to relay the information and are correlated to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Research has shown that connecting children to nature reduces stress and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms, increases social interactions, creativity and cognitive skills and promotes a healthy lifestyle by reducing the epidemic rate of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes. One teacher who was in attendance described the workshop as “awesome! I can’t wait to dig into my scope and sequence with Project Learning Tree in my hands.” Linda A. Moon |
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