| | Connecting Children to Nature
Every Student Learns Outside
For 30 years, Project Learning Tree has been taking kids outside to learn. In response to the growing interest in encouraging children to get outside, AFF’s CEL has launched a national Every Student Learns Outside™ initiative and website www.learnoutside.org to help educators make outdoor experiences part of their everyday lesson plans. We continue to provide educators with the tools, training, and resources they need to get their students outdoors and learning about their local environment. In addition, we are encouraging families to use PLT activities at home, as they provide enjoyable and educational opportunities for parents and grandparents to help children connect with nature.
 A series of activity pages for families to use in the outdoors are currently available. These activities are also being published in forest owner magazines, including AFF’s Tree Farmer magazine, the Ohio Woodland Journal, and Louisiana’s Forests & People magazine.
Teach kids about forests through music! Project Learning Tree® and well-known children's performing artist and songwriter Bill Brennan have teamed together to produce a new CD - all about trees! Nineteen high energy songs engage kids in learning about trees, forests, and people who work the land. Cost $15 (includes shipping and handling). Order now!
No Child Left Inside Act
The American Forest Foundation is a member of the No Child Left Inside Coalition (currently 154 member organizations representing more than 19 million people) that is seeking new support and funding for environmental education through the No Child Left Inside Act.
The No Child Left Inside Act was introduced in 2007 by Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Congressman John Sarbanes of Maryland to include environmental education in the final version of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Their legislation, which would amend NCLB, provides funding for environmental education programs and teacher professional development in states with K-12 environmental literacy plans. It does not add any new mandates or testing requirements.
AFF is playing an active lobbying role on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to urge members of Congress to support the No Child Left Inside Act. Visit www.plt.org to learn more about the No Child Left Inside Act and for an Action Alert about what you can do in your state to make environmental education and outdoor learning part of the curriculum in our schools.
|
