Growing
with Trees
A
Teacher’s Workshop About Trees
Growing with Trees - Teacher Training in Community Forestry Education
Mid-Columbia Community Forestry Council
Urban
and Community Forestry Grant Report - Contract
No. FY99-118
PROJECT
PURPOSE & GOAL:
The purpose of our grant project was
to enable elementary school children to learn more about the value and beauty of
trees, along with the proper way to plant and care for trees.
Our goal was to stimulate urban tree stewardship in area youth.
PROJECT
OBJECTIVES:
 | Train elementary school teachers
about trees and tree and health. |
| Train elementary school teachers
how to incorporate urban forestry education into their classroom curriculum. |
| Introduce exciting urban forestry
curriculum that includes hands-on activities to enhance the learning
experience. |
Our grant project group included
members of the Mid-Columbia Community Forestry Council and other community
volunteers. The group worked
together to assemble the “Growing with Trees” curriculum that included: The
Value of Trees; How a Tree Grows; Leaves - Function, Structure and Fall Color;
How to Identify Trees; Planting Trees the Right Way;
Insects & Trees; Tree
Pruning; How Tall is Your Tree. Each
formal presentation was complemented with an action learning activity that the
teachers could use in the classroom to enhance the learning experience.
The activities included: Trees & Me - Tree Literature;
Tree Cookies -
Counting the Rings; Leaf Pigments; Tree Leaf Prints; Tree Touching - Bark
Rubbing and Leaf Molds; Insect Collecting;
Paper Making; Learn to Measure Trees.
Curriculum materials from other sources were also utilized.
The “Growing with Trees” lesson plans were related to the required
Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALR’s) and also
included vocabulary words, a
materials list where applicable, and teaching procedures.
The workshop was offered to teachers
through the #123 Educational Service District (ESD) and clock hours were
approved by the ESD and made available to participants.
The grant paid for the clock hours. The eight-hour workshop, “Growing
with Trees,” was presented on October 16, 1999 with seven elementary school
teachers participating. Evaluations from the workshop indicated that the participants
learned from the presentations, enjoyed the training, and indicated that they
would use part of the curriculum in their classrooms.
Provide
teachers participating in the training with curriculum, classroom references,
and materials so that they can easily incorporate urban forestry education into
their classrooms.
| Curriculum was provided to the
teachers when they attended the workshop.
Several classroom tree references and workbooks (Ranger Rick - Trees,
ISA Treetures Activity Guides, National Arbor Day Teaching Kits) were
provided to the teachers along with materials for some of the hands-on
activities. Based on the
end-of-class evaluations and their indicated preferences,
fiction and non-fiction tree books were ordered for each teacher’s
classroom and distributed to the teachers in November and December of 1999. |
Reward
the schools/classes which utilize the curriculum by providing them with a tree
of their choice to plant at their school in April of 2000.
| Teachers that participated in the
training were surveyed to determine if they had used any part of the
curriculum. Those that returned
the survey form were given the opportunity to select a tree, provided by the
Mid-Columbia Community Forestry Council, for planting at their school. Three
participants responded and two were able to arrange for trees to be planted
at their schools. The trees were planted in late April. A third tree will be
planted in the fall. Two
council members provided guidance in selecting and planting the trees.
|
RESULTS:
The teachers responding to the survey
indicated that they had used parts of the curriculum in their classrooms and had
enjoyed incorporating this material into their teaching.
The workshop were taught again in the fall of 2000 as an ESD workshop.
Tree references, workbooks, tree identification keys, fiction books, and
supplies for hands-on activities were provided to participating teachers for use
in their classrooms. Comments provided in the end-of-class evaluations and from
the surveys sent in April to the teachers were utilized to enhance the training
and to best suit the needs of the participants.
The workshop offered in the fall of 2000 was offered as a half-day
workshop with the action learning activities demonstrated at different stations
at the same time at the end of the formal presentations.
Available Classes for Kids