Please welcome Caroline Amport, the new Executive Director for NH Project Learning Tree. Caroline can be reached at 603-226-0160 or caroline@nhplt.org.
2011 PLT Coordinators’ Conference Update
You can also register on-site at the hotel in Montgomery!
Hotel: Contact La Torretta Resort directly to make your hotel reservations. To receive the negotiated room rate, call 1-877-286-9590 and identify yourself as part of American Forest Foundation – Project Learning
Tree group.
New PLT Websitekcooper@forestfoundation.org if you see errors
2011 GreenWorks! GrantsGreenWorks! We are happy to announce that in 2011, GreenWorks! funding is back! A new grant proposal will be posted to the website in early May, featuring maximum grant awards of $1,000 and a deadline of September 30, 2011. Funds will be distributed to awarded projects in December for the completion of environmental service-learning projects throughout the 2012 calendar year.
GreenSchools! Students from a SC PLT GreenSchoolat NYLC Conference in AtlantaEarlier this month, students from the Green Team at Lowcountry Preparatory School in Pawleys Island, SC travelled to Atlanta, GA for the National Youth Leadership Council’s National Service-Learning Conference. They joined National PLT staff members James McGirt and Al Stenstrup to co-present a session about PLT’s GreenSchools! program that was attended by 40 conference participants. The student representatives consisted of five sophomore students (Elizabeth Zieser, Maddy Gates, Carolyn Culbertson, Rachael Exum, and Emily Goins) who have been their school’s Green Team leaders during the past year. They were mentored by two faculty members, Science Instructor Michelle Neubauer and English Instructor Shannon Lewis. Carla Rapp, GA PLT State Coordinator, also joined us at the conference.
The students were the key ingredients of the presentation. They shared their work by demonstrating the use of monitoring equipment, presenting their PLT GreenSchool success story, along with data they have collected as a result of conducting the PLT GreenSchools! Investigations.
The students showed great leadership and poise in sharing their story, and answered numerous questions from other students and faculty in the audience to demonstrate how they too could reduce their school’s environmental footprint while learning core subjects. Several of the schools represented in the audience have since registered on the PLT GreenSchools! website.
The Lowcountry Prep students also participated in other events at the conference, including visiting a university in Atlanta and having many discussions with other student leaders from across the country.
During the last year, the PLT GreenSchools! program has supported Green Teams from seven different schools to speak about and celebrate their work at national education conferences. This emphasis on “youth voice” is providing students a national stage to demonstrate the skills and talents of students participating in PLT’s GreenSchools! program.
GreenSchools! National Student Advisory BoardIn other efforts to ensure authentic student voice is a driving force in PLT’s GreenSchools! service-learning program, the national PLT office held its first ever GreenSchools! Student Advisory Board conference call during the last week in March. Middle and high school students from Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington participated on the call, along with four teachers. These conscientious and innovative students plan to have monthly conference calls to:
Review PLT GreenSchools! action grant proposals in fall of 2011 Provide leadership and mentoring to new PLT GreenSchools! Green Teams Participate in online PLT GreenSchools! tutorials Develop strategies to support local, national, and global environmental initiatives
Other states with potential middle or high school student candidates for the PLT GreenSchools! Student Advisory Board are encouraged to send names to James at jmcgirt@forestfoundation.org.
Curriculum Update
(October 27-29), New Orleans, LA (November 10-12), and Seattle, WA (December 8-10.) National PLT will once again attend, present, and host an exhibit. We hope to see some of you there!
2011 International Year of Forests
On March 30, AFF co-hosted with the USDA Forest Service and National Association of State Foresters a special celebration in Washington, DC to mark the official U.S. launch of 2011 International Year of Forests.
We were pleased that Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack chose our event to announce the USDA’s new strategy to promote the use of wood as a green building material. Congressmen Goodlatte (R-VA) and Schrader (D-OR) also spoke to voice their support for policies that help sustain America’s forests. Five State Foresters, key Administration officials, and over 300 environmental and industry leaders attended the event.
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