CALLING ALL EDUCATORS: SIGN UP FOR A "PROJECT LEARNING TREE" WORKSHOP FEATURING HAWAI'I RESOURCES
HILO : Hawai'i Island educators looking for a creative, multi-disciplinary environmental education program are invited to participate in the Project Learning Tree workshop presented by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), in cooperation with Three Mountain Alliance watershed partnership, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO), the Hawai'i Nature Center, the U.S. Forest Service, and the American Forest Foundation. This free workshop will provide educators with the opportunity to meet and share ideas with colleagues, learn about Hawai'i's unique resources from local scientists, and learn ways Project Learning Tree (PLT) lessons can be adapted to incorporate Hawai'i's unique natural and cultural resources. Participants will receive the PLT K-8 curriculum guide, which is correlated to National Content Standards. Special guests include Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and U.S. Forest Service staff. Park Ranger BG Horvat of HAVO will lead a hike in the park as part of the workshop. Tracy Johnson of the U.S. Forest Service will present information on their research. Three Mountain Alliance staff Mililani Browning and Colleen Cole will co-facilitate the workshop. Project Learning Tree is an award-winning education program, which makes it easy to infuse environmental lessons into other subject areas such as math, language arts, and social studies. It can be adapted to various audiences: Pre-K - 12 students, Scout troops, special education classes, community groups and many more. Workshop participants will receive the PLT curriculum guide, which contains 96 activities and lessons. Materials were paid for by a U.S. Forest Service grant. Because Project Learning Tree is a national curriculum, facilitators will highlight connections with Hawai'i-specific resources, including the Ohi'a Project. "We look forward to getting the input of workshop participants about how to further connect and enhance PLT with Hawai'i-specific content and information," said Caroline Tucker, PLT Facilitator and DLNR - DOFAW education and information assistant. "This promises to be a wonderful workshop that will be of great value in helping continue to protect and preserve Hawai'i's unique landscapes and life forms," said Cindy Orlando, Superintendent of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, which donated space for the workshop at the park's Education Center. The Hawai'i Island Project Learning Tree workshop will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 19. This workshop is limited to 16 participants. Lunch and snacks will be provided, thanks to donations by local and national businesses. Participants are encouraged to bring a reusable drink container for coffee, and water. To learn more about the workshops and to register, visit http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw/ or contact Michelle Gorham Jones by email at Michelle.G.Jones@hawaii.gov. To secure your place at the workshop, please submit your registration information (downloadable on the dofaw website) and your $20 registration hold fee to the Division. Checks should be made out to the PLT Hawai'i's fiscal sponsor, Hawai'i Nature Center. The fee will be returned to you at the workshop. To find out more about PLT before the workshops visit www.plt.org. |
