Division of Forestry and Wildlife

Educators looking for a creative, multi-disciplinary environmental education program are invited to participate in Project Learning Tree Workshops offered by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW)  with support from the  US Forest Service,  the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the national Project Learning Tree office and many partners across the state.

Project Learning Tree is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary environmental education program.  It is easy to infuse the environmental lessons into other subject areas such as math, language arts, and social studies.  PLT activities can be adapted to various audiences: Pre-K – 12 students, Scout troops, special education classes, community groups and many more. Schools can also register to be a PLT GreenSchool here and request a PLT GreenSchool workshop.

Upcoming Workshops

• Hawaiʻi educators! Register for FREE, online professional development opportunities for environmental education. Our Project Learning Tree Program has four workshops occurring over Fall Break:

  • 10/10/23, 9-10am: Sensational Trees workshop (grades K-2): Activities that invite young learners to investigate trees using their five senses.
  • 10/10/23, 10:30-11:30am: Biodiversity Blitz workshop (grades 3-5):  Activities that invite young learners to investigate the variety of species in an ecosystem, and how this variety – or biodiversity – helps sustain life on Earth.
  • 10/11/23, 8:30-10am OR 6-7:30pm: Nature of Fire (grades 6-8): Activities that invite students to investigate wildland fire and ecosystem change.

Curriculum Inventory

Professional Development Structure:

Workshops are offered as a three-part virtual PD training
Part 1: Synchronous webinar: Welcome, introductions, and homework

Part 2: Self-paced online course

Part 3: Synchronous webinar: Virtual field experience and Evaluation (45 minutes)

Each Pre-Service course includes 2 classroom virtual visits with a recommended space of 2-4 weeks.

First Visit: Welcome to Hawaii PLT!  1-1.5 hours

• Introductions
• About our state program
• Local Resources
• Visit from a non-formal educator (i.e. talk story, presentation, or virtual field trip from a field biologist, forester, natural resource scientist, wildland fire fighter, etc.)
• Homework Assignment and set groups

Email any homework Questions to [email protected]

Acronym List:

• * Notes a Teachers Choice Award
• NAEYC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Standards
• HSCOF: Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.
• NGSS: Materials are constructed around – rather than simply correlated to – targeted performance expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards. They build on one another to foster students’ understanding and skills for meeting the specific standards.
• CCSS: Materials are aligned with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Math.
• C3: Materials are aligned with the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies
• BSCS: are organized around the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5E Instructional Model – engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate.

Become a Hawai‘i Project Learning Tree Facilitator

If you would like to become a Hawai’i PLT facilitator, please contact us via email: [email protected].  PLT facilitators will receive FREE curriculum, help with advertising the workshops, training, as well as become part of a national network of environmental education leaders with access to great resources and support. 

Contact:

Michelle Gorham or Makana Kaha‘ulelio via email at [email protected]

 MK – (808)255-5149