Mississippi Project Learning tree
Newsletter
Fall, 2010
By
Harold Anderson, State Coordinator
Another Good Year --
No, this is not a broken record. The State Fiscal Year that ended June 30, 2010 was (yet again) a resounding success! We held 47 workshops in 33 locations and trained 853 educators. Our finances are in great shape. We only spent 84% of our budget, which allowed us to add to our reserve fund. Keep in mind our goal is to train 400 educators per year. How did we do it? I did not; YOU did! PLT is a network of volunteers -- from the MS PLT Advisory Board to local facilitators. The board has set sound policy, ably administered the program, secured funding, and given me sage advice and sound support; our facilitators have generously volunteered their time to recruit and facilitate workshops; and other friends of MS PLT -- from university professors to classroom teachers and environmental center employees -- have spread the word about PLT and scheduled workshops. I just order supplies and keep up with the paperwork. My three-year-old grandson watches a "kiddie" TV show whose theme is "teamwork," and he goes about shouting: "You've gotta have teamwork!" MS PLT HAS teamwork. To each of you, our team members, I extend my hearty congratulations, and express my genuine thanks.
AND NOW, A WORD ABOUT OUR SPONSORS --
An extremely important part of the MS PLT team is our program sponsors -- the Mississippi Forestry Commission, the USDA Forest Service National Forests in Mississippi and the Mississippi Forestry Association. they continue to stick with us through thick and thin -- and, believe me, in these hard time, budgets are THIN! I cannot thank them enough for their continued support. This important educational effort could not go forward without them.
Another DEQ Grant --
Speaking of friends and supporters, we could not have a better one than the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. they gave us another two-year grant for $30,000. The pass-through EPA non-point source water pollution grant is used to pay for water-themed workshops. We concentrate on funding workshops for pre-service teachers (senior education majors) at our colleges and universities with this grant. By using it judiciously, we are also able to fund many workshops for in-service teachers as well, We routinely fund more than twice the number of workshops stipulated in our contract with DEQ.
Check out our Blogspot --
Have you checked out
http://www.msplt.blogspot.com/ lately? If not, give it a try. We keep all sorts of useful and interesting MS
PLT information posted there (including this newsletter). You can get general information about MS
PLT; learn how to schedule a workshop; access the
PLT Pre-K-Grade 8/Mississippi Curriculum Correlation document, or by clicking on "Harold's Calendar," see a list of workshops scheduled; which qualify for
CEU credit; how to register for one; see a summary history of MS
PLT workshops since its beginning; a listing of all workshops held this year and all sort of other interesting stuff -- including some recipes from workshop attendees.
MFA's Teachers Conservation Workshops Huge Success -- Again.
2010 marked the 48th year of the Mississippi Forestry Association's highly acclaimed Teachers Conservation Workshops. Two one-week-long workshops were held in June -- at Northeast Miss. Community College in Booneville and Jones County Jr.College in Ellisville. These award-winning and much emulated workshops are an intense week of hands-on outdoor activities, field trips and training in forestry and other conservation fields. A minimum amount of classroom work in included. A complete PLT educator workshop is included. Those who complete the week-long workshop qualify for three hours college credit or five CEU's. Fifty-nine educators attended in 2010. Two workshops are planned for June, 2011 in the same locations. The registration fee, including room and meals, is only $100. Registration for the 2011 workshops will begin in February, 2011. See http://www.msforestry.net/ or contact Dr. Tom Monaghan at 662-325-7687 or tomm@msforestry.net. Mississippi Delegation Attends the International PLT Coordinators Conference --
The 2010 PLT Coordinators Conference was held in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The Mississippi delegation consisted of Facilitator of the Year Cliff Daniel and his wife, Nancy and me and my wife, Paula. Laura Beiser, our liaison to the MS Dept. of Environmental Quality, was our Educator of the Year and qualified for a stipend from MS PLT to be applied toward expanses of attending the conference, but was not able to go because of schedule conflicts.
We had some great field trips as part of the conference and did some sight-seeing on our own. Numerous speakers and break-out sessions kept us updated on PLT programs ;administration and activities; but networking and exchanging ideas with my counterparts from around the nation remains a valuable part of the annual conference.
Looking for MS PLT Educator of the Year for 2010 --
We are looking for nominations for our next "MS PLT Educator of the Year." The nominee must be PLT-trained and doing outstanding work in the field of environmental/conservation education -- either training or supporting. The winner will receive a $500 stipend to be applied toward the cost of attending the PLT International Coordinators Conference to be held near Dallas, TX, in May, 2011. If you are such a teacher, or know of one, please contact me at 601-613-5567 or handerson212@gmail.com by November 15, 2010. Mississippi's winner will be entered in the National PLT Educator of the Year competition. The winner will receive a whole bunch of nice prizes, including a trip to the World Forestry Center in Portland, OR. Mississippi has had three national winners, and we want even more! Facilitator Training to be Held Next Fall --
There is considerable interest in a facilitator training workshop, and I had thought about holding one this fall, but I have an opportunity to apply for a grant to fund it. The grant will not go into effect until 2011. We plan on holding the session at Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center, Columbus, MS. If you are interested, let me know, and I will reserve a spot for you.
MC Pre-Service Student Teachers Teach PLT to In-Service Teachers --
Dr. John Hunt, a professor of education at Mississippi College, requires his pre-service teachers, who are PLT trained, to go into local schools and lead elementary students in PLT activities. I accepted his offer to observe at Highland Bluff Elementary School in Brandon. Teachers there were so impressed they scheduled a six-hour workshop for their school. I invited MC students to help facilitate the workshop. Even though it was held while they were on summer break, five responded and did a great job. Photos are posted on http://www.msplt.blogspot.com/. Southeastern Conference --
A training session for southeastern state coordinators and selected board members was held in Memphis in August. The following board members accompanied me: George Byrd, Cliff Daniel, Dr. John Guyton and Wallace Johnston. The theme of the meeting was setting goals and strategic planning. Expenses were paid from a national PLT grant.
Mississippi BMP SAT pilot Test State --
Mississippi was one of the states selected to pilot test the revised Best Management Plan Self-Assessment Test. The process is designed to identify a state program's strengths and weaknesses. Although we determined that Mississippi has a very strong PLT program, we identified some areas that can be improved, and we will work toward that end.
NOW FOR THE NATIONAL PLT NEWS
Learning Magazine Award --
Project Learning Tree's Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood has been selected a Learning Magazine 2011 Teachers' Choice Award winner!
For 17 years, the Learning Magazine Teachers' Choice Awards have heralded the very best in classroom-tested, teacher-recommended products. Each year a nationwide panel of teacher-judges names the standouts in books, classroom supplies, educational games, software, Web sites, and supplemental materials that teachers need for their classroom. After receiving top ratings in rounds of rigorous judging, PLT's Early Childhood Guide and CD won a 17th annual Teachers' Choice Award for supplemental materials.
Year of the Forest --
The United Nations has designated 2011 as "The Year of the Forest." PLT will participate by soliciting environmental exchange boxes from each state (PLT Activity No. 20), which will be presented to the U.N. in January, 2011. They will be opened and displayed at the U.N. then given to schools in New York City. Mississippi is looking for items to put in our box. Anyone wishing to donate an item should contact me at 601-613-5567 or handerson212@gmail.com. MS PLT-sponsor the Mississippi Forestry Association will participate by soliciting items from its 62 affiliate county forestry associations. The box will be displayed at the MFA's booth in the rotunda of the State Capitol during January, and then formally presented to the legislature and state officials before being shipped to the U.N. PLT Inaugurates On-Line Community --
Project Learning Tree has launched an online professional learning community to help educators learn from each other and improve their teaching using PLT and environmental education. At http://connect.plt.org/, teachers can strengthen their content knowledge, share teaching strategies, and connect with other educators across the country to exchange ideas and resources. In addition, you can download some PLT secondary activities, namely, PLT's Biotechnology Supplement, a complementary resource to PLT's Focus on Risk module, and the activities that make up PLT's Exploring Environmental Issues. GreenSchools! --
For many years, PLT has sponsored the GreenWorks! grant program, designed to help students "learn by doing" by funding service-learning projects.
GreenSchools! is the next logical step. To find out all about it, visit http://www.pltgreenschools.org/, but here it is in a nutshell: It is designed for students, under the direction of teachers or other school staff members, to determine how to decrease their schools' ecological foot print and save money, in the process. There are three components:
-Professional development training
- a set of GreenSchools! Investigations
-Service-learning projects.
Teachers and student leaders are trained through a PLT professional development workshop to ensure they are prepared to help their GreenSchools! teams effectively conduct and implement PLT's GreenSchools! investigations and implement appropriate service-learning projects. A set of five investigations enable students to examine their school's energy use, waste and recycling, water consumption, school site and environmental quality. Through hands-on investigations and analysis, students and teachers are investigating:
-How much energy their school uses, and the main sources of energy for their school.
-How the school site/grounds can be modified to make a safer,, healthier and "greener" learning environment.
-The environmental quality of their school to discover where improvements can be made in areas such as indoor air quality, transportation and chemical hazards.
A Project Learning Tree National Advisory Team (composed of resource professions, educators, schools administrators, student leaders, and facilities staff) guided the development of two sets of five GreenSchool! investigations, one set for elementary schools, and another set for middle and high schools. Each investigation, designed to be conducted by students and school staff, includes:
-Background about the topic and a series of questions that guide students in evaluating environmental conditions at their school and thinking critically about ways to reduce their schools' environmental footprint.
-Suggestions for collecting baseline data using monitoring equipment (for example, light meters, watt meters, temperature probes, infrared thermometers and CO2 monitors.)
-Ideas for possible action items that might be implemented by the school.
As a result of conducting the GreenSchools! investigations, students create an action plan, undertake a service-learning project to improve one or more aspects of their school environment, and measure the results. To help students implement their action plans. GreenWorks! service learning environmental action grants, ranging from $500 to $5,000, may be awarded to GreenSchools! teams through an online grant selection process (depending on funding available from the American Forest Foundation, the national sponsor of Project Learning Tree, and our partners and supporters.)
Service-learning projects include installing vegetable and native plant gardens, building outdoor classrooms, instituting recycling, energy conservation and alterntive energy projects and more. An important criteria for receiving a GreenSchools! Certificate is a plan by the school to maintain the GreenSchools! project on a long-term basis to provide continual educational and environmental benefits to students, teachers and the community.
PLT thanks our national sponsors, the U.S. Forest Service and Learn and Serve America, a program of the Corporation for National & Community Service, who are helping make the PLT GreenSchools! program possible.
Register your school at http://www.pltgreenschools.org/ to receive free access to the GreenSchools! investigations online, and learn more about the steps to take to become a reconized PLT GreenSchool! For more information contact James McGirt, manager of PLT's GreenSchools! Program at jmcgirt@forestfoundation.org. A Final Word --
Just a final "thanks" to each of you for making MS PLT so successful. I am ready and willing to help you advance your PLT program. Just drop me an e-mail or give me a call. I would like to know about some good PLT work being done out there. If you have been doing some, let me know. We will write it up and post it on our blogspot.
Well, as the lady film director said when she got a new mink coat, "That's a wrap!"
