Mississippi PLT honored

Mississippi PLT was honored at the 2015 Miss forestry Association's annual meeting when I received the President's Citation Award from MFA President Dana Little.  This is an annual award presented by the president to the person whom he identifies as having done valuable work toward helping him meet his annual goals, and therefore the goals of the organization.  Education, especially teacher education, is a prime goal of MFA, as evidenced by their support of PLT and their sponsorship of the ground-breaking Teachers Conservation Workshops for more than 50 years. PLT has been an important part of these workshops since the late '80's.

My name is on the award because I am the visible face of MS PLT, but all of you who have long supported the program and helped facilitate workshops are the true heroes, I am just the guy who keeps the records and packs workshop supplies.

Congratulations to all of you. WELL DONE.

October 12, 2015
A few personal notes:
After a very busy June and July, I took some time off in August. The garden was comming in, with a lot of picking and "putting up' to do, and my wife, niece and I had an Alaskan cruise planned. we returned from the cruise in early September, and I was in pain. I soon broke out in shingles -- and I had had the shot! About the time this cleared up, I ruptured a lumbar disc, which resulted in surgery on Oct 5. I am home recovering. I am under doctor's orders not to lift anything heavier than 5 pounds. I have an appointment to have the staples removed on Oct. 14. I hope he will give me the go-ahead to be about my business. Because of my illnesses, I had to cancel some work --  the Southern  Environmental Education Alliance conference in Tennessee and, back home, a couple of teacher's conferences, where I was scheduled to erect exhibits and present PLT programs. I have quite a bit of work scheduled for the remainder of October, and I am eager to get to it.

PLT's Climate Change and the Southeastern Forest Secondary Education Module --

This module was developed as part of the PINEMAP project, an effort by the USDA in cooperation with the University of Florida to develop techniques for managing southern pine --a keystone crop in the southeastern US -- in the event of climate change. UF contracted out the educational component to PLT. Like all PLT material, the module is very well done -- interesting, attractive, with a lot of scientific background.

Dr. John Guyton and I were trained in facilitating PINEMAP workshops in Jacksonville, FL, and MSPLT facilitator Meachem Harlow was trained in Little Rock, AR last January. all of us have been involved in facilitating workshops, which have been well received.  We realize that this is a controversial subject, with the number of "true believers," deniers and those with varying degrees of doubt being about equal, so teaching this workshop could be tricky, so this is the tack we take. We acknowledge, up front, the differences of opinion, but we get every one to agree that they want a clean and healthy environment and healthy forests, and practices that lead to these, including sound forest management, also are practices that scientist say can mitigate climate change. Workshop attendees from all sides of the issue are able to participate without feeling threatened.
Participants complete both a pre- and post-workshop survey -- not about their knowledge of or opinion about Global Climate Change, but rather about their willingness and ability to teach the subject. in almost every case, there is a big improvement in this regard. Frankly, I am pleasantly surprised.
Thanks to a PINBEMAP grant, I am able to present these workshops free of charge. all participants will receive a free module. A full-length, six hour workshop  carries 0.6 CEUs. shorter, non-credit workshops can be arranged. if you are interested in hosting one of these workshops, give me a call.

BIG NEWS!

Mississippi Get its First GreenSchool Grant and professor at DSU gets GreenWorks Grant.

Leslie Hood, a teacher at Bookhaven Academy, received a PLT GreenSchool grant in the amount of $3,000.  They will match this with $4,000 of locally raised money to build outdoor classrooms and a school garden.  They plan to keep the program going beyond the life of this grant by selling fresh produce to parents waiting in the pick-up line -- a healthy alternative to candy!  This is Mississippi's very first GreenSchool! Grant.

GreenSchool! grants are to available to registered GreenSchools, a PLT program that requires a team of teacher-lead students to do a survey of their school to determine ways to save energy or better utilize natural resources.

Lacey Fitts, a professor at Delta State University has filed a successful PLT GreenWorks! grant in the amount of $1,000.  She is working with the science club of a local high school on a project to measure the  rate of evaporation of urea from fertilizer in local farm fields and to determine ways of slowing it down to same farmers money and to reduce air pollution.  She is using the grant money to pay for test equipment, among other things.  Quite an ambitious project!

Educators who have completed a PLT Educator Workshop are eligible to apply for a GreenWorks! grant.  This grant does not, specifically, have to be connected to a PLT GreenSchool.

Both grants are intended to fund student service-learning projects.

Congratulations to both of these teachers.



Harold's Calendar

For information on any of these workshops, or to register, contact me at handerson212@gmail.com or call me at 601-613-5567.

Harold Anderson

All the following dates are 2015 unless otherwise noted

Oct 20, 8 am to noon,, PLT workshop, MC. this workshop is not long enough to qualify for CEU

OCT 21-22 Miss Forestry Assoc. Annual Meeting

OCT 26-27 Miss Science a Teachers Assoc. conference, will present "mini workshop" of PLTs new sevondary education climate change module.

Oct 28 -- Neshoba County Forestry Assoc. Public officials luncheon

Nov 6-7 -- Miss Environmental Education Alliance conference

Nov 12 -- PLT demo, MVSU

Nov 20 -- dr. Appt.

Nov. 21-27 -- not available

Dec 10-12 -- Southern Environmental Education Alliance meeting, Black Mtn, NC

Jan 12 -- communications Committee Meeting, MFA Office, Jackson

JAn 18 -- MLK/RE LEE Holiday

Jan 20 -- PLT WORKSHOP, Forestry Students EMCC

JAN 21 -- PLT Coordinator Selection Committee meeting MFA, Jackson CANCELLED

Jan23 Sat.-- PLT workshop MVSU fot in service teachers. 0.6 CEU available. Workshop fee $20 to cover cost of book. Contact Harold Anderson at handerson212@gmail.com 601-613-5567 to register

Feb 1 -- unavailable. Dentist appt.

Feb 2 -- Preservice teachers, MSU. Others welcome, will be held at Noxubee Wildlife Refuge. 0.6 CEU available. $20 fee to cover cost of book. Contact Harold Anderson to register

Feb 6 -- MSU Forestry Students. Others welcome. O.6 CEU. $20 fee to cover cost of book. Contact Harold Anderson to register.

Feb 8 -- Professional development conference, MVSU

FEB 9 -- PLT Carly Childhood workshop JCJC.

March 1 -- PLT workshop for Preservice students at Miss. College.


PLEASE NOTE:  DUE TO THE RISING COST OF PLT ACTIVITY GUIDES AND HIGH SCHOOL MODULES, WE ARE FORCED TO CHARGE A SMALL REGISTRATION FEE TO COVER PART OF THE COST.  FOR 2015, THE FEE IS $15. WE FEEL THAT THIS IS MORE THAN REASONABLE, CONSIDERING THAT THESE BOOKS WOULD COST MANY TIMES THIS AMOUNT IN A BOOKSTORE, PLUS WE ARE PROVIDING TRAINING, HANDOUTS, REFRESHMENTS, ETC. AT THE WORKSHOP.  IF THIS IS A PROBLEM, PLEASE CALL ME, AND LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN FIND A SPONSOR FOR YOUR WORKSHOP OR WORK SOMETHING ELSE OUT. FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER CONTACT HAROLD ANDERSON AT 601-613-5567 OR handerson212@gmail.com UNLESS OTHERWISE INSTRUCTED

H. ANDERSON
601-613-5567



If you would like to schedule a workshop, look over my calendar, pick an open date and contact me at handerson212@gmail.com or 601-613-5567

Harold Anderson

Key Lime Cake

At the North Mississippi Teachers Conservation Workshop, Andy Chumbly, an assistant principal in the Tishomingo School district brought the second-best cake I have ever eaten. Ask me sometimes, and I'll tell you about the best. He did not claim credit for it. He said his wife baked it. The recipe follows:

Key Lime Cake

1 Box lemon cake mix
1 small box lime Jello
1 1/2 C. Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
5 eggs

Glaze
4 T Conf. Sugar
1/2 C Lime Juce

Frosting
1 stick margarine (softened)
1- 8 oz. Stick Cream Cheese
1 Box Conf. Sugar
1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350
Mix ingredients into 3 well-greased cake pans. Bake for about 20 mins or until cake springs back in middle when touched with finger. Remove from pan and while cake is still warm, mix glaze and drizzle over layers.
Frost when cool and garnish with lime slices.

Tomato Pie Recipe

This recipe was submitted by Martha Watkins, a teacher from Oxford, MS, whom I met at the 2010 North Mississippi Teachers Conservation Workshop.

I tried this. Mmm, Mmm Good!

Makes two pies
Two regular pie crusts
four cups of diced fresh tomatoes (Romas work best)
1/2 lb of cut bacon, cut into small peices after cooking
one cup sour cream
two green onions chopped fine
one cup shredded cheese
a dash of garlic powder (optional)
Additional shredded cheese to cover pies.
Salt and pepper to taste

Lightly brown pie crusts in oven at 350 degrees, mix remaining ingredients. Cover enenly with remaining cup of shredded cheese
Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Let cool about 10 minutes before cutting. ENJOY!

PLT-MSCURRICULUM CORRELATION

The Project Learning Tree Pre K-Gade 8 Activity Guide is correlated to the Mississippi PLT Curriculum. The work was completed in August of 2009 by education students at Mississippi State University, working under the supervision of Dr. Margaret Pope and Dr. John Guyton.

The document, which is nearly 300 pages, is too large to fit on this blogspot. It is posted at:

http://www.plt.org/cms/pages/33_43_29.html. In case you can't make it out, that is 33_43_29.html.