Mississippi Project Learning Tree

Harold's Calendar

2011-10-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

October 8, PLT Workshop USM -- 8:30 to 11:30. Will not qualify for CEU's "as is," but will qualify with some "home-work" i.e. you present a PLT activity to your class and send me a letter from your principal verifying that you did, and it will qualify for 0.6 CEU.

Oct 10 -- Dentist Appt.

Oct 12-14 -- Early Childhood Education Association Conference, Jackson

Oct 19-21 -- Mississippi Forestry Association Annual Meeting, Jackson

Oct 24-26 --Miss Science Teachers Association Conference, Jackson

Oct 26 -- "A Walk in the Woods", Plymouth Bluff, Environmental Center, Columbus

Oct 28-29 -- Mississippi Environmental Educators Alliance Conference, Jackson

November 3-4 -- PLT Facilitator Training, Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center, Columbus.

Sorry, but this workshop is full

November 11 -- 8:30-3:30 PLT Workshop at Ole Miss. This is a free workshop that carries 0.6 CEU Others welcome. Contact Harold Anderson at 601-613-5567 or handerson212@gmail.com

November 29 -- PLT Workshop for MUW at Plymouth Bluff. This is a free workshop that carries 0.6 CEU. Contact Harold Anderson to register. See above.

December 2 -- Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Conference, Jackson

December 10 -- PLT Workshop Miss. Valley State University 8-3. This is a free workshop that carries 0.6 CEU. To register, contact Harold Anderson. See above..

Jan 20 -- PLT Workshop at Plymouth Bluff, Columbus, for MUW. Others welcome. Qualifies for 0.6 CEU. Contact Harold Anderson

February 11 -- PLT Workshop for MSU College of Forest Resources. Others welcome, qualifies for 0.6 CEU This is a great opportunity for inservice and preservice teachers to have a fun-filled day of shared learning with these energetic young foresters. Contact Harold Anderson

April 21 -- WaterFest, Old Trace Park, Ross Barnette Reservoir, Ridgeland

Jan 31 -- PLT USM. This is a series of three "mimi" workshops. Others are welcome, but it will not qualify for CEU, but you will get a PLT Pre-K through Grade 8 Activity guide plus other "goodies" for attending. Free. Contact Harold Anderson to register

March 5 -- PLT at MC from 8-11. This workshop will not qualify for CEU credit "as is," but with some homework, will qualify for 0.6. Free. Call Harold Anderson to register.

March 8 -- CFA Legislative Luncheon. See Eleana's E-mail of 12-27

Agenda, Facilitator Training Workshop, 11-3 & 4, 2011

2011-08-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

AGENDA

PROJECT LEARNING TREE FACILITATOR TRAINING

PLYMOUTH BLUFF CENTER, COLUMBUS, MS

NOVEMBER 3-4, 2011

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3

1:00 – 1:30 – SIGN IN, ROOM ASSIGNMENTS, ETC.

1:30 – 2:00 – INTRODUCTIONS AND ICEBREAKER LED BY STAFF

2:00 – 2:45 – PLT ACTIVITY LED BY STAFF; ALL PARTICIPANTS INVOLVED

2:45 – 3:15 – EXPLANATION OF STATE AND NATIONAL PROGRAM – HAROLD AND AL

3:15 – 3:45 – “HIKE THROUGH THE GUIDES” – HAROLD AND AL

3:45 – 4:15 – EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ACTIVITY – AL

4:15 – 4:30 – GREENSCHOOLS AND GREENWORKS – AL

4:30 – 5:00 – SECONDARY EDUCATION MODULE ACTIVITY – STAFF

5:00 – 6:00 – AGENDA PLANNING: HOW TO SCHEDULE A WORKSHOP, WHO TO CONTACT AND HOW TO

GET BOOKS AND SUPPLIES AND EXAMINATION OF TEACHING KIT. -- HAROLD

6:00 – 7:00 – DINNER (SUPPER)

7:00 – 9:00 – PLAN “MINI WORKSHOP” – PARTICIPANTS

9:00 – DISMISS FOR THE DAY

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2011

7:00 – 8:00 – BREAKFAST, CHECK OUT OF ROOMS

8:00 – 8:30 – REWARDS AND AWARDS – DR. JOHN GUYTON AND HAROLD ANDERSON

8:30 – 10:00 – TIPS FOR CONDUCTING WORKSHOPS, EXPLORATION OF FACILITATORS’ HANDBOOK AND

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS – STAFF AND PARTICIPANTS

10:00 – 12:00 – PARTICIPANTS PRESENT “MINI WORKSHOP” – PARTICIPANTS

12:00 – 1:00 – LUNCH

1:00 – 2:00 – CONTINUE WITH “MINI WORKSHOP” – PARTICIPANTS

2:00 – 2:30 – MARKETING PLT – INTERACTIVE, LED BY STAFF

2:30 – 3:00 – ADMIN TIME, EVALUATIONS, RESOURCE TABLE, “GRADUATION”

REGISTRATION FORM FOR PLT FACILITATOR TRAINING WORKSHOP

2011-08-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

REGISTRATION FORM

MS PLT

FACILITATOR TRAINING WORKSHOP

NOVEMBER 3-4, 2011 AT PLYMOUTH BLUFF CENTER

COLUMBUS, MS

NAME: _________________________________________

MAILING ADDRESS (PLEASE INCLUDE ZIP CODE)

Street Address________________________________________________________

City___________________________________________________________

State__________________________________________________________

Zip Code________________________________________________________

Telephone Numbers

Home_____________________________

Office_____________________________

Cell______________________________

E-mail_____________________________

Are you an African-American or a college/university professor or instructor?

Yes____________No___________

These are the target groups for my grant, and will receive first priority. Others will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis as space permits.

I am (Check all that apply)

College/University Professor or Instructor _________________

Other College/University Employee_______________________

College University Student_____________________________

Pre K - K Teacher ___________________________________

1st - 8th Grade Teacher________________________________

9th - 12th Grade Teacher_______________________________

Other Educator (4-H agent, for instance) ____________________

Natural Resource Professional____________________________

Other (describe) _____________________________________

Do you need a room? YES____________NO_______________

List any dietary restrictions/needs ________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Please return via e-mail to handerson212@gmail.com, or mail to MS PLT, c/o Mississippi Forestry Commission, P.O. Drawer 429, Philadelphia, MS 39350. Please feel free to contact me via e-mail or call me at 601-613-5567 if you have any questions.

Directions to Plymouth Bluff: From Starkville: Take Highway 82 toward Columbus. Look for the Highway 45 Exit to Macon and Meridian (you should also see the Plymouth Bluff sign), take this exit, then turn LEFT and take the bridge back over Hwy. 82. (If you go over the waterway, you missed your exit.) Follow this road. It will take a sharp right hand curve and intersect with another road on the bank of the river. Turn left and go a mile or so and you will see the Plymouth Bluff sign on your right. Turn into the Plymouth Bluff driveway. Continue on past the cabins to the parking lot at the conference center.

From Meridian: Take 45 North, at Brooksville take the RIGHT FORK. Cross over Highway 82, this road will make a sharp right curve and intersect with another road on the bank of the Tombigbee River. Turn left and go a mile or so. You will see the Plymouth Bluff sign to your right. Turn into the driveway. Continue on past the cabins to the parking lot at the conference center.

From Columbus: Take Hwy 82 toward Starkville. Cross over the Ten-Tom Bridge. Take the Plymouth Bluff exit. Follow this road around a sharp right curve to an intersection on the river bank. Turn left and go a mile or so to the Plymouth Bluff sign. Turn right into the driveway and follow it past the cabins to the parking lot by the conference center.

From Tupelo: Take 45 Alternate through West Point. Continue on to the High 82 intersection and take the Columbus exit. Continue on to the Highway 45 S (Macon and Meridian) exit. You should see the Plymouth Bluff sign here. Exit then turn left back across Hwy 82. Continue on this road around a sharp right curve to the intersection on the river bank. Turn left and go a mile or so to the Plymouth Bluff sign on the right. Turn into the driveway and continue past the cabins all the way to the parking lot at the conference center.

GPS ADDRESS IS 2200 OLD WEST POINT ROAD

IF YOU GET LOST, CALL MY CELL PHONE AT 601-613-5567 AND SOMEONE WILL RESCUE YOU.

Thanks,

Harold Anderson,

MS-PLT Coordinator

PLT Workshops held During State Fiscal Year 2011

2011-08-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

Mississippi Project Learning Tree Workshops Held During State FY 2011

Workshop Location	Date	Number of Workshops	Number Trained
William Carey University	7-22-10	1	15
Clinton Community Nature Center	7-15-10	1	7
Coahoma County	6-8-10	1	20
Magnolia Elementary School	7-20-10	1	11
Univ. S. Miss	7-24-11	1	17
Univ. S. Miss	9-2-10	3	54
William Carey Univ.	9-10-10	2	37
Univ. S. Miss	10-23-10	1	18
Miss. College	10-18-10	1	23
Univ of Miss	10-22-10	3	64
Itawamba Community College	11-4-10	1	14
Crow’s Neck EE Center	9-29-10	1	5
Miss. Univ. For Women	12-1-10	2	31
Crosby Arboretum	1-5-11	1	12
Univ. S. Miss	2-1-11	3	43
Miss. State Univ, College of Forest Resources	2-12-11	1	18
Mississippi College	2-28-11	1	18
Miss. State Univ.	2-18-11	1	31
Jones County Jr. College	2-24-11	1	8
Miss. Univ for Women	2-14-11	1	23
Univ. S. Miss	3-28-11	1	15
Miss Valley State Univ.	4-2-11	1	8
Crow’s Neck EE Center	4-13-11	1	18
East Miss. Community College	3-30-11	1	14
South Teachers Conservation Workshop	6-12-11	1	31
North Teachers Conservation	6-20-11	1	23
Russell Christian Academy	5-24-11	1	7
Clinton Nature Center	6-2-11	1	6
MSUES Pontotoc	6-20-11	1	28
Miss. State Univ	6-30-11	1	10

Totals

Key Lime Cake

2011-07-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

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.

PLT Facilitator Training Workshop Announcement

2011-07-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

What: A PLT Facilitator Training Workshop

When: From 1:00 Thursday, November 3 until 3:00 p.m., Friday, November 4, 2011

Where: Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center, Columbus, MS

Cost: Free (thanks to a grant from the American Forest Foundation). Attendees only pay transportation too and from and pay for CEU or CFE, if desired

Target Audience: College/University Professors and Instructors and racial minorities. These groups are under-represented in our facilitator cadre.

Can others attend? Yes. As long as grant money and space allows. Targeted group has first priority.

A description of Plymouth Bluff: Plymouth Bluff Center is an environmental and conference center built by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1990's on a bluff overlooking the old Tombigbee River. It is leased to and operated by the Mississippi University for Women. The center is a modern building with a spacious lobby and small interpretive center/museum with a working fireplace that is used daily in cold weather. It has a very nice dinning hall, a small auditorium, a lab, conference rooms and offices. The back door of the lobby opens onto a deck. It sits amid hundreds of acres of Plymouth Bluff and Corps land, which abut several hundred acres of Corps of Engineers land. There is a nice lake and a "ropes course" and an outdoor classroom on site.

Housing will be in cabins with motel-style rooms. Very nice -- no roughing it!

_________________________________________________________________

REGISTRATION FORM AND AGENDA ARE IN SEPARATE POSTS ON THIS BLOGSPOT

Newsletter, Fall 2010

2010-10-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

Mississippi Project Learning tree

Newsletter

Fall, 2010

Harold Anderson, State Coordinator

601-613-5567, handerson212@gmail.com

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!"

2010-06-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

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!

Miss. College Pre-serv. Teachers Teach PLT At Highland Bluff Elementary School

2010-03-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

The photos above are of pre-service teachers from Mississippi College leading fifth-graders at Highland Bluff Elementary School, Brandon, MS in the PLT Activity "Tree Factory."

M.C. pre-service teachers attended a PLT Educator Workshop in early March, 2010. They immediately put their training to good use by teaching fifth-grade students at Highland Bluff.

From the top down:

A pre-service teachers explains the lesson to students.

The class was divided into small groups with a pre-service teacher teaching the parts and functions of a "tree cookie."

Pre-service teachers lead students through the "Tree Factory" activity. Highland Bluff is unique in that fith- and sixth-grader are divided by gender. Pre-service teachers visited all boys' and girls' fifth grade classes.

The M.C. students concluded the lesson by re-forming the fifth-graders back into small groups, summarizing the lesson and verbally quizzing them. The results were obvious: The students had learned the parts of a tree and their function!

The staff of Highland Bluff were so impressed they scheduled their own PLT Educator Workshop!

PLT-MSCURRICULUM CORRELATION

2009-10-05T06:50:00.000-07:00

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.

Morning Glories on My Garden Fence

2009-08-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

Harold's Garden Journal

2009-08-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

August 19, 2009 A LITTLE BACKGROUND I've been gardening for more than 40 years. I find it an amazing, even therapeutic, pastime. I am convinced that many of our problems would be solved if more people would garden. To grow a garden and eat the vegetables from it will go a long way toward solving the problems of obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and, after putting in several hours of good, honest labor, insomnia! My father had a back-yard garden when I was a child. He used to tell about the first vacation we took -- to the Smokey Mountains. For poor folks like us, this was a BIG deal. The first thing I did upon returning hone was to run to the garden to see how much the plants had grown! A DESCRIPTION OF MY GARDEN Here's a description of my present garden: After I retired from the Miss. Forestry Comm. I bought a 2-1/2 acre lot in the town of Philadelphia, MS. It is a beautiful, secluded spot. It is part of an old dairy farm. It is just across the fence from the walking trail in the city park, yet my fence row is so grown up, one cannot easily see it from the park. To enter the old pasture where my lot is located, one must drive through for about 1/8 of a mile on a dim dirt road through a pine forest, with limbs completely overhanging the road. my lot is wedge shaped, narrow on the road frontage and wide on the back. It is very steep -- about a 20-30 food drop in elevation from the road to the back corner of the lot. According to the soil survey, it is not suitable for cultivation. It is best suited for woodland or pasture. After my first attempt to garden here, I was about able to agree with them! There are several broad, flat terraces running across the property, and it was on one of these that I established my garden. I built a 9' X 14" storage shed, with double doors on one end to facilitate parking my tiller, wheelbarrow, etc. My original garden plot was about 60' x 30.' I surrounded it with a net wire fence, not to keep varmints, but as a support for vines. I planted muscadines on one side and scuppernongs on the other (In cased you don't know, these are native think-skinned Mississippi grapes. On one end, just back from the fence, I planted thornless blackberries, and morning glory vines on the fence. On the (gate) end, I planted two kiwi vines -- a male and female. on one side of the gate and rose bushes on the other side. My male kiwi vine died, and I must replace it next spring. (BED 1) I established raised beds on either side of the front door of my shed and on the west side. I planted these with various herbs. Since then, I put in another plot about that same size (BED 2) After than, another plot about half that size. I put an electric fence around it, so I can grow broccoli, cabbage and other things that deer love. (BED 3) Last fall, I broke up about 2,000 sq ft. for a flower garden and planted it in rye grass. Rye grass is growing well (BED 4). I have community water at my lot, with a faucet at the orchard and another by the garden shed. The first year after I planted my trees was a drought year, and I had to haul water from my hours (about two miles) to keep them alive. I decided I MUST have water at the lot! I established a small orchard (about 20 trees -- everything from apples to pomegranates -- about 100 yards from the garden. Lines Composed in My Garden one Dewey Morning While Standing Amid the Purple Cannot the God Who created purple Ironweed, eggplants and stringbeans hear us when we pray? Cannot the God Who created green trees, stalks and peas love us above other created things? Cannot the God Who created storms and lightning bolts and walks amid the waves discipline us when we stray? Cannot the God Who created all and fills the void with power and holds the orbs in sway save us by his grace? . Why I am writing this blog This is my fourth year to have this garden. It was established on worn-out pasture land that had been limed or fertilized for years. The first year was a flop. Then I rebuilt the soil by plowing in leaves and chicken fertilizer and lime. I had a pretty decent fall garden. I saw a tremendous improvement next spring. The summer was hot and dry, so I irrigated using lawn sprinklers connected to a timer. That spring, summer and fall, I made all the vegetables I wanted. My fruit and grapes did not produce. 2011 (sixth year of garden) March 2 Planted part of early garden last week -- onions, carrots beets turnips mustard -- curly and flat leaf, kale, collards potatoes and lettuce. Mustard and turnips coming up well, some kale and collards up. A few onions up, no carrots or beets or potatoes. A few lettuce plants up. Rain predicted in a couple of days. Want to plant another row of greens before rain so I can stagger the harvest. Planted six more thornless blackberries and four more blueberries. Fruit trees blooming. Sprayed Sunday afternoon. Rather discouraged by fruit trees, just not growing as well as I think they should. Peach trees in bloom. One tree blooming well. Pear tree just making blooms on one branch. Small apple tree in full bloom, another is just now blooming -- looks like if might have a lot of blooms, others have yet to bud. My neighbor (Mrs. Hodges) gave me four peach seedlings someone gave her -- in full leaf. I want to plant them. She does not know what kind. I hope they are "Indian" peaches. They are hardy, and make good spiced peaches. Got all of garden tilled. Plan to plant broccoli in #3 patch, but will put in electric fence first to keep the deer out. Got to get busy -- getting late. Broke up 2,000 sq ft. last fall for flower bed. Planted it in rye grass. Got good stand and it is beginning to grow well. Will wait until late March/early April to turn under and plant flowers. March 14. Planted about 1/2 of BED 1 with early season stuff -- a wide bed on onions, a row of potatoes, a row of mustard (curly and flat-leaf), a row with several parts --turnips, collards, kale, carrots and collards; and a row of beets. Planted this about 10 days ago. last week, I put in another row of mustard to extend the harvest. Last week, had 5" rain. Have perfect stand of onions; potatoes are beginning to come up; beets coming up; first planting of greens up good; second planting just coming up, but part of bed flooded. Looks like a skippy stand might have to spot replant. Last week, got electric fence up on plot 2. Built five HIGH rows on plot and planted 48 broccoli, six head lettuce, six cabbages, six Brussel's sprouts and planted a row of spinach. In Plot 3, built 3 high rows and planted 20 strawberry plants and a radish bed I filled rows between all beds with pine straw to control erosion. In Plot 1, I built two high rows and mulched with pine straw to control erosion/flooding. Planted garlic in west front bed by shed and in west end of lower raised bet in Plot 1. Planted two peach trees between Plot 1 and Plot 4. Trees given by neighbor. Expenses: Did not keep close tally, but this is approximation: Electric fence $150 Plants/seeds $30 April 3, 2011 Have picked about 3 lbs of asparagus -- beautiful and enough green for wilted salad twice and green salad for the extended family twice. Today I picked enough baby greens for cooking, 1# asparagus and 1/2# salad greens Everything is looking good. I have up: Potatoes, asparagus, carrots, greens (mustard, turnip, kale), beets, lettuce, radishes all in bed #1. Bed #2 broccoli, collards, Brusell's sprouts looking well. Just planted six cauliflower. Replanted row of spinach -- not up yet. Today I planted 10 hydrangea bushes next to park fence. Transplanted three wild honeysuckles to entrance arbor Tulips and daffodils are blooming Red knockout and Lady Banks roses are blooming -- Knockout lots of buds and few flowers. L.B. in full bloom. Newly planted yellow Knockout has a few blooms. Newly planted David Austin has buds. Graham Thomas has one open flower. Monday, April 11 -- Saturday, I prepared flower bed (50x20 ft) and planted four rows -- one mixed annuals for hummingbirds, the rest various varities of Zinnias and sunflowers. I planted one-half of one row in glad bulbs (pink) salvaged from last year's flower bed. Van Zyverdan is having a sale next week. Hope to buy different bulbs for different color glads to plant remaining row and half. Prepared another 15 x 20 ft bed and planted to water melons and cantaloupes. Planted one-half of my corn patch with Merritt sweet corn. will wait until it is well established to plant rest of patch in Silver Queen -- don't want the two varieties blooming at same time and cross pollinating. Blackberries -- even new ones -- beginning to bloom. Apples, pears and plums have some fruit -- been spraying religiously. Might try to cover some with paper bags per "Mother Earth News." Good rain tonight. Good for newly planted stuff. Thinned and hand weeded greens, hoed everything else. Picked 2# greens, mixed lettuce and radishes. Had several salads, and a mess of asparagus about every three days. Got a good rain tonight should get newly planted seeds up in a hurry. Spent $13 on corn seed. Sunday, April 17. Got FLOOD Friday. Don't know how much, but inches. Tornado his Clinton and other areas of state. No damage to garden. Pine straw between rows doing the trick. Everything looking LUSH. Flower seeds coming up. Got a perfect stand of corn. Harvested Kale, mustard/turnips, radishes, asparagus -- Value $5.00 Bought pepper plants -- costs $8.00

April 23 -- An explosion of growth after rain and with warm weather. Bought two bell peppers and four-pack of Better Boy tomatoes. Planted. Cost about $10.

Salad greens growing rapidly. Harvested big bag.

Potatoes blooming.

Planted four more roses -- on sale at Lowes.

Silver Queen corn shows no sign of coming up. Too much rain?

May 9 -- Spot re-planted Silver Queen Corn, Replanted many flowers. Barretts popcorn not coming up. Will probably have to replant.

Dug potatoes. Got 21#, canned 12 Qt. Continuing to harvest lettuce, kale, collards and asparagus. Longest asparagus harvest ever.

First planting of yellow squash (four hills on end of tomato row) up. Planted another full row. Planted four hills of buttercup acorn squash.

Grape vines full of blooms. Scuppernongs, esp. are loaded! Need a wine recipe.

May 25. Harvested Beets and carrots last week. Made well. Enough beets for several messes, enough carrots for one meal for entire family. Only had 6 ft. bed. Got to plant much more beets and carrots next spring.

Have entire garden planted now. Everything in main garden under plastic and trickle irregation. Now have tomatoes, hot bananna pepper (making a few pods) and bell pepper. Have yellow squash -- full row up and running, and two hills of acorn squash up. Replanted two hills that did not come up. Today I planted: Butternut squash (3/40 row), cucumbers (1/4 row), zucchini (full row) and one-half row each of burgundy and cowhorn okra.

Melons up -- cantalopue and watermelons -- at least one plant per hill. Some blooming. Having a hard time getting flowers up. Spot planted for the third time and put sprinkler on them. Maybe that will do the trick. PICKED TWO RIPE BLACKBERRIES TODAY.

Spent $15 on irregation fitting and plastic sheeting.

June 4. Terrible conditions. No rain in three weeks and weather humid and in high 90's to 100. Got a good stand of yellow squash up. Blooming and a few small squash. Everything I planted through the plastic (mentioned above) did not come up. Ripped plastic up and replanted, being sure seeds were right under drip of hose. Out of Zucchini seeds. Planted string beans instead. I pray that we get a break in this weather soon.
July 13, 2011 -- Got behind on blog. Two TCW's, Mother's death, etc. Made big mistake by not getting irregation set up brfore PLT trip and TCW's. Dry weather, and got way behind.

Finally picked blackberries -- probably got abou two gallon. Grapes, both muscadines and scuppernongs loaded. Say a muscadine turning today. Yellow squash did well. Probably put up 20 or so bags. Declining now. Corn a flop. Did not get irregation line to corn. Made a few ears of Silver Queen. Put up six bags. Short row of pole beans and cukes in main garden. Beans blooming. Saw first baby cuke. Planted four short rows of bush beans for Barrett. Good stand up. Delicious corn! Acorn and Butternut running everywhere! Replanted broccoli patch with peas and one row of running beans. Peas up spotty, interplanted. Beans just planted. Put sprinkler on and saw a few newly planted peas coming up. Tomatoes not producing well. Rotting on vine. Need to make bed like Luke. Did not get a good stand of flowers, but they are making large, beautiful blooms. Probably good thing. Sparce stand helped. Roses continue to do well.

Melons are success story! Crows ruined first few, put scare crow out -- worked! Counted 23 watermelons from 3-12 lbs, and 32 cantalopes, baseball size to larger than grapefruit, some begining to turn.

Crows working on pears and apples. Persimmons just beginning to turn. Got to get up another scare crow and might "bag" best fruit.

August 12, 2011 -- More about the melons: The scarecrows only worked for a little while. I covered some with bird netting and some with chicken wire, as far as it would go, then I covered some with cardboard boxes. That worked. I lost count of the number of watermelons harvested, maybe a dozen or so, but all I wanted. They were delicious! Some quite large (20# or more), but some were just "knots", but all were very sweet and good. All the watermelons are gone. I plowed up the ground and planted sweet corn and flowers. The cantaloupes have been very successful, too. The problem is determining when they are ripe. I let many stay too long and they rotted. They are still making. I must have picked 15-20.

Planted pumpkins and gourds where corn was planted in the spring. Have a good stand, they are running and blooming.

Most of the stuff in the "main garden" is about through, except for okra, which is about eight feet tall and still not producing well. Maybe when the weather cools. Only planted a few cucumbers, but they are making well -- All I want for fresh eating, and enough to make a few pickles. Still got PLENTY of pickles left from last year. String beans were a "bust". "Pea patch looking good. Had to replant and transplant, but have a stand. They are blooming and have little peas.

The big news now is grapes! Muscadines are coming in. I have harvested about 35#, which I juced to make wine. I got almost two gallons of juice -- probably will reduce by about 1/3 when I strain the pulp out. I am probably about 1/4 to 1/3 through. Scuppernongs are loaded, even heavier than muscadines. They should be ripe in 2-3 weeks.

Sat. 13- Harvested 27# muscadines and ONE ripe scuppernong. I am probably a little more than 1/2 through with muscadines -- 62# so far! Am getting my supplies together now to make wine.

August 26 -- Got six gallons of wine fermenting. Still getting a few cantaloupes. Cucumbers almost gone. Okra producing well. Hot weather affecting pumpkins. some vines dying.
Picked 5# Muscadines today. This makes 90#. Should have 10# or so left. Picked 9# of Scuppernongs. Expect to get 150 lbs. "hulled" them and juiced pulp. Made "mock" cherry pie with some scuppernong hulls and cherry Koolade. Too tart, but tastes like cherries. Will try again with cherry Jello. Put 7 qts of hulls in freezer and saved about 1 1/2 qts of juice. Might make jelly with it.

PLT Works in Mississippi -- Proof Positive. Results of a Pilot Project

2009-08-10T12:26:00.000-07:00

PLT Works in Mississippi – Proof Positive

Harold Anderson,

MS PLT Coordinator

For the twenty-two years I’ve been involved with PLT, the National Office has claimed that PLT can help raise test scores. I took their word for it. Now I know for sure.

It all started the day Jeannine May set herself on fire. Yep, she sure did – right there in an advisory board meeting in June of 2004. I was giving my semi-annual report to the board when I got to the part about the International PLT Conference that I had attended just a month before in North Dakota. I explained that the most meaningful session, to me, was the one by Oil City Elementary School Principal Mike Irwin and Environmental Education Director Cindy Kilpatrick wherein they explained how they had used PLT to turn around a failing school. I saw something was happening to Jeannine. I didn’t know if it was a stroke or an epiphany. She slumped back in her chair, her eyes glazed over, and I swear, I could faintly see a light bulb floating over her head and heard what sounded like gears clashing.

It was an epiphany.

“I was just sitting here, trying to be quite,” Jeannine said. “I’m reluctant to say anything because I’m inclined to get myself overextended, but I’m excited about what you just said. My boss, Dr Homer Wilkes, (Jeannine is the PAO for the NRCS in Mississippi) is very interested in environmental education, and I’m sure he would support me getting involved in bringing such a project here to Mississippi.” She jumped into the chair, pumped her fist into the air and screamed “Let’s go for it!” (Not really, but hey, I’m entitled to a little poetic license).

I contacted Principal Mike Irwin at Oil City and arranged a show-me trip. Jeannine, Lynn Porter (an environmental educator with the Hinds County Soil and Water Conservation District and long-time supporter of PLT) and I drove to Oil City on a scorching hot August day during the first week of school. The first thing we saw when we drive up, was a teacher and students weeding a flower bed – and it was 103 degrees! Now, my dear not-from the-South friends, 103 degrees in Mississippi and Louisiana is not the same as 103 degrees elsewhere. Stepping into it from an air-conditioned car is like getting hit with a steaming blanket. Your hair instantly goes limp and is plastered to your forehead (if you are lucky enough to have that much hair – I don’t). Your clothes are instantly sodden and cling to your body. If you raise your hand to wipe the sweat out of your eyes, sweat drips from your elbow and forms pools on the ground. Do you get the idea it was hot? And they were weeding a flower bed! Now THAT’S impressive!

Awe-stricken, we introduced ourselves to our new heroes and explained our business. The teacher led us to Mike and Cindy. They took us on a tour of this beautifully maintained 1920’s building and grounds filled with interesting environmental education nooks. PLT was everywhere; the staff (from custodians to teachers) and students were proud of their school and students were excited and eagerly learning.

We explained that we would like to do something similar in Mississippi. Cindy and Mike offered their help, and this one very important piece of advice: It won’t work unless you have someone in charge – his or her job must be to direct the program.

Full of hope, we returned to Mississippi and put together a committee. With our enthusiasm high, we decided to go for it. We secured a grant from the MS Department of Environmental Quality, in cooperation with the Central Mississippi R, C and D Council. We identified five counties scattered throughout that state where we wanted to conduct the program and hired Olivia Brunson, a retired board-certified teacher, to administer the program. The schools ranged from inner-city, to small town to rural. Four were public schools and one was a private academy. One school dropped out of the program due to the illness of two key teachers. Olivia suggested that we focus on fourth grade, since fifth graders are tested on science on standardized tests.

Olivia presented each school with an environmental teaching kit and taught the involved teachers selected activities from PLT and other environmental “Project” programs. Each participating teacher earned a $100 stipend.. Olivia developed a post-test, with the questions drawn from the state curriculum, then helped the teachers teach the afore-mentioned activities. At the conclusion of the school year, the teachers administered a post-test – with dramatic results. The average increase in test scores was 41 points! In the inner-city school it was 61 points. Now that’s impressive!

Where do we go from here? We’re still working on that. But we have dramatically proven that the National PLT office was right – PLT CAN improve test scores. You’d better believe we will use this information to further environmental education in Mississippi.

For her efforts, Jeannine May was named Mississippi’s PLT Educator of the Year for 2009.

Herb Cookies Recipies

2009-08-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Mariam Wahl brought some of these cookies to a workshop in Lafayette County. They were delicious.

Lemon Basil Snaps

(Use only fresh basil in this recipe)

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup minced fresh basil or lemon basil

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped pistachio nuts

3 Tablespoons sugar

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and next 3 ingredients, beating until blended. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Combine nuts and sugar in a shallow bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in nut mixture and place 2 inches apart on un-greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly with hands or bottom of a glass. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Lavender Sugar Cookies

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons lavender flowers, crushed or ground in food processer

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and lavender flowers. Sift flour and baking powder together and add to butter mixture. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter on un-greased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes just until edges brown. Remove to racks to cool.

Lavender Ice Cream

(This recipe is for a tabletop ice cream freezer.)

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon lavender flowers

2 egg yolks

½ cups sugar

Place lavender flowers in a diffuser ball or in triple thickness cheesecloth bag. Combine cream and milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Place lavender into milk and heat until mixture almost boils, 5-8 minutes. Reduce heat to low and remove and discard lavender. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl until light yellow and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add 4-5 tablespoons of the hot mixture into the eggs and stir until combined. Add egg mixture back to hot milk, stirring continuously to keep eggs from curdling. Cook over low heat 3-4 minutes until thickened and mixture coats the back of a spoon.

Cool mixture in an ice water bath, stirring constantly. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before placing in ice cream freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.

Lavender Lemonade

In a 2 quart pyrex measuring bowl, place 8 cups of water and 7 heaping tablespoons of lavender flowers. Boil 24 minutes in microwave; let steep for 2-3 hours. Strain lavender water and use to make your favorite lemonade recipe. For, convenience this also works well with Country Time Lemonade mix.

Lavender Lemon Bars

and all this time I thought lavender was just a scent! These are great!

Accomplishments Since 1987 Chart

2008-01-29T12:33:00.000-08:00

gkzmgMISSISSIPPI PROJECT LEARNING TREE

20 YEARS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN MISSISSIPPI

An Historic Event!

Calendar Year	Number of Workshop Sites	Number of Workshop Groups	Total Workshop Participants (Facilitators + educators trained since the beginning of program. No retirements, etc. deleted)	Number of Trained Educators Still Working (Running total: excludes facilitators. Educators trained 10 years or more ago are deleted, as they are considered to retire or resign after 10 years	Potential Number of Youth Being Reached ²
1987-1993¹	180	214	4,252	3,195	222,096
1994	27	41	730	4,769	133,532
1995	30	45	725	5,469	153,132
1996	33	48	1,047	6,491	181,860
1997	36	53	886	7,377	206,556
1998	23	35	684	8,048	225,344
1999	29	31	637	8,527	238,755
2000	33	43	767	8,726	244,328
2001	24	37	744	8624	241,472
2002	28	38	697	8,813	246,764
2003	30	41	715	8,684	243,152
2004	29	37	708	8,662	242,536
2005	25	36	619	8,551	239,428
2006	24	37	788	8,614	241,192
2007	33	42	725	8,426	235,928
Totals	584	772	14,724		3,170,363

¹Project Learning Tree started in Mississippi in 1987

²Assumes average service life of educators is 10 years and average classroom size is 28. Previously published charts did not reflect the impact of educators retiring after the assumed 10-year career. The chart was corrected in 2004 to show retirements beginning in 1997.

NOTE: This report does not agree with previously published reports due to an error discovered in 1998 and 1999 figures (now corrected).

MISSISSIPPI’S PLT HIGHLIGHTS

· 20 leadership (facilitator) workshops in 21 years (through 2007)

· 403 facilitators trained

· Averaging 28 workshop sites/year through 2007

· Averaging 37 workshop groups/year through 2007

· 14,724 educators and facilitators trained through 2007

· Best year was 1992, with 1,093 trained.

· Average size workshop group is 19

"Hike Through the Guide" Q's and A's

2005-03-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

1. Q. Who holds the copyright for this book?
A. American Forest Foundation

2. Q. Where would you find the essay "Teaching Controversial Issues?"
A. Appendix 3, page 378

3. Q. What is the first "Energy" activity listed in the book?
A. "Renewable or Not?"

4. Q. Define "samara."
A. Page 374

5. Q. What is the e-mail address for PLT
A. information@plt.org

6. Q. Where will you find a discussion of the mission of PLT
A. Page iv

7. Q. Where will you find a discussion of the teaching strategies used in the PLT Activity
Guide?
A. Page 377

8. Q. What skills do the activity "Loving it too Much" teach?
A. Comprehending, analyzing, representing, interlpreting, predicting (page 108)

9. Q. List the themes covered in the PLT Activity Guide.
A. Diversity, Interrelationships, Structure and Scale, Patterns of Change (page iii)

10. Q. What subjects does the activity "Every Tree for Itself" cover?
A. Science and math (page 83)

11. Q. What is the significance of an activity title being printed on orange background?
A. It is in the "Interrlationships" theme section (Page 63).

12. Q. Name one of the national ASSOCIATE sponsors of PLT
A. Page iii

13. Q. Where will you find information on building a weather station?
A. Appendix 7, page 380

14. Q. Name the first listed activity that teaches the topic "Careers."
A. 400-Acre Wood (page 388)

15. Q. The activity "Tree Cookies" is part of which theme?
A. Patterns of Change (page 394)

16. Q. Does the activity "Water Wondors" teach the skill of principle forming?

17. Q. What is the activity and page number of "Poet Tree"
A. Activity number 5, page 13 (page 402)

18. Q. What information is given in the "End Notes" of each activity?
A. Assessment Opportunity, Related Activities and References

Hike Through the Guide Items to Cover

2005-03-09T06:59:00.000-08:00

Take time to thoroughly cover the guide. Ensure that participants understand the mission, goals and teaching strategies that undergird PLT, and be sure they are familiar with the guide and know how to find information in it quickly.

Following is a list of items to cover. Those in bold will be asked on the "Hike Through the Guide" quiz, so make a special effort to cover them:

1. Point out the information on the inside of the front cover. Be sure to point out that The American Forest Foundation holds the copyright and the e-mail address for PLT.

2. Cover the themes used in the book on pages ii and iii. Illustrate that all activities in the same theme have the same background color, and each themes is separated by a divider of the same color as the background used throughout the theme. (Look at the edge of the book and you can see the edges of the different colored divider pages.)

3. Cover the introduction. Point out the Mission and goals (page iv and Methods (page vi).

4. (Skip "Activity Components" for now.) Cover "Storylines." Don't try to read all the storylines, just point out that each theme has a definition sentence just under it, then several storylines. Each storyline groups similar activities that address the statement of that storyline.

5. Page xii and xiii -- The national associate sponsors are listed on page xii. Page xiii lists the people involved in writing and testing this book (emphasize that "real" teachers and natural resource professionals -- not just academics -- are involved in constructing this material. That's why it is so realistic and teacher friendly.

6. Activity construction -- pick an activity you modeled during the workshop and point out the following components:
Title -- The title is "catchy" and is designed to pique the reader's interest
Overview -- The overview is a brief synopsis of the activity.
Background Information -- This is one thing that makes the activities "teacher friendly." Using just this information, busy teachers can conduct the activity. It saves time. Of course, some teachers might want to do additional research to prepare to present the activity.
Getting Ready -- Tells you exactly how to prepare to present the activity.
Doing the Activity -- Step-by-step instruction for conducting the activity. Point out that some activities have multiple parts and/or variations.
Enrichment -- An addition to the activity for more advanced students.
Sidebars -- All activities have sidebars that enable users to determine the following at a glance:
1. Grade Levels
2. Subjects
3. Concepts
4. Skills
5. Objectives
6. Materials Needed
7. Time considerations to prepare and present
(End Notes, sidebar on last page of each activity)
8. Assessment Opportunities
9. Related Activities
10. References

7. Glossary on page 371. Explain that each profession has its own "language" and jargon. The education profession does, and so do the biological sciences. If teachers come across an unfamiliar word, it is probably defined here.

8. Appendixes. Point out that Appendix 1 has teaching suggestions, including teaching strategies. Explain that we recognize teachers are experts in their field, and we would not dare try to tell them how to do their jobs, but this appendix gives some suggestions for teaching PLT ACTIVITIES. Just read over the titles of the other appendixes, but spend a bit of time on Appendix 7. It has suggestions for starting an environmental club and constructing an outdoor classroom -- even how to make your own weather station. Outdoor classrooms are becoming very popular, and they are great places to conduct PLT activities. PLT has a grant program called GreenWorks! Teachers might be able to get funds to construct an outdoor classroom. For more information, check the PLT website -- www.plt.org. Point out that environmental issues can be controversial, so this guide includes suggestions for teaching controversial issues (Appendix 3, page 378.)

9. Appendix 10 -- point out that this is a list of organizations glad to supply teachers with free or low-cost educational material. Don't be shy -- just ask!

10. Bibliography (page 388)

11. Topic Index (page 388) -- Explain that nearly every topic covered in today's classroom is listed here, along with PLT activities that teach that topic.

12. Subject Index (page 392) -- The subjects are listed across the top; the PLT activities are listed on the left. If a boy and girl icon is printed at the intersection of the two, that activity covers that subject.

13. Grade Index (page 395) -- same construction

14. Time Consideration Index (page 398) -- This is a combined time (left half) and site (right half) index. A teacher can determine the length of time necessary to conduct an activity, and if it is an indoor or outdoor (or both) activity. Construction is the same as those listed above.

15. Skills Index (page 401)

16. Alphabetical Index -- Point out that the activity number is given in blue to the left of the activity title, and the page number is given in b lack to the right.

17. This is not in the Activity Guide, but it is information teachers need, so cover it here: Project Learning Tree Activities are correlated to the State Curriculum Framework. The correlation document is available on the Mississippi PLT website -- www.mst.org.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI PLT

2004-09-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

WHAT IS PROJECT LEARNING TREE?

It is the world's premier Environmental Education program. It is sponsored, internationally, by the American Forest Foundation. Project Learning Tree is in all fifty states, Canada, Mexico and numerous other foreign countries. The heart of Project Learning Tree (PLT) is a 400 page activity guide for pre-K through 8th grade and a series of six "modules" for high school. This material is not sold or given away. Educators earn it by attending a six-hour workshop.

Mississippi PLT is correlated to the State Curriculum Framework. The correlation is posted on www.msplt.org.

WHO SPONSORS MISSISSIPPI PROJECT LEARNING TREE?

1.The Mississippi Forestry Commission (The state's official forestry agency)

2.The Mississippi Forestry Association (an association of forest industry, landowners and others interested in the practice of sound forestry)

3. The U.S. Forest Service National Forest in Mississippi (The federal agency responsible for managing the national forests in Mississippi)

CAN TEACHERS EARN CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS FOR ATTENDING A PLT WORKSHOP?

Yes. A PLT workshop carries 0.6 credits. MSPLT is a provider for Mississippi College. MC charges $10 to grant credits. When a workshop is conducted on college campus, that college usually also will grant credit.

WHAT DOES IT COST TO ATTEND A WORKSHOP?

The usual fee is $15 per person. We often have sponsors and are able to present workshops free of charge.

WHAT DO I GET BY ATTENDING A WORKSHOP?

All attendees get the 400 page Pre-K-8th Grade Activity Guide. High School teachers also get three of the six high school modules. (Additional Modules are available for purchase at $3 each.) The Activity Guide contains 96 activities and the High School Modules each contain seven or eight activities. Each activity is written as a lesson plan. We give away nice door prizes, and have a "resource table" set up at the end of the workshop. It contains a selection of nice booklets, pamphlets, posters, and other "goodies" for educators to take and use in the classroom.

ISN'T A SIX-HOUR WORKSHOP LONG AND BORING?

Not a PLT workshop! It is active and fun. It's more of a party than a workshop -- but you learn and get a lot of neat FREE stuff! We even furnish refreshments for a morning break!

A Sample PLT Agenda:

8:00 A.M. - 8:30 A.M. -- Sign in, make name tags, etc.
8:30 A.M. - 9:00 A.M. -- Introductions, icebreaker
9:00 A.M. - 9:30 A.M. -- PLT Video
9:30 A.M. - 10:00 A.M. -- Facilitators lead participants in activity #1
10:00 A.M. - 10:30 A.M. -- Facilitators lead participants in activity #2
10:30 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. -- Facilitators lead participants in activity #3
11:00 A.M. - 11:45 A.M. -- Hike Through the Guide. Facilitators and participants together "explore" the guide. Facilitators explain PLT's mission, objectives and education philosophy and strategies, "take apart" an activity, and explain the use of the cross-reference indexes. Participants then earn "fabulous prizes" by demonstrating their skills in using the guide.
11:45 A.M. Noon -- Divide into teams, select activity and prepare to present
(A break is not listed, but we always work one in)
Noon - 12:30 P.M. -- Lunch
12:30 P.M - 1:00 P.M.-- Teams continue preparing activities
1:00 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.-- Participant teams present their activities
2:30 P.M. - 3:00 P.M. -- Admin time, resource sharing, "graduation"

HOW CAN I SCHEDULE A WORKSHOP FOR MY SCHOOL OR GROUP?

Call Harold Anderson at 601 613-5567 , send an e-mail to handerson212, or write MSPLT c/o Mississippi Forestry Comm., P.O. Drawer 429, Philadelphia, MS 39350

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR HOSTING A WORKSHOP?

At least 12 people registered, and a room large enough to arrange the chairs in a semi-circle and two library-type tables along one side, with access to the outdoors. We cannot have more than 30 people per room. We handle large groups by using one break-out room for each group of 30 people. We like to begin with an opening assembly, then proceed to break-out rooms, with two facilitators assigned to each room. If an assembly room is not available, we can begin in the break-out rooms.

DO YOU HAVE ANY WORKSHOPS ALREADY SCHEDULED THAT I CAN ATTEND?

Yes

See separate entry in this blog for an updated schedule of workshops

PLT is taught at each of the Mississippi Forestry Association's two one-week-long Teachers Conservation Workshops. The dates are: First week of June at Jones County Jr. College, Ellisville, and third week of June at Northeast Mississippi Community College, Booneville. Each of these workshops carry 4.0 CEU or 3 hours college credit (graduate or undergraduate level) the cost is only $50 for the entire week. Call Tom Monaghan at the Mississippi Forestry Association, 662-325-7687, for information or to register. Space is limited, and these workshops typically fill up early.