New Hampshire Project Learning Tree Celebrates Its 25th
March 01, 2005
by Northern Woodlands
In October 2004, New Hampshire Project Learning Tree (NHPLT) celebrated its 25th anniversary. There are PLT programs at work training educators in every state in the union. So far, more than a quarter of a million educators have been trained, and those teachers have reached millions of young people. By all measures, it has been a highly effective tool for helping to connect young people to their local environment and teach them about sustainable uses of natural resources. The goal is to teach students how to think, rather than what to think, about environmental issues.
Esther Cowles, who has been the NHPLT executive director since 1996, spoke at the anniversary celebration about the challenges facing them. She said, “We are in the midst of perhaps the largest period of teacher retirement ever. Officials estimate that over 6,000 new teachers will enter our New Hampshire classrooms by 2006.”
And those teachers are facing their own challenges, Cowles said. The focus on standards-based curriculum and testing has intensified under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. State standards are being revised, and there are more rigorous expectations for professional development for teachers.
NHPLT is adapting to those changes to keep itself a strong and viable resource for teachers. They’ve expanded beyond their one-day workshops to include week-long summer institutes, and in a pilot program have developed a three-year partnership with Woodsville Elementary School to make environmental education a focus of their curriculum. In addition, NHPLT serves as a matchmaker between teachers and community members interested in helping use the forest as a classroom.
At its anniversary celebration, NHPLT paid special tribute to two people and two organizations for their staunch support of the program. Silver jubilee awards were presented to Haven Neal and B. Manning, and to the French Foundation and University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.
The national sponsor for PLT is the American Forest Foundation, which also sponsors the national Tree Farm program. Here’s how to get in touch with PLT coordinators across the region:
Connecticut:
Diane Joy
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
Phone: (203) 734-2513
Email:
Lori Paradis Brant
Connecticut Forest & Park Association
Phone: (860) 346-2372
Email:
Maine:
Pat Maloney
Maine Tree Foundation
Phone: (207) 626-7990
Email:
Massachusetts:
Kristin Karl-Carnahan
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management
Phone: (617) 626-1463 ext. 2
Email:
New Hampshire:
Beth Lesure
New Hampshire PLT
Phone: (603) 226-0160
Email:
New York:
John Graham
New York Department of Environmental Conservation
Phone: (607) 753-3095 ext. 221
Toll-free from within New York state: (800) 388-8244 ext. 221
Email:
Dick Rommel
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Phone: (845) 256-3078
Email:
Rhode Island:
Paul Dolan
Division of Forest Environment
Phone: (401) 647-3367
Email:
Vermont:
Ginger Anderson
Department of Forest, Parks & Recreation
Phone: (802) 241-3651
Email:
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© 2005 by the author; this article may not be copied or reproduced without the author's consent.
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