New Hampshire Project Learning Tree Celebrates Its 25th

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.