Texas Project Learning Tree

What an energizing time at the Texas Children in Nature Summit in College Station. It is always inspiring to connect with so many passionate environmental educators who are working every day to help children build meaningful connections with the natural world.

Jaden Kelly shared a great session featuring hands-on Project Learning Tree activities, and Ted Stevens offered a session on Green Jobs and our growing ForestryWorks career education program. It was wonderful to see so much interest in bringing forestry and outdoor learning into classrooms and communities across Texas.

Grateful for this network and the shared commitment to helping the next generation thrive outdoors. 🌳

What a wonderful way to celebrate Texas Arbor Day! We partnered with the SFA James I. Perkins College of Education and SFA Gardens this week to train pre-service teachers in PLT. These future educators welcomed students from surrounding schools for one of the longest running environmental education field trip events in East Texas called Wild About Science.

It was inspiring to watch these pre-service teachers step into leadership roles, guide hands on activities, and grow more confident in teaching outdoors. Experiences like this help build the skills they will carry into their own classrooms, where they will use environmental education to connect students with the natural world and forestry in meaningful ways.

A huge thank you to Dr. Melissa Hulings at the SFA College of Education and Kay Jenkins at SFA Gardens for helping us prepare the next generation of teachers who will introduce thousands of students to the forests, wildlife, and natural resources that make our state special.

🌳 Project Learning Tree Workshop at Sam Houston State University! 🌳

Today, Texas Project Learning Tree and the Texas A&M Forest Service teamed up to host a PLT Workshop for pre-service teachers at The College of Education at Sam Houston State University, training over 100 future educators to confidently integrate environmental education into their classrooms.

By helping these students connect core subjects to the natural world, we’re building their confidence to teach outdoors and inspiring the next generation to care for our forests, wildlife, and natural resources.

A huge thank-you to SHSU’s College of Education and all who participated in this powerful day of hands-on learning and collaboration! 🌲🍎

Big thanks to the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center for hosting us yesterday! 🌳 In partnership with Texas A&M Forest Service and Texas Children in Nature, we trained Student Conservation Association interns in Project Learning Tree.

These awesome young leaders are now ready to take PLT activities into communities all across the Houston area, helping kids and families connect with the outdoors in fun and meaningful ways. We cannot wait to see the ripple effect of their work.

🌳 Help support forestry education in Texas! 🌳

We’re gathering unique and exciting items for the PLT Silent Auction, plus bottles for our popular Liquor and Wine Pull. If you’d like to contribute, please consider donating a bottle of liquor ($50+) or wine ($25+).

Donations are requested by October 17th so we can prepare for the event. Your support helps fund curriculum, teacher workshops, and youth programs across Texas. Together, we can make this year’s auction a success!

📩 Contact: [email protected] | 936-632-8733

Smokey Bear Poster Contest - Texas A&M Forest Service The annual Texas Smokey Bear Poster Contest began in 2023 to celebrate Smokey’s 80th birthday. Each year, the winners are featured in a calendar. We hope to continue the contest for years to come. Entries are now being accepted for the 2025 poster contest! Entry postmark deadline is Aug. 30, 2025....

We recently launched an online forestry education course in collaboration with Sustainable Forestry Initiative—Forest Literacy: Understanding the Values of Trees, Forests and Sustainability. The course is designed to provide access to forest and natural resource conceptions to all formal and informal educators, academic administrators, natural resource personnel and other who engage in public outreach about forests across the U.S. and Canada.

Topics covered include the ecological and societal roles of forests; forest ecosystem functions and indicators of forest health; forests’ roles in human well-being, biodiversity and climate resilience; deforestation, urbanization, pollution and environmental impacts on forest ecosystems; forest health management; and personal forest stewardship encouragement.

The course is self-paced and can be completed in two hours. Texas Teachers seeking CPE credits may request their TEA certificate after completing the course.

🌳 Learn more: https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/new-educational-course-encourages-forest-literacy-for-students-in-us-and-canada/

Join Texas A&M Forest Service and the Texas Forestry Association for a 3-hour virtual elementary educator training for Texas Arbor Day on August 4 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Texas Arbor Day, celebrated on the first Friday of each November, is a holiday dedicated to planting trees. It’s also a time to celebrate the important role trees play in our environment and communities and to inspire the next generation with a passion for forests through fun and educational activities.

The training includes a brief history of Texas Arbor Day, a PowerPoint with a lesson plan and sample dialogue, and a TEKS-aligned Project Learning Tree activity with a guided run-through.
Attendees will also receive a certificate for 3 hours of TEEAC-approved Continuing Professional Education credits.

Register today: https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/dirc-ev-011

🌲🌟 59 Future Natural Resource Professionals Trained! 🌟🌲

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture had 59 students recently complete training in Project Learning Tree’s Explore Your Environment K-8 guide at their field station at Camp Robinwood in Willis, Texas. 🌿📚

This hands-on experience prepares these future foresters and conservation leaders to use PLT as their go-to resource for outreach and educational events as they launch their careers. With a strong foundation in environmental education, they’re ready to inspire the next generation through engaging, outdoor-based learning. 👩‍🏫🌎🌳

A huge thank you to Jaden Kelly with Texas A&M Forest Service at WG Jones State Forest and Laura Stevens, Wildland Urban Interface Coordinator with TAMFS, for their support in helping TFA Education Director Ted Stevens lead this impactful training. Your dedication is helping shape the future of forestry and education in Texas! 🌱💚

Texas A&M Forest Service SFA Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture