Project Learning Tree CT Educator Workshops

Where we teach and learn together....naturally

Professional Development Workshops

CFPA offers hands-on, interdisciplinary professional development workshops for teachers and other educators on forests and related natural resources topics. We are proud to co-sponsor the nationally acclaimed Project Learning Tree (PLT) Program along with the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP). PLT improves student learning. The PLT curricula helps students learn how to think, not what to think, about the environment. This design also strengthens students' critical thinking, team building, and problem solving skills. This award-winning program works for teachers and other educators because PLT:

• Materials are aligned with state and national education standards (click to download) in science, social studies, language arts, math, and other subjects;
• Curriculum is broad-based: topics cover the total environment and are local, national, and global in scope;
• Provides the one great lesson a week you wish you had time to plan;
• Adapts to many contexts: classroom, playground, nature center, home. PLT can be easily adapted to various audiences: PreK-12 students, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, nature center and museum visitors, 4-H clubs, homeschoolers and other community groups.
• Cross-curricular: easy to infuse its environmental lessons into science, language arts, special education, and other classes; and
• Engages both the student and educator.

Enjoy a photographic journey of some workshops.  

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax hits theaters in March

Use these PLT activities to teach about sustainable forestry and help connect more students to the wonder of the woods.

Lynn Kochiss, a grade 3 teacher at Woodside Intermediate School in Cromwell and a 2010 Environmental Educator of the Year, recently connected literature, writing and the environment into her classroom.   In the classic children’s book, The Lorax, the Once-ler describes how his greedy actions destroyed a beautiful and thriving environment. Children enjoy the colorful characters and rhyming verse typical of Dr. Seuss stories. Ultimately The Lorax offers a message of hope and renewal, restoration and responsibility. Forests matter to everyone, and we must use and care for them responsibly and sustainably.

Ms. Kochiss used the story and activities from the Project Learning Tree package to engage her students in meeting curriculum requirements while examining the importance of conserving and sustainably managing natural resources. “Kids were totally immersed in the reading and reader response questions.  We did it as a read-aloud using a projector camera to put on the whiteboard.  Then, table teams answered each of the Variation #2 questions.  We had a great discussion about their responses and the text. In the afternoon, we wrote the sequels.  Some fun stories!”

CFPA thanks Ms. Kochiss and her students, Kensey, Rino, Sean, and Sophia for sharing their sequels.  We hope you enjoy their work as much as we do.

Workshop Schedule

Scroll through our Events Calendar for local listings and other CFPA events or
PLT Workshops & Events for both Connecticut and national listings.

Arrangements to hold a workshop during a school's professional development day are encouraged. Workshops can travel to your site and content is designed based on your group's needs.

CFPA  appreciates support received for Connecticut PLT through a grant awarded by the Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry, U.S. Forest Service.

What are educators saying about our PLT workshops?
"I don't have to re-invent the wheel!  You have thought of everything...," --nature center naturalist

"I enjoyed learning...quality environmental education," --elementary school teacher

"This can be done immediately in the classroom. Great job! I loved it!!!" --elementary school teacher

"The PreK-8 Activity Guide with storylines is going to be really helpful developing new classes...at the museum," --childrens' museum educator

"The workshop was great.  Lori is a great instructor. I thoroughly enjoyed my PLT experience," --farm educator

I'm "able to integrate different curriculum areas," --elementary school teacher

"I can't think of how to improve this (workshop)," --naturalist

"Ideas for programs are amazing," -- environmental educator

With this workshop, I "started thinking beyond the box to create meaningful lessons appropriate to my students and the standards," -- elementary school teacher

"Make it a two-day workshop," - middle school teacher

"The facilitator was so fantastic! The sessions both indoors & outdoors called to mind opportunities to sharpen our senses and to interact with others," --retired teacher   

Project Learning Tree CT is sponsored in Connecticut by
Connecticut Forest & Park Association and
the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.
PLT is the environmental education program of the
American Forest Foundation.