Project Learning Tree

💜50 Reasons to Love PLT – #2: With PLT's free student-led Green School Investigations middle and high school students go through activities focused on school’s waste and recycling systems, water and air quality, and energy use—then turn their findings into meaningful action. Along the way, they'll help lay the foundation for a Green Schools recognition.

“From the beginning, PLT’s GreenSchools program has helped our students grow in skills, leadership, and environmental awareness.”

-Enrichment Coordinator, Middle School, Connecticut

🌿 Ready to get started? Learn about PLT’s Green Schools Investigations and Day Foundation’s Tree Campus K-12 Certification: https://www.plt.org/news/become-an-arbor-day-foundation-tree-campus-this-year/

Know an educator that wants to improve their school and reduce utility costs? Send this post their way!

Back-to-school season is here! 🍎🌳

Whether you're planning your first week of school or looking for fresh ways to engage students all year long, the latest edition of The Branch, Project Learning Tree's e-newsletter, is full of ideas, resources, and inspiration to help you bring environmental education into your classroom.

Explore the Back-to-School edition and discover activities, teaching tips, and opportunities to connect students with the world around them.
Read it here and subscribe for future editions: https://www.plt.org/newsletter/

💜 50 Reasons to Love PLT – #1: Every PLT activity is aligned with academic learning standards, saving you time in finding resources to achieve your state’s science standard.

We’re so proud to celebrate 50 years of providing formal and informal educators with high-quality lessons that connect young people to the natural world.

🌿 Find the PLT activities that align with your state’s standards: https://www.plt.org/alignment-to-standards

Know an educator that can use another tool in their toolbox? Send this post their way!

Your next career opportunity starts here. 🌱

Whether you're exploring your first role or growing your career, having a mentor can make all the difference.

Apply to be a mentee for the SFI/PLT Canada Green Mentor program and learn from an experienced mentor who can help build your network, strengthen your skills, and navigate a green career.

Apply before the August 6 deadline: pltcanada.org/mentorship

If you’ve ever been to a state or national park, you’ve likely met some very special people…Park Rangers! Today we celebrate and honor the individuals who help protect, preserve, and defend our forests and open spaces. 🍃 🌳 ⛰️

The next time you’re at a park, take time to thank any rangers you meet. Better yet? Encourage the young people you’re with to conduct a mini-interview, asking questions about their career path, what they love most about what they do, and more. It’s a great way to inspire the next generation!

Check out PLT’s Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers and Black Faces in Green Spaces: The Journeys of Black Professionals in Green Careers for more inspiration and to learn about different careers, including Park Rangers!

https://www.plt.org/journeys

https://www.plt.org/educator-tips/green-jobs-careers-conservation/

🌱 What if one approach could help advance multiple district priorities at once?

Schools are constantly asked to do more with less. Join Project Learning Tree and the North American Association for Environmental Education - NAAEE Superintendents' Environmental Education Collaborative (SEEC) for a free webinar exploring how environmental education can serve as a unifying strategy to support your district's goals.

Hear from education leaders and practitioners who are using environmental education to:
🌿 Strengthen interdisciplinary learning across STEM, English language arts, social studies, and the arts.
🌿 Foster positive youth development through meaningful, hands-on learning.
🌿 Expand career exploration by connecting students with high-demand careers in natural resources, sustainability, and beyond.
🌿 Build partnerships with nonprofits, businesses, and community organizations that enrich student learning.

No district succeeds alone. Join a growing network of education leaders sharing practical strategies, innovative partnerships, and real-world examples to help prepare future-ready students.

🎥 Can't attend live? Register anyway, and we'll send you the recording! https://eepro.naaee.org/learning/growing-future-ready-students-how-environmental-education-advances-district-priorities

If you could wave a magic wand and grant one wish for your students this school year, what would it be?

🌳 More opportunities to learn outdoors where curiosity thrives?
🐝 A deeper connection with nature, more empathy, and teamwork?
🦋 Students who feel a sense of wonder every day?
🌱 More indoor hands-on experiences that inspire caring for the environment?
🌲 More time outside to support everyone's mental and physical well-being?
💚 Others?

Our wish? A school year filled with meaningful experiences in nature, teachers with the confidence and hands-on lessons they need to teach about the environment, and students who discover that they are part of—and can care for—the world around them. 💚

Now it's your turn: If you had a magic wand, what would you wish for your students, your classroom, or your school community this year? Share your wish in the comments! ✨👇

Forget New Year's resolutions—we all know teachers run on a different calendar. We get our fresh start when the school year begins. 🍎✏️

As you sharpen pencils, organize supplies, and wonder where summer went, tell us: What's your academic-year resolution?

Maybe it's:
🌳 Getting students outside more often
💚 Bringing more joy into your classroom
📚 Trying a new teaching strategy
☕ Actually taking your lunch break
🎉 Or simply making it through the year with your sense of humor intact

👇Drop your academic-year resolution in the comments! We'd love to cheer you on (and maybe borrow a few ideas).

This World Nature Conservation Day take some time to explore the wonders of our biodiverse planet. 🐝🐸🍃🐞🦜

For younger learners, check out PLT’s Biodiversity Blitz activity collection and for high schoolers, Exploring Environmental Issues: Biodiversity is a great guide to dive into how things like economics, politics, and culture impact biodiversity.

🌱 Visit shop.plt.org to access these resources.

🌻Don't let National Pollinator Week buzz by! There's still time to celebrate the tiny creatures with an outsized impact on our world. 🦋

Discover fun pollinator facts and try 6 simple activities to help protect the birds, bats, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that support healthy forests, gardens, and ecosystems:
https://www.plt.org/educator-tips/5-hands-on-ways-to-celebrate-national-pollinator-week/