New! Colorado PLT Schools and PLT Partners!

Colorado PLT awarded the first "Colorado PLT School" bench to Red Feathers Lakes Elementary School at a Back to School Night community meeting last night!  Principal Patrick Kind applied to become a PLT school last fall, after teacher and community members, including the neighboring Soaring Eagle Ecology Center, developed a plan to use their immediate mountain and forest environment for place-based lessons that would help make them unique among schools in the Poudre School district.  All the teachers, administrators, staff, and many of the community members requested and attended an 8 hour PLT professional development workshop at which they received award winning interdisciplinary activities, curriculum ideas, outdoor classroom suggestions, grants opportunities, support from forestry agencies and organizations, and other supplemental materials.   Teachers then included standards-aligned forest and other environmental activities throughout the year, and participated in community service projects in a neighboring forest.  After a year of effort, they were finally awarded their coveted PLT School Bench-and are the first school in Colorado to receive one! Because of the interest and support of the school and community, the Colorado State Forest Service’s Project Learning Tree program, sponsored by the American Forest Foundation, decided to develop a state "PLT Schools" and
 "PLT Partners"
 initiative that will recognize the efforts of other schools and organizations that use and promote PLT.   After meeting certain annual participation criteria, PLT Schools and Partners will receive a sturdy, engraved bench made from Colorado blue-stained pine wood, crafted in the iconic style made famous by Aldo Leopold, along with a copy of Leopold's classic book of essays about land ethics, A Sand County Almanac.  The award is given as a unique reminder of Project Learning Tree activities, lessons and methods, coupled with the inspiration to learn more about Leopold's conservation legacy, and an opportunity to learn about the Mountain Pine Beetle,- the cause of the blue stained pine wood-all crafted into a study, simple bench!  Congratulations, Red Feathers Lakes Elementary School!

The first Colorado Project Learning Tree Partners bench was awarded to the Cal-Wood Education Center two weeks ago, at the annual meeting of their trustees and board members.  Cal-Wood hosts several PLT workshops and meetings each year, and executive director Rafael Salgado is a member of the National PLT Operating and Education Committee.   One of the many unique PLT programs developed and presented once or twice each year is designed to teach educators how to “shelter” English for use their English Language Learner (ELL) students.  Created by PLT facilitators Rafael, a wildlife biologist and environmental educator from Mexico, and Nancy Commins, our internationally recognized expert in linguistic diversity and author,  this highly acclaimed professional development workshop fills up quickly!  
Because of this partnership, and long standing support of PLT at Cal-Wood and in Mexico,  we are delighted to present Cal-Wood and Rafael our first “Colorado PLT Partner” Bench.