Decisions about community land use are complex and often involve many people in many ways. In this activity, students use trees as a backdrop to develop a land-use plan.
To get this activity, purchase it from Shop.PLT.org as part of the Discover Your Urban Forest activity collection and/or find out about professional development opportunities in your state.
Below are some supporting resources for this activity.
Download the copyright-free student pages that are included with this activity:
Viewpoints on the Line (PDF)
The Heritage Oak (PDF)
The Forest of Morris Woods (PDF)
Stakeholder Solutions (PDF)
Spanish Student Page(s):
Puntos de vista en la línea (PDF)
El Roble Heritage (PDF)
El bosque de Morris (PDF)
The following tools and resources may be used to enhance the activity.
Download “Decisions, Decisions” NGSS Correlations which includes a guiding question, science connections found in the activity, and explicit NGSS correlations. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) define what students should know or be able to do at the end of instruction. This activity provides students opportunities to explore the three dimensions of science to build knowledge and understanding. In addition, activities offer phenomenon-based learning, which involves exploring the real world through learner-centered, multidisciplinary investigations that promote inquiry and problem solving. It is a useful resource even if your state has not adopted NGSS.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has monitored the world’s forests at 5 to 10-year intervals since 1946. The State of the World’s Forests 2020–Forests, Biodiversity and People, examines the contributions of forests, and of the people who use and manage them, to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. For the first time, this edition is a joint effort between two United Nations entities: FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
In addition, this interactive report contains the main findings of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 (FRA 2020). FRA 2020 examines the status of, and trends in, more than 60 forest-related variables in 236 countries and territories in the period 1990–2020. The information provided by FRA presents a comprehensive view of the world’s forests and the ways in which the resource is changing.
Explore jobs in the environment, natural resource, outdoor recreation, and renewable energy sectors with these Career Profile Cards, developed by the Pacific Education Institute. The cards highlight voices of individuals in those careers. Learn about the day-to-day, career pathway, and tips and tools of the trade from an Assistant Forester, Salmon Habitat Restoration Manager, Water Quality Biologist, and even the owner and founder of a Kayak company.
Project Learning Tree has launched an interactive quiz that allows youth to answer a few simple questions online and receive recommendations for a rewarding green career path that suits their personality. It’s fast, easy, and fun to do! — perfect for youth ages 12-25 looking to learn about what it takes to perform jobs in sustainability, forestry, and conservation. Try the quiz yourself at www.plt.org/greenjobsquiz.
Learn more about the wide array of jobs related to forests with PLT’s 12 Green Jobs Fact Sheets, which highlights the following green jobs: Forester, Environmental Educator, GIS Specialist, Indigenous Relations Specialist, Forestry Technician, Park Ranger, Hydrologist, Silviculture Technician, Urban Forester, Machine Operator, Wildlife Biologist, and Sustainability Manager. Green jobs offer opportunities for people with diverse backgrounds, skills, interest areas, and personal qualities. Youth and adults alike might be surprised at the range of green career opportunities. These jobs help sustain forest ecosystems and ensure that forest products are produced in the most sustainable way possible also ensure that wildlife habitat is conserved, trees are replanted, and workers are treated fairly.
Learn what makes a city park great, such as local wildlife, spaces for public enjoyment, and community activities, with this Detroit Parks Coloring Book. Use these coloring pages (available for download, print, and color) for students to explore the parks around the city of Detroit, Michigan. Then, discuss with students ways your community might conserve and enhance its public spaces with the help of PLT activities and have them investigate organizations, like the non-profit Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, that work to support community public spaces.
Curated and designed by an Indigenous-led team, Native Land Digital is a tool that maps Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages. Download The Land You Live On Education Guide for some exercises to increase students’ awareness of the history of the land around them, and for help with discussions about Indigenous history, geography, and the rich and diverse cultures that have evolved from the land. Learn how to connect with local Indigenous organizations and communities to engage in cross-cultural exchanges about the land we live on and the importance of Indigenous land acknowledgment. Please note, while it provides a general sense of an area, the map does not represent or intend to represent official or legal boundaries of any Indigenous nations. Use it to spur discussion on the topic and as a first step to pursue more research.
Explore more than 250 different Forest Service scientist and engineer career opportunities with the Natural Inquirer’s downloadable career cards, made in partnership with Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association (CFAIA) and the US Forest Service. Available in both English and Spanish, career cards are available direct for download and will help youth explore the important characteristics of a scientist, with examples of research questions pursued by each profession, the common technology and equipment used in their research, and more!
Learn more about the life of a field forester and more in this booklet Find Your Path from the Oregon Forest Resources Institute. Joe Newton, once a professional football player for the Seattle Seahawks, now works for Lone Rock Timber in Roseburg, Oregon as a Field Forester. He collaborates with tree-planters, helicopter pilots, and other company staff to maintain the health and improvement of tree plantations. This booklet provides other forest-sector employee profiles – forest manager, natural resource ecologist, research economist, logging crew, millwright – offering advice, short job-descriptions, and the various curves they took on their career path.
Learn more about the work of a tree conservation ecologist in this episode from the podcast series Planted: Finding your roots in STEM Careers. Dr. Silvia Alvarez-Clare works at The Morton Arboretum, located 25 miles west of Chicago. She collaborates with individuals and institutions all over the world to save the brandegee oak (Quercus brandegeei) from extinction. Dr. Alvarez-Clare talks about her career path and discovering her passion in tree conservation and shares how climate change is impacting tree life cycles
The science of tree rings is called dendrochronology. Tree rings help scientists learn about past climates by decoding tree ring patterns. Climate scientists use clues from ice cores, layered sediment deposits in lakes and seas, the structure of coral reefs, as well as tree ring sequences to learn about paleoclimates. The use of tree ring records to decode Earth’s climate history is called dendroclimatology. Use this interactive Tree Rings Simulation by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Center for Science Education to learn what tree ring patterns can tell us about climate conditions in the past.
Discover ways to help make our outdoor spaces, state and national parks more inclusive with these five ideas and action steps from outdoors experts and activists. According to the most recent National Parks Service survey, about more than 70 percent of those who visit or work in federal parks are white. Moreover, the outdoors industry workforce lacks representation from African Americans, the Latinx community, women, and members of the LGBTQ community, lending to low perceptions and limited access to the outdoors for minority populations. Consider discussing diversity in the outdoors with your middle and high school students and ways to make changes using these five ideas.
For a variation on PLT’s popular activity “Forest Consequences,” have your students engage in a mock debate using this role-playing activity Abandoned Mine Drainage in Pennsylvania from the Lehigh Environmental Initiative at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Students investigate drainage issues from abandoned mines from differing perspectives, identify problems, search for a solution, evaluate options, and decide on a course of action to treat and clean up contaminated streams and rivers across Pennsylvania.
A STEM education simulation game from the California Academy of Sciences called Cornucopia is a free online resource. The game teaches students in grades 5-12 about natural resource use and management, the effect of climate conditions on water availability and food production, and the way agricultural technology impacts water use.
Developed over three years by experts in climate-change science and public health The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment examines how climate change is a significant threat to our health.
The NOAA Planet Stewards Education Project (PSEP) provides formal and informal educators working with elementary through university age students with sustained professional development, collaborative tools, and support to build a climate-literate public actively engaged in climate stewardship. PSEP also provides support for educators to develop and execute climate stewardship projects with students to increase understanding of climate science and take practical actions to reduce the impacts of climate change.
EJ SCREEN is an environmental justice mapping and screening tool that combines environmental and demographic indicators to provide interesting and important regional data related to public health and environmental quality. By clicking anywhere on the map, users can view an area’s ozone levels, traffic concentrations, lead paint indicators, and more. EJSCREEN can assist in the identification of rural, urban, and suburban areas that are the most at-risk and it allows users to find correlations between the socioeconomic background of the region and the prevalence of environmental hazards.
Help learners understand why it is sometimes necessary to cut trees in order to get wood, protect other trees, or reduce tree hazards. The book Why Would Anyone Cut a Tree Down? is geared for students in grades 1–3 and also provides tips for planting a new tree.
Help your students understand the delicate balance between human activity, climate change, and forest animals. This Minnesota Star Tribune article discusses the decline of the moose population. It includes a simple activity for students to explore the complex relationship between different animals and their forest ecosystems. Can you manage the forest for the benefit of one species? Get your students to answer this question for themselves as they learn how animals are connected to each other and the place they live.
More Than Just Parks have released their eighth national parks short film—Grand Teton. Explore Jackson Hole Valley and the foothills of the Teton Mountain Range, a land dominated by towering peaks, apex predators, and majestic beauty. To see more National Park films, visit More Than Just Parks.
Learn about wilderness history, the values and benefits of wilderness, and threats to wilderness at this website. This interagency repository of information about the more than 750 Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Park Service wilderness areas contains K-12 classroom resources. At the website, you will find webquests, quizzes, and links to wilderness programs, along with blogs, legislation, agency policies, scientific literature, and research.
Invite another class to act as the Morrisville Town Council and give them this ballot to vote for the proposal they like best.
Use this rubric to review expectations for your students’ teamwork, proposal, and presentation.
This Smithsonian Institution website provides students (and teachers!) access to views of conditions and events on earth that are nearly impossible to document from the Earth’s surface. The site proves interactive; explaining how satellite imagery is gathered and used to better understand the world around us.
New NPS Podcasts show students what park scientists do and provide an inside look at some of the issues facing our national parks. Most appropriate for middle and high school students, teachers can use the clips to generate discussion about real-world problems in nature and how scientists and others work to solve them.
If students are considering a career in the forestry profession, they may envision spending a workday in blue jeans and hiking boots, managing wild lands and protecting nature for future generations. The reality of forestry careers, however, is somewhat different. Forestry Careers & Degrees: A Guide for Students offers a wealth of information about forestry careers, including facts and data on employment prospects, educational requirements and options, and more.
The Agents of Discovery Mobile Game is a place-based, environmental education game for iOS and Android devices that blends best practices in gaming industry technology with experiential outdoor education. It is designed to connect youth with nature, educate them about local ecosystems, and promote physical activity using readily accessible technologies. After downloading the free app, students head out to participating sites in their community and search for hidden QR codes which unlock challenges based on the mysteries of nature. Possible locations include Mount St. Helens, Los Angeles, Houston, and more. Try it today!
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has monitored the world’s forests at 5 to 10 year intervals since 1946. The State of the World’s Forests 2020–Forests, Biodiversity and People, examines the contributions of forests, and of the people who use and manage them, to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. For the first time, this edition is a joint effort between two United Nations entities: FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
In addition, this interactive report contains the main findings of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 (FRA 2020). FRA 2020 examines the status of, and trends in, more than 60 forest-related variables in 236 countries and territories in the period 1990–2020. The information provided by FRA presents a comprehensive view of the world’s forests and the ways in which the resource is changing. Such a clear global picture supports the development of sound policies, practices and investments affecting forests and forestry.
The 2015 FRA examined the status and trends at the time for more than 90 variables and all types of forests in 233 countries and areas.
EPA’s new EnviroAtlas tool is designed to help communities and researchers make informed planning and policy decisions related to the environment and ecosystems. EnviroAtlas provides datasets and interactive tools to allow users to explore the many benefits people receive from nature, often referred to as ecosystem services. EnviroAtlas includes over 300 data layers, letting users analyze how decisions affect ecosystems and their ability to provide goods and services. Key components include:
Global Forest Watch (GFW) is an interactive online forest monitoring and alert system designed to better visualize forest change across the globe. Developed by the World Resources Institute and partners, Global Forest Watch monitors forests across the world in near real time to show where trees are growing and disappearing. The system provides contextual data that fleshes out complex issues surrounding deforestation. It can be utilized by teachers for classroom demonstrations and activities, and by students for research.
Think virtual field trip! Brothers Will and Jim Pattiz are media professionals who have a passion for our national parks. Over the past year, they put their passion to work by producing short films for several of the parks. Their long-range plan is to create a short film for each of the 59 U.S. National Parks to help build a greater awareness of our national parks system, and encourage families to plan trips of their own. Check out their website at morethanjustparks.com and view this 5-minute video on Joshua Tree National Park to sample their work!
Check out the Oregon-based website LearnForests.org for a compilation of nearly 30 videos targeting Grades 4-12 about careers in the forest sector. In addition to valuable career insights, the videos contain various forest facts that are both interesting and informational. The first-person accounts of those who currently have forest careers provide an insightful resource for those considering a future in the field of forestry.
Creating more green spaces can not only add natural beauty to cities, but it can also improve the health and well-being of its residents. Get your students inspired to add green spaces to urban areas.
Introduce kids to urban birdwatching and help them enjoy their immediate environments! Check out how to get started with urban birdwatching at your school, daycare, summer camp, or home, along with bird-themed activities that you can adapt for your classroom.
As the days stay sunny for longer, summer can be the perfect time for kids and adults to relax under their favorite tree and catch up on their reading lists. Explore some of our favorite all-ages books about forests and trees to connect with the natural world!
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