August 23, 2024
Meet Tony Pascall, Oklahoma PLT State Coordinator
Have you ever met someone who just has that “It factor”? Someone with a magnetic personality, who’s warm, friendly, fun to be around, and draws in everyone around them.
If you haven’t noticed, the Project Learning Tree network sure has a lot of shining stars from educators inspiring learners through PLT activities to amazing facilitators leading PLT professional development events. But at the heart of our network are our PLT State Coordinators. These are the rockstar individuals leading PLT within their state, sharing their passion for nature-based education and introducing young people to the environment.
This month, we’re getting to know our Oklahoma PLT State Coordinator, Tony Pascall. Tony is the Education Coordinator for Oklahoma Forestry Services where he not only juggles multiple projects, but in his spare time he’s teaching himself how to actually juggle! “I’m up to 25ish catches in a row!”
Before becoming a PLT State Coordinator three years ago, Tony taught middle school math and STEM in Title 1 schools in Detroit and Dallas for several years. After graduating with a degree in Ecology from North Carolina State, he joined Teach for America with the intention of going back to become a plant biologist.
But instead, he caught a bug—the teaching bug—and fell in love with it. “The entire time I worked to incorporate my love of nature and the outdoors into my teaching. I brought my students outdoors for math labs, and even had an outdoor adventure club, where I brought some students hiking and camping! Most of my favorite moments in my formal teaching career come from this club, where I got to watch students fall in love with – and ultimately to learn to conserve – their environment.”
It’s all about the people
PLT isn’t just professional development and environmental education resources. It’s also a community of people passionate about educating the next generation and encouraging students to think broadly and dream big. “The environmental education community is very welcoming, and I love how much everyone reaches out to help one another. I’ve been able to work with several different organizations to put on shared educator workshops and student events, and every time I meet new people and learn something new.”
And the best place to meet these awesome people? A local PLT professional development event, that’s where! Tony’s favorite thing about these events is “Meeting cool educators! I love seeing what other folks are up to, how they already incorporate nature education into their teaching, and showing off PLT’s awesome standards-aligned activities. We always generate great ideas to adapt activities for different folks, and there is an awesome spirit of collaboration at PD events.”
Tony is all about creating a welcoming space for educators and students alike. And his local community recognizes his commitment and dedication for doing so. Earlier this summer, Tony was named as the 2024 Informal Science Teacher of the Year by the Oklahoma Science Teaching Association.
Give space for nature
We always like to ask our People of PLT what suggestions they have for educators on how to incorporate PLT into their lessons. Tony shared some great advice at a workshop earlier this year with a group of middle school teachers. He said, “‘You can’t teach awe and appreciation for nature, but you can give space for it.’ They put it on the back of their camp t-shirts this year! I think PLT can help teachers build in more time for understanding of the world around them in their classes. My advice is to slow down and let there be time to notice.”
Start with one activity
Back in Tony’s classroom days, he loved using the outdoors as a way to get students more interested in the material he was teaching. “When I taught 7th grade math, I used to say, “You can draw a graph about anything!” I chose to teach outdoors and about our environment because my students were usually more engaged and more curious when learning about the natural world.
If you’re able to take your students outdoors safely, start small and try one lesson outside. See how things go and as you become more comfortable, increase outdoor time to once a month or once a week. “I believe everyone deserves to understand and love their place. I think that once you get kids looking closely at what is right outside their door, they quickly get curious and start asking questions and making connections.”
Teach language arts? Try the “Poet-Tree” activity from the Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide and encourage your students to get creative while writing about nature. Teach math? Collect, analyze and graph bugs you collect in the schoolyard during the “Birds and Bugs” activity from the K-8 guide. Whatever subject you’re teaching, there is a PLT activity you can do that uses nature as a learning tool.
Tony’s favorite PLT activity is “If You Were the Boss” from Explore Your Environment and Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers. “I love that the kids can make choices, then see how what they decided effects things like wildlife, how many trees are cut down, and how much money they will need to spend. I like giving everyone a chance to revise their choices if they didn’t like the outcomes the first time through. I think it gives kids a cool sense of agency.”
Get connected
Want to get meet other educators using PLT in your state? Interested in learning more about becoming a PLT facilitator to lead professional development events? Visit plt.org/yourstate to get connected with your local PLT Coordinator.
