Learners discover a range of forest-related careers that help to maintain forest ecosystems and ensure that forest products are sustainably produced. Review or download the activity below.
This family activity is adapted from Project Learning Tree’s Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers.
← Go back to the Learn About Forests Toolkit
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Key Concept: The forest sector generates diverse employment opportunities including foresters, natural resource managers, scientists, harvesting professionals, truckers, factory workers, engineers, architects, wildland firefighters, carbon modelers, and many more. [PLT’s Forest Literacy Framework, Concept 2.C.4]
Objectives: Provide opportunities and materials for learners to
Session Time: 50 minutes
Setting: Indoors or Outdoors
Our society depends on forests for timber and other forest products, as well as for wildlife, clean air, water, and recreation. People in the forestry field work to manage forests sustainably so that forests provide all the things we need and want from them while remaining vigorous and healthy.
Forestry is more than just planting trees, fighting forest fires, or harvesting logs, although managing those tasks may be part of a forester’s responsibilities. Forestry also includes professionals who specialize in individual parts of the forest, such as soils, water, or wildlife. Foresters also must have skills in the areas of soil science, hydrology, and wildlife management and can perform activities related to computer modeling, mapping, statistical and budget analysis, and education.
Materials:
Scissors and envelopes.
Get Ready:
Make copies of the career card worksheets, cut them apart to make sets, and put each set in an envelope to hand out to the learners. Invite one or more of your colleagues, ideally with different jobs, to talk with the group about their job, answering such questions as:
Introduce
Ask learners their ideas for what resources are provided by forests, such as:
Make the connection that forests can be managed by people to enhance each of these different resources. Challenge learners to identify jobs they can think of that are related to forestry.
Experience
Connect
Point out that many people who work in and for forests are motivated by a deep connection to nature. Invite learners to find something outdoors that they connect to, whether an object, feeling, or action. Encourage them to ask a question related to their observations and then consider what type of job or professional could help them find an answer.
Ask learners to think about what skills are necessary for the job that most interested them. Have them write down three skills they have that might make them well-suited for this job and three skills they might need to strengthen.
Challenge learners to create a new job or tool related to forests. Encourage them to think about a forest-related problem they would like to solve (such as litter or pollution) and then invent a job or tool to help solve it. For example, their job might involve a virtual reality teaching tool, a mobile app, or a new forest product.
Learners investigate the concept of forest sustainability by identifying connections between forests and the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals.
As the leader of the Green Team at my high school, I’m proud of the collaborative efforts of over 100 students, the principal, and volunteers.
Mother Nature is a great teacher and getting kids outside to learn and play is good for their brains and their bodies.
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