BRING ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TO YOUR
SCHOOL OR DISTRICT
Use nature to teach PreK-12 students about math, science, language arts, social studies, and more! Project Learning Tree's (PLT) experiential-based supplementary curriculum builds 21st century and STEM skills, fosters social and emotional learning, improves engagement, and introduces students to green career paths.
"School-wide implementation of PLT is the very best thing we've ever done. Test scores went up and continue to go up. Our PLT relationship carried over to the district level. It became a model for the rest of the district. PLT far surpassed my expectations."
— Kyle L., Former Elementary School Principal, New Hampshire
PROVIDING A LIFETIME OF LEARNING
FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS
145 MILLION
STUDENTS REACHED SINCE 1976
15,000+
EDUCATORS TRAINED IN 2023
600+
EDUCATOR WORKSHOPS IN 2023
STUDENTS AND TEACHERS BENEFIT FROM PLT
With Project Learning Tree, 9 in 10 educators say their students showed moderate to significant gains in knowledge about the environment. Nearly 8 in 10 educators say students showed moderate to significant gains in other academic subjects and reasoning skills.
Improved Learning Outcomes
Stanford University researchers analyzed multiple studies about environmental education and "found that students in schools with environmental education consistently outperform other schools on state standardized tests in math, reading, writing, and listening."
Build Essential STEM Skills
PLT's STEM skills focus on scientific concepts and build on them by including elements of leadership, inquiry, and problem-based learning methods. Students learn creatively, practicing 21st century skills like problem-solving, and skills related to human connection, community, and culture.
Improved Student Behavior
Nature has the power to not only inspire, but to calm people. Students flourish from nature-based learning: improved behavior (inside and outside the classroom), increased engagement, decreased anxiety, reduced stress, and reduced absenteeism.
Social & Emotional Learning
PLT's hands-on lessons foster collaboration through group work, and improve communication and creativity among students. Environmental education fosters a sense of civic responsibility and motivation, and a passion for learning.
Plug-and-Play Lessons
We know how much teachers have on their plates which is why we've made PLT activities easy for teachers to use nature as a way to enhance the lessons they already teach. Activities incorporate math, science, language arts, social studies, and even physical education and art. They're can be taught individually or as units of instruction.
Differentiated Instruction
PLT activities provide a range of opportunities for differentiating instruction, from cooperative learning to nonlinguistic representations. Plus, most activities can be leveled up or down depending on learners' needs.
HOW PROJECT LEARNING TREE WORKS
Educator Professional Development
Through PLT's engaging professional development events, your teachers will gain hands-on experience and leave with the tools, resources, and a supportive network they need to effectively lead nature-based activities with students. We'll connect you with your local PLT State Coordinator to schedule in-person, online, or hybrid training, based on your needs.
Supplemental Curriculum Resources
For schools and entire districts, we offer bulk pricing on printed curriculum guides and discounted pricing for digital resources. PLT offers a full suite of curated PreK-12 educational resources ranging from comprehensive activity guides (50+ activities) to digital units of instruction and educator guides to explore green careers with middle and high school students. Did you know? You can use federal funds like Title I & Title II to pay for PLT resources.
Supportive National & Local Network
PLT operates in all 50 states thanks to our incredible network of sponsoring organizations, like state forestry agencies, environmental education nonprofits, and more. Whether you're looking for speakers for career days or potential field trip locations, you can access the local and national PLT teams to help connect you with the right resources for your district.
LET'S GET IN TOUCH!
INTERESTED IN BRINGING PLT TO YOUR SCHOOL OR DISTRICT?
Fill out the form below and we'll reach out to you to learn more about your school or district's needs and connect you with your local PLT State Coordinator.
ACADEMIC STANDARDS ALIGNMENT
We've done the hard work of correlating PLT activities to national and state academic standards, like Common Core and NGSS, and early childhood and nonformal standards, like Head Start and Citizen Science, to name a few.
EASY LESSON PLANNING THAT FITS YOUR EXISTING CURRICULUM
Each activity highlights the subject areas, STEM skills, differentiated instruction, materials needed, and time considerations. PLT lessons are easy to integrate into your existing curriculum, with everything the teacher needs at their fingertips - learning objectives, background, prep requirements, instructions for leading the activity, academic standards, assessment, enrichment ideas, ways to take the activity outdoors, and even student pages. PLT's organized and easy to use At-a-Glance index allows teachers to quickly find activities by subject, grade level variation, setting, STEM skills, and differentiated instruction.
"The students love the activities. It helps make learning more engaging for students, and in turn, less stressful for me."
- Rachel H., Science Teacher, Virginia
"As a result of using PLT, my students definitely improved in their application of real-world math skills and their test scores in science went up significantly."
- Karen C., Science Teacher, Minnesota
"Not only are Project Learning Tree activities great for teaching science concepts, they are excellent tools to teach life skills."
- Joy C., ESL Teacher, Georgia
LOCAL PLT CONNECTIONS & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVENTS
Project Learning Tree can be found in just about every state! Our incredible network of State Coordinators works with educators, schools, districts, and other organizations across North America. Each PLT State Coordinator deeply understands your local environment, how PLT activities are correlated with your state's academic standards, has a network of PLT professional development facilitators you can connect with, and can help you bring environmental education to life in your school or district.
HOW TEACHERS & SCHOOLS USE PLT
"Don't worry about planning big, complex lessons. Just get outside and listen to your students' questions, pay attention to their observations, and feel free to point out those magical qualities of nature that YOU appreciate." Learn how Nancy brought nature into her P.E. class with PLT activities.
-Nancy Blake, Physical Education Teacher, Alaska
"Incorporating nature is not just for science. It can be connected to social studies, English language arts, math, and the arts." Learn how PLT sparked curiosity in one teacher's science class and environmental club. Read Betty Jo's story.
- Betty Jo Moore, 6th Grade Science Teacher, North Carolina
Over 100 schools and districts in Kentucky participated in the Kentucky Green Schools program, utilizing PLT's GreenSchools Investigations as the basis for this new program. Learn how students were empowered to make a difference.
About Project Learning Tree
Project Learning Tree provides a lifetime of learning advances environmental education, forest literacy, and career pathways using trees and forests as windows on the world.
We offer fun, hands-on interdisciplinary activities, suitable for all ages and settings, and high-quality professional development for educators.
PLT is an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.