July 30, 2020
Project Learning Tree is supporting a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) initiative to gather input via a survey that will inform a global assessment of forest-related education. The information gathered is intended to build the case for renewed investment in forest education globally.
Project Learning Tree is a leading partner for North American engagement around this survey. Our support of this initiative aligns with PLT’s goal to advance environmental literacy, stewardship, and career pathways using trees and forests as windows on the world. It also aligns with our commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 4, Quality Education.
About the Survey
The survey will take 15-30 minutes. It seeks input from individuals at all formal levels of education (from K-12 schools to colleges and universities) who are knowledgeable about or involved in education related to forests and trees, or who hire recent graduates from forest-related programs.
For example, if you teach at the elementary level, the survey will ask you, among other questions:
- to what extent are forest-related topics included in your curriculum?
- to what extent certain topics (such as plants and animals that live in or around forests) or skills (such as observing the environment) are included in your curriculum?
- are forests used as a teaching environment or classroom?
- what resources are available to you?
The FAO understands that the recent COVID-19 outbreak may be influencing your involvement in forest education and prefers that you respond to the survey questions based on your pre-COVID experience.
The survey is available at https://webropol.com/s/Forest-Education-Survey-1. Your responses will be invaluable in FAO’s efforts to chart a path forward for forest education and to shape a new international initiative to reinforce it. Responses to the survey will be treated anonymously.
About the Organizers
The survey is being undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) and funded by the Government of Germany. The North American (Canada and the U.S.) effort is being overseen by the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia in partnership with the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Technological University and Project Learning Tree (PLT)—an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).
Prize Drawing
If you wish to be entered into a lottery for a fully funded prize to participate in the International Conference on Forest Education to be held at FAO Headquarters in Rome (tentatively scheduled for November 2020), click here to participate in the lottery.
