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Urban Forests: A Supplement to Florida's Project Learning Tree1
Bebette de Vera, Martha C. Monroe, and Jennifer A. Seitz2Full text of this document is available at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FR/FR16400.pdf
"Urban Forests: A Supplement to Florida's Project Learning Tree" is a companion document for teachers who have the PreK-8 Project Learning Tree Activity Guide. This supplement helps youth see their community's urban forests as significant, valuable, and worth sustaining. It is based on three themes: urban forest ecology, benefits of an urban forest, and strategies for improving urban forest health.
As one of the fastest growing states in the nation, Florida's forests and forest ecosystems are impacted as the human population grows. However, strategically maintained urban forests can mitigate some of the negative effects of urban development by moderating the climate, protecting water quality, and improving air quality, for example. Although forestry education materials are abundant, there are few that focus on the urban forest. This supplement complements a very popular and successful forest education program, Project Learning Tree (PLT) in the state of Florida.
The development of this supplement began with a review of urban forest materials and identification of existing activities that met urban forest goals and learning objectives. Where gaps were evident, extensions of PLT activities were developed, as well as new activities in the PLT activity format. All of the new lessons incorporate Florida's Sunshine State Standards and most promote science-based investigations on school grounds. A committee of natural resource professionals and educators reviewed this document for factual and educational accuracy.
This 79-page document provides educators with background information and identifies 26 PLT activities that already work well in urban areas; 19 PLT activities that can be adapted with suggestions to be more applicable to an urban space; 6 urban forest extensions to existing PLT activities; and 6 new urban forest activities.
Footnotes
1. This document is CIR 1457, one of a series of the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published: October 2006. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. Bebette de Vera, Graduate Student; Martha C. Monroe, Associate Professor; and Jennifer A. Seitz, Project Learning Tree State Coordinator; School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611-0410.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.