Non-formal Educator Workshops

This workshop is designed for non-formal educators in nature centers, parks, camps, as well as landowners offering outdoor education programs. Get great forestry field activity ideas for your site! In this eight hour workshop, participants gain hands-on experience with the LEAF K-12 field enhancements. Check our Calendar/Workshops for upcoming non-formal educator workshops. You can also reference our map of Field Experience Providers to find area LEAF educators and contact information.

Also discussed are the rationale for forestry education and current education principles. After the workshop, participants are encouraged to make connections between the nature centers/organizations they represent and local teachers who have participated in a LEAF workshop. Participants also become official LEAF field experience providers and are listed on this website.

The ultimate goals of this workshop are to:

provide non-formal educators with Wisconsin specific forestry field lessons
provide teachers who use LEAF classroom materials an outdoor facility where they can take students for LEAF-related field experiences.

LEAF Lessons Lead to Amazing Results

By Jenny Bushmaker
Outdoor/Environmental Education Program Coordinator
Camp Whitcomb/Mason
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee
www.campwhitcombmason.org

The addition of the LEAF materials into our program offerings at Camp Whitcomb Mason has truly enhanced the number of programs we can offer. We have added a more in-depth look at various subjects allowing us to provide a higher quality program. At camp we currently have 2 staff members who attended the LEAF non-formal training. We primarily work with students in grades 3-6 and found the LEAF materials help us provide an in-depth look at forestry in Wisconsin. At the LEAF non-formal workshop we received the conceptual guide to forestry education in Wisconsin, which helps the educators we work with validate the program both financially and educationally with their school boards and parents.

Through the use of the LEAF field enhancement materials we were able to develop a lumberjack theme day which was very popular with the local schools. We served 1084 students in the months of March and April through the lumberjack program using all LEAF lessons. Students are very interested in the hands-on activities we offer and enjoy the getting up close to the forest as we explore different aspects of it during that day. Students' day includes understanding why trees are important to us today as we explore various aspects of trees that can be used by humans including maple syrup. We also have the students measure and understand how many board feet are in a tree using the Woods Worth activity. Teachers appreciate this activity a lot because it includes math and hands-on activities of the environment, providing a very well rounded experience. The other activities we include are unlocking a forests past and we do a lot of Tree ID.

Based on our success with the LEAF materials at Camp Whitcomb Mason, we would highly recommend LEAF's non-formal educator workshop. The information and materials received for teaching about Wisconsin's forests are a great asset to any program. They can be incorporated into existing programs or used to develop new ones."