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Lessons For Forestry Professionals

This page contains lessons for foresters who are looking for activities to use with students in the classroom or school forest. These lessons are not intended for K-12 classroom teachers. For K-12 classroom lessons view LEAF’s Curriculum Guides.

The LEAF Forester Activity Guide includes activities related to five themes: What Does a Forester Do?, Caring for the Forest, Forest Products and Benefits, Tree Planting and Forest Health, and Fire. Each lesson includes templates for foresters to use to communicate with educators, tips for working with different grade levels of students, tips for working with students indoors or outdoors and in rural or urban settings, google slideshow presentations, and additional resources for educators use to further student learning.

Complete Forester Guide (2025 Revision)
Forester Guide Introduction
WI DNR Foresters Partner with LEAF Program to Update Forester Activity Guide (how-to article)
Tips for Using LEAF’s Forester Activity Guide (how-to article)

Lesson Resources:

  • Resources to support this Guide can be found in Google Drive.

What does a Forester do?

Students learn about the job of a forester

Primary Objectives
• Students will examine the job of a forester.
• Students will understand the skills needed to be a forester.
• Students will understand how to become a forester.
Open

Caring for the Forest

Students examine the need for sustainable forest management

Primary Objectives
• Students will examine the need for sustainable forest management and understand what we do/don’t do to the forest.
• Students will be able to explain why trees are cut down in forests.
Open

Forest Products and Benefits

Students investigate products that come from the forest

Primary Objectives
• Students will investigate the products that come from the forest.
• Students will explore the many uses of the forest.
Open

Tree Planting and Forest Health

Students explore what trees need to grow

Primary Objectives
• Students will explore WHAT trees need to grow.
• Students will learn WHERE trees should be planted.
• Students will learn HOW to care for planted trees
Open

Fire

Students examine the role of fire in forests

Primary Objectives
• Students will differentiate between “good” fire and “bad” fire.
• Students will understand how to prevent unplanned forest fires.
• Students will explore careers related to fire in the forests
Open