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Educational value of School Forests

School Forests are used to:

    • Meet state education and national core standards
    • Integrate environmental education into the curriculum
    • Strengthen school and community relationships
    • Provide income
    • Connect teachers and students to place
    • Demonstrate sustainable natural resource management

Much research has been done to show the impacts that school forests and outdoor learning have on student achievement. The resources on the page below show support for the educational value of school forests, environmental education, and outdoor learning

School Forest Registration

Who is eligible to apply? Any city, village, town or public school district that has legal control of forested property. Learn more about the process for registering a property and to find materials needed to complete the registration process at the page below.

School Forest Handbook

The handbook is a resource to help turn the school forest into a vital outdoor classroom that supports diverse educational opportunities and the ability to sustainably manage the land. It will guide you through the key components of what it takes to build a school forest program. We hope this handbook will help you!

School Forest Foundation/Education Plans

School forests are incredible education resources. So often educators recognize the uniqueness of having a school forest but struggle to understand how to use it with students. Having a written education or foundational plan for your school forest is a crucial step in developing your forest program.

The resources linked on the page below will help you complete a needs assessment for your district, provide information about a planning workshop hosted by LEAF, provide the template to use for creating a foundation plan, and showcase examples of education plans completed by other school forests in WI.

School Forest Resources

Use the buttons below to navigate the rest of the school forest website to find relevant information and resources for your local school forest programs.

About Wisconsin’s School Forests

Learn more about the Wisconsin’s School Forest Program’s history, and explore the registered School Forests around Wisconsin.

Getting Started / Registration

Learn more about the educational value that the School Forest Program offers, who is eligible to apply, and the registration process.

Developing Your School Forest Program

Developing your School Forest Program can be challenging. LEAF’s School Forest Program provides several tools to get you started.

Sustaining Your School Forest

LEAF provides several tools and resources you may find helpful as you think about programming to offer at your school forest.