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LEAF Professional Development

Forestry Education Professional Development Options​

Classroom-based or field-based teacher in-service including background information on forests in Wisconsin and some model teaching of LEAF lessons. Content can be customized to fit the needs and experience level of your staff, and could include support for teaching in the School Forest or even on the School Grounds. Participants may choose to receive a copy of a LEAF Lesson Guide. A LEAF in-service can also be combined with Project Learning Tree training, if desired.

Want to provide a professional development opportunity related to Wisconsin’s forests, outdoor environmental education, and/or school forests that isn’t listed below? Contact us and we’ll discuss the options. We’ve provided professional development in Winter Ecology, Team Building, Outdoor Education Methods, literacy, and a variety of other topics using Wisconsin’s forests as the focus.

What We Offer

LEAF staff can help you set up a workshop or in-service for your school or district. If you would like to arrange a professional development opportunity for your staff, please contact us at leaf@uwsp.edu or 715-346-4956.

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Scheduled By Request
​LEAF Curriculum Workshop or In-Service

LEAF staff can help you set up a training or in-service for your school or district. Classroom-based or field-based professional development is customized to fit the needs and experience level of your staff, and may include background information on forests in Wisconsin, model teaching of LEAF lessons, and support for educational use of school grounds or school forests. LEAF training can also be combined with Project Learning Tree training if desired.

Scheduled By Request
​School Forest In-Service

School forest in-services can be customized to fit the needs of your school or district. Take advantage of this professional development opportunity for your staff whether you have a new school forest and want to introduce educators to your newly registered property, or to provide in-depth resources for teachers in a “veteran” school forest program.

On-Demand Online Course
Step Outside Into Learning

Curious about teaching outdoors, but unsure what you need for success with learning outside the four walls of a classroom? LEAF’s Step Outside Into Learning course will provide you with lesson ideas, classroom management strategies, and development of an implementation plan to provide you with confidence facilitating outdoor instruction. Participants will learn how to conduct class outside on any type of school grounds (from urban concrete to rural forests) in order to engage and inspire students in learning. In this updated version of our popular course, participants will receive instruction and e-book access to Project Learning Tree’s new Explore Your Environment guide, as well as an introduction to LEAF’s revised Forestry Education Lesson Guides. (Meets EE Stipulation)

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On-Demand Online Course
Teaching About Careers In the Forest​

This self-paced online course is designed for middle and high school teachers and support staff who want resources and activities to help introduce their students to the wide range of careers related to forests. Participants will receive an e-book copy of Project Learning Tree’s Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers curriculum, as well as specific training in how to effectively use these hands-on activities to help youth research different forest sector careers and learn what it takes to perform these jobs. 

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On-Demand Online Course
Teaching About Climate Change: Online Resources for Middle and High School Educators

Participants in this online, asynchronous course will learn about the reasons for teaching about climate change, explore the arguments and controversies involved in the topic, and delve into strategies and curriculum materials designed to help cut through the noise and bring students to a deeper understanding of the topic. This course is designed for middle and high school life science, agriculture, and environmental science teachers with beginning to intermediate knowledge of climate change. Participants will receive Project Learning Tree’s Carbon & Climate and Southeastern Forests and Climate Change curriculum materials.

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On-Demand Online Course
​Using the WI Community Tree Map as an Educational Tool: Tree Inventories and School Site Assessment

This self-paced online module teaches you how to use the Wisconsin Community Tree Map, a compilation of city and township tree inventories from around the state, with your students! With the pursuit of a tree inventory, students can learn more about the trees and forest ecosystems around them, becoming more intimately familiar with the places and spaces in which they live. Using a smart phone or other device, students learn technical skills using equipment and observation, real-world critical literacy, outside field collection, data analysis and interpretation, systems thinking processes, and civic science practices. (Meets EE Stipulation)

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