Science, Stories, and Solutions: Teaching Climate in Middle Grades

A WCEE/WAEE/DPI/GHS collaborative in-person training event

9 a.m. – 3 p.m. | Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Aldo Leopold Foundation | Baraboo, WI

Explore carbon cycling and climate science through forestry, energy, water, and wildlife topics and get ready-made solution-oriented lesson plans and tools to use on school grounds everywhere, even dense urban settings. Participants will also explore how earning recognition for their work through the Green and Healthy Schools badge program can help share their stories statewide. Register today to practice climate curriculum integration with free, easily accessible ready-to-use lessons and activities that are supported by a free kit lending library and connected to standards, including assessment strategies.

School Forest In-service

A LEAF Forestry Education free in-person training event

9 a.m. – Noon | Tuesday, August 11, 2026
River Falls School Forest | River Falls, WI, or

1 – 4 p.m. | Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Baldwin-Woodville School Forest | Baldwin, WI

Join us for a morning session at the River Falls School Forest or an afternoon session in the Giezendanner (Baldwin-Woodville) School Forest to discover ways to get students outside to learn at these sites or your local school forest.

The school forest is an incredible outdoor classroom that connects directly to what you teach. We will explore the forest, look at curriculum connections, and get to know LEAF resources—including tools, kits, lessons, and more—that support learning in the school forest.

KidWind Educator Workshop

A KEEP Energy Education in-person training event recommended for educators of grades 4-12

8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Wednesday, August 19, 2026
MSOE Stem Center | Milwaukee, WI

Learn how to explore the power of wind with your students! In this workshop you will review energy and electricity basics, design and test blades in a wind tunnel, explore related KEEP energy education resources, and preview ready-to-use renewable energy curriculum.

Participants also learn about the Wisconsin KidWind Challenge that takes place in spring each year and gain tips for coaching student teams through the process of designing and constructing small-scale turbines. Educators will leave with the resources and confidence to use renewable energy as a lens into hands-on science, technology, and engineering exploration in the classroom (and you’ll get some free gear, too)!

Renewable Energy: Power Up with Solar PV!

A KEEP Energy Education free in-person training event recommended for educators of grades 4-12

8:30 a.m. – Noon | Thursday, August 20, 2026
Amherst Middle School | Amherst, WI

Get your students excited about solar energy and the implications it has for our environment and economy while exploring potential careers in the energy industry.

This workshop provides hands-on activities that utilize the KEEP Solar Tilt and Solar Load kits and standards-aligned companion lessons. You will learn how solar panels work, use professional tools for siting solar PV installations, explore solar dashboard data, and use tools in the kits to discover how the angle of the sun impacts the electricity generated by a solar panel.

Introduction to Forestry Education for the K-12 Classroom Workshop

A LEAF Forestry Education in-person training event

Meets EE Stipulation

9 a.m. – 3 p.m. | Thursday, October 1, 2026
Merrimac Community School | Merrimac, WI

Teach students the importance of Wisconsin’s forests to our ecological, economic, and social well-being. This introductory workshop will present principles, activities and techniques to integrate hands-on forestry education into the K-12 science, social studies, agriculture, mathematics, ELA, and general elementary classroom.

The workshop will demonstrate alignment to standards, STEM connections, literacy, and a brief introduction to outdoor teaching will also be discussed. The workshop will include time to begin the process of infusing forestry activities into each teacher’s existing curriculum, and a variety of ready-to-use activities will be supplied so teachers can integrate relevant lessons right away.

KidWind Educator Workshop

A KEEP Energy Education in-person training event recommended for educators of grades 4-12

8 a.m. – 3 p.m. | Saturday, October 10, 2026
Midwest Renewable Energy Association | Custer, WI

Learn how to explore the power of wind with your students! In this workshop you will review energy and electricity basics, design and test blades in a wind tunnel, explore related KEEP energy education resources, and preview ready-to-use renewable energy curriculum.

Participants also learn about the Wisconsin KidWind Challenge that takes place in spring each year and gain tips for coaching student teams through the process of designing and constructing small-scale turbines. Educators will leave with the resources and confidence to use renewable energy as a lens into hands-on science, technology, and engineering exploration in the classroom (and you’ll get some free gear, too)!

Energy Education: Concepts and Practices – On-Demand

A KEEP self-paced online Energy Education course

Meets EE Stipulation

Participants will gain fundamental knowledge of energy while participating in this self-paced online training which addresses energy concepts relating to energy definitions, natural laws of energy, energy flows in living and non-living systems, and their relationships to understanding and evaluating environmental issues. Training activities include the exploration of energy readings and pertinent websites; and home activities such as reading utility bills, home energy audits, and calculating the wattages of various home appliances

Climate Education for Wisconsin – On-Demand

A Subject to Climate self-paced online Energy Education course

Meets EE Stipulation with pre-approval, contact Gina Smith at gsmith@uwsp.edu to learn more.

This self-paced, asynchronous 10-hour online course is designed to build educator confidence in teaching about climate change at their grade level and across their content area.

Educators will complete Subject to Climate’s Teaching about Climate Change online learning modules. Level 0 – Climate Change Explained introduces educators to the basics of climate science, history and solutions. Level 1 – Climate Change Teaching Tips has educators learn how to teach about climate change, integrate it into curriculum, and address misinformation.

Step Outside into Learning – On-Demand

A LEAF self-paced online Forestry Education course

Meets EE Stipulation

Are you a K-8 teacher curious about teaching outdoors, but you are unsure what it takes for successful learning outside of a classroom? This popular training provides teachers with lesson ideas and classroom management strategies for teaching outdoors. Participants will learn how to conduct class outside on any type of school grounds (from urban concrete to rural forests) to engage and inspire students in learning.

As part of this training, you will receive instruction and e-book access to Project Learning Tree’s Explore Your Environment guide or the Spanish language Explora tu Ambiente: Guía de Actividades K-8. You’ll also receive a Step Outside kit in the mail with hard copies of resources and supplies for project-based learning. You’ll get an introduction to LEAF’s revised Forestry Education Lesson Guides and develop an implementation plan to provide you confidence facilitating outdoor instruction.

Teaching About Careers in the Forest​ – On-Demand

A LEAF self-paced online Forestry Education course

This self-paced online training 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. 

Early Childhood Training – On-Demand

A Project Learning Tree self-paced online Forestry Education course

Training in Project Learning Tree’s Trees & Me: Activities for Exploring Nature with Young Children that can be completed whenever and wherever is convenient to you.

Energy in Ecosystems – On-Demand

A Project Learning Tree self-paced online Forestry Education course

Designed for students in grades 3-5, Energy in Ecosystems investigates the ways in which organisms depend on each other to survive and thrive. Students focus on forests (one of the largest and most complex types of ecosystems) and come to understand some of the interactions present in all ecosystems.

Treemendous Science! – On-Demand

A Project Learning Tree self-paced online Forestry Education course

Whether you regularly use the outdoors as a classroom or tend to hesitate every time you take your class outside, the unit is an invitation to increase the quantity and quality of your K-2 learners’ contact with nature and trees. Treemendous Science! gives K-2 students chances to explore, experience, observe, and collect tree data to develop understandings about how trees grow, the roles trees play in ecological systems, and the ways in which trees and humans interact.