Nonformal is Essential!

The term nonformal education refers to the wide array of educational activities that occur outside the school-based education system, including after-school programs and youth groups. Many PLT activities are designed to work with nonformal settings and audiences. Programs such as 4-H, Scouts, homeschool, museums, nature centers, and many more, offer nonformal education.

These types of programs can be more flexible than formal education programs—both in terms of organization and methods—and can often respond more easily to the needs of individuals and specific groups in the community. They help to create learning spaces outside classrooms where learners can flourish.

Nonformal educators are typically unbounded by a set curriculum, however, they often must develop programs that show alignment with academic standards. PLT activities provide adaptable one-time and short-term lessons, with academic standards alignment.

 

How PLT Can Help

Activities for Nonformal Settings

Many PLT activities are designed for nonformal audiences. They are adaptable to different settings: indoors or outdoors, rural, suburban, or urban, and often with minimal or no materials. PLT’s connections to academic standards support age-appropriate links with school-based learning.

Fun Comes First

Hands-on activities make learning accessible and engaging. Step-by-step instructions for prep, facilitation, and assessment, make activities easy for any nonformal educator to use. These activities incorporate a variety of environmental topics from forests, climate change, conservation, and more

Outdoor Education Made Easy

PLT supports nonformal educators with tips for managing behavior and leading outdoor activities. The environment isn’t just a topic area—all PLT activities offer a suggested outdoor component. Many PLT activities also purposely incorporate nature and the outdoors as part of learning objectives.

Activities Designed for Nonformal

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Connecting for Health and the Planet Cover

Connecting for Health and Planet

For educators of students in grades 3-5, Connecting for Health and Planet invites learners to investigate how being outside—and among trees, specifically—provides people with many different physical, emotional, social, and learning benefits.
Activity Guide
Decorative image with the K-8 Guide cover over a forested background.

Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide

Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide offers educators a wide variety of engaging, hands-on activities, organized into grade bands, K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 about trees and forests, wildlife, water, climate change, stewardship, and more.
Activity Guide
cover of PLT's Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers guide over a background of a work with a high visibility vest in the forest

Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers

Help youth discover careers in sustainable forestry and conservation. The Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers unit includes four hands-on, NGSS-aligned, instructional activities to help youth research forestry jobs.
Activity Guide
Trees and Me cover over a forest image

Trees & Me: Activities for Exploring Nature with Young Children

Trees & Me has hundreds of ideas for fun outdoor and indoor activities to connect children to nature, trees, and forests. Children explore nature through their senses, experience trees throughout all four seasons, and connect with their community.

Correlations to Nonformal Programs

Two young boys in scouts uniforms look at a map together in the forest.

Boy Scouts of America Correlations

PLT activities can help Scouts earn their merit badges. PLT works with Boy Scouts of America to provide scouting leaders with ideas and outdoor, hands–on activities to help support Cub Scouts adventures and Scouts BSA merit badges.

A young girl examines a herb garden with a magnifyer

4-H Correlations

The PLT and 4-H correlations are handy tools that 4-H Extension Educators and volunteers, as well as other youth development professionals, can use to identify PLT activities that can enhance your 4-H program.

young girl with binoculars

Girl Scouts Correlations

PLT’s correlations to Girl Scouts provide an easy reference to how PLT materials can help enhance the Girl Scout Program Portfolio. PLT activities allow a deeper exploration of the learning opportunities offered by Girl Scouts of the USA.

Build Skills in Teaching Outdoors

Enhance your teaching skills, deepen your content knowledge, and become comfortable teaching outdoors in any setting, with PLT’s hands-on professional development.

Connect with your state coordinator