High-Quality Professional Development

PLT offers in-person and blended high-quality professional development (PD) events. PLT’s professional development is planned and conducted by locally trained facilitators and customized for specific grade levels, topics, outcomes, and teaching situations.

PLT understands that not all professional development programs adhere to the same high standards. We are focused on designing and delivering the highest quality professional learning experiences. PLT’s professional development offerings are grounded in 5+ guiding principles for teacher professional development, designed to meet outcomes and improve student achievement and appreciation of the natural environment.

Regardless of the format—in-person, online, or blended—PLT’s curriculum-based professional development will prepare you to more readily and skillfully use PLT materials and teach outdoors by focusing on advancing key content knowledge and by modeling active learning strategies.

Young girl points to the center of a tree cross section also known as a tree cookie

Find Your PLT State Coordinator

Connect with your local PLT program and join PLT’s network of educators who are passionate about using trees and forests to engage youth in learning and developing a new generation of environmental stewards.

Women sits in front of a laptop reviewing curriculum materials

Online Courses

PLT’s online courses are grounded in best practices for online adult learning and teacher professional development. They prepare formal and nonformal educators to integrate PLT instructional materials into their instruction with self-paced modules.

PLT’s Professional Development Model

PLT understands that not all professional development programs adhere to the same high standards. We design and deliver the highest-quality professional learning experiences, focused on outcomes and improving student achievement.

What We Offer

Our offerings vary by state and range from two-hour after-school events to two weeks of summer institutes. Contact your local PLT program to find or schedule a PD event near you.

  • In-person workshops, typically six hours
  • Include planning time to integrate PLT into your curriculum or program
  • Address state and national educational standards
  • Scheduled year around

  • In-person workshops, typically two-to-three hours
  • Can be single or multiple sessions, depending on content and materials
  • May include planning time to integrate PLT into your curriculum or program
  • Typically scheduled during the school year

  • In-person, intensive, professional development, typically one-to-two weeks
  • Explore local natural resources and a variety of locations to deepen content knowledge and introduce additional environmental education resources
  • Often thematic, focusing on specific topics or grade levels
  • Address state and national educational standards
  • May be residential or non-residential

  • High-quality professional development for K-12 teachers
  • Duration depends on school and teacher needs
  • Focused on school and teacher priorities
    Designed to meet specific outcomes
  • Address state and national educational standards
  • Can be held at school or offsite

  • Designed for students earning degrees in education
  • Integrate PLT materials into your syllabus through one-day training or throughout the semester
  • Can be delivered by PLT facilitators or trained college/university instructors/faculty

Why Attend a PLT Training?

Two educators look at a tree cross section cutting inside a classroom

Build New Teaching Skills

Enhance your teaching skills, deepen your content knowledge, and become comfortable teaching outdoors – in urban, suburban, and rural environments. Leave with an action plan on how to actively lead PLT activities with youth and incorporate environmental education into your program or classroom.

Forestry professionals participate in a PLT activity in a forest

Experience Activities From Students Perspectives

Receive PLT’s instructional materials and resources tailored to your state’s natural environment and standards. By participating in activities as a learner, gain insight into learning outcomes and ways to facilitate and adapt activities.

Earn CEU's & Make Local Connections

PLT's in-person and hybrid training are offered nationally and led by local instructors and educators. You'll receive tips about how to adapt materials to your settings and/or academic standards. By attending a training near you, you will grow your network of other passionate environmental education

Latest Resources

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter for free tools and resources, new lesson plans, professional development and grant opportunities, and tips from educators for teaching about the environment.

Resource
Extremely tall trees in a dense forest

Increasing Bird Habitat in Forests

SFI and American Bird Conservancy joined forces to create a free booklet—Bird Friendly Forests: Opportunities for Private Forest Landowners in the Southern United States—that showcases ways landowners can manage their forests for bird habitat.

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A Tool for Your Science Toolbox: Natural Inquirer

Natural Inquirer is a free science education journal written for middle through high school age students. Learn more about the variety of PLT resources that have been correlated to Natural Inquirer articles.

Educator Tips

8 Differentiated Instruction Techniques to Reach Diverse Learners

Project Learning Tree encourages teachers to provide students with multiple options for taking in information, processing ideas, and expressing what they have learned — both in the classroom and outdoors. We include suggestions for differentiated ins

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