{"id":2485,"date":"2014-12-22T23:44:54","date_gmt":"2014-12-23T04:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodforforests.com\/?p=2485"},"modified":"2023-03-23T14:09:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:09:56","slug":"community-building-through-education-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forests.org\/fr\/community-building-through-education-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Building through Education: The Gift that Keeps on Giving"},"content":{"rendered":"

December is a great time of year. It has been cold for a few months now in the Northeast, yet the promise of time spent with family and restful holiday cheer serves as a warming reprieve for the soul. It\u2019s also a great time for reflection. When I look back on my life I consider myself blessed for so many reasons, not the least of which is growing up in a family that instilled a deep appreciation for forests. In my case it\u2019s an appreciation that has been bolstered by my education. Frankly, it\u2019s an aspect of my life I take for granted, and unfortunately it\u2019s a blessing that many people can\u2019t relate to. Many folks just don\u2019t have the same opportunities that I have had to enjoy forests.<\/p>\n

\"Community_Grant_Blog_Dec_2014_Img_1\"Since its inception, the SFI\u2019s Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program<\/a> has sought to close this gap by expanding educational opportunities that foster appreciation of forests. \u00a0In this last year alone we built several great partnerships that accomplished just that. For instance, we were proud to support The Greening of Detroit\u2019s<\/a> Citizen Forester Program, which trains volunteer foresters to assist in community tree planting efforts while learning about the importance of sustainable forest management.<\/p>\n

We also partnered with Tree Canada<\/a> to develop and distribute a pocket booklet titled, Canada\u2019s Arboreal Emblems: Official Trees and Their Wood<\/em>. This booklet complements Tree Canada\u2019s education and outreach efforts by describing Canada’s provincial trees, their specific identifying characteristics and the various uses of their wood.<\/p>\n

\"Community_Grant_Blog_Dec_2014_Img_2\"SFI\u2019s Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is also supporting the next generation of environmental educators. Take for instance our partnership with the Pacific Education Institute<\/a>, which recently conducted a sustainable forest management workshop for professors and educators who in turn, train other teachers how to incorporate management and forest ecology into core STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) curricula.<\/p>\n

Similarly, SFI supported the Northern California Society of American Foresters<\/a> in conducting several Forestry Institute for Teachers sessions. These intensive six-day, field based workshops provided the next generation of teachers with the training and tools they need to connect forest management to forest health back in their classrooms.<\/p>\n

\"Community_Grant_Blog_Dec_2014_Img_3\"We have also continued to partner with the American Forest Foundation (AFF)<\/a> through supporting their award winning environmental education program, Project Learning Tree (PLT)<\/a>. This year\u2019s grant program funded a Michigan Project Learning Tree <\/a>\u00a0coordinator and educator conference that provided professional development and training for teachers while serving as a model for other state PLT programs. During the conference local students were given the opportunity to share journals and artwork created as part of PLT programing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m proud to support SFI\u2019s grant program and count it as one of my blessings. Thanks to the work of SFI\u2019s grant partners, there are folks that will reflect back on the last year and count their new found appreciation of forests among their blessings. On top of that, it\u2019s more than just students, educators and communities that benefit from our collective efforts, forests do too. After all, you can\u2019t elevate the stewardship of future forests unless you appreciate their importance today. That\u2019s why I\u2019m going to end this with a request: make a new year\u2019s resolution to help someone reconnect with the forest in 2015.<\/p>\n

Happy Holidays!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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