TREES FOR TOMORROW

Natural Resources Careers Exploration Week

Wisconsin High School Students Hear From Experts About Rewarding Green Careers

Why this Project Matters

Many students love the idea of working in a rewarding green career, but they don’t know where to start. Youth in underserved communities face even greater barriers to launching a green career. A portion of this project’s sponsorship and grant funds will be targeted to help students from underserved communities such as Milwaukee, Detroit, and Indigenous communities. Students enrolled in a local Job Corps Program will also be encouraged to participate.

How This Project Will Influence Biodiversity Education and Conservation

Trees For Tomorrow will bring wood, paper, and forest management professionals together to support a workforce development program for high school students at an environmental education center. A six day course will introduce 30 high school students to forestry and natural resources careers. Students will participate in sessions about careers in wood procurement, wildlife biology, wildlife rehabilitation, soil science, geographic information systems (GIS), the paper industry, recreation management, environmental education, hydrology, fisheries, forest management, civil engineering, ecological restoration, forest fire control, and more. Materials from SFI’s educational initiative Project Learning Tree (PLT) will serve as an essential foundation for the course. In addition, guest instructors will be selected to represent a diverse population of professionals so all students can relate to them and see themselves in similar roles.

SFI’s Contribution

The SFI Community Grant Program, SFI-certified organizations, PLT, federal officials, and state forestry associations are supporting this project.

Partners

This partnership includes federal natural resources officials, foresters, educators, and SFI-certified organizations.

• Project lead: Trees for Tomorrow
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative
• Project Learning Tree
• Domtar (SFI-certified organization)
• Lyme Great Lakes Timberlands (SFI-certified organization)
• USDA Forest Service
• Wisconsin Society of American Foresters
• Michigan Society of American Foresters
• Wisconsin SFI Implementation Committee

Related Information

Trees For Tomorrow: SFI Is Helping Teachers in the U.S. Great Lakes Region Connect Students to the Natural World

Sustainable Resources Institute: Promoting Urban Forestry and Harvesting Waste Wood in Waukesha County, Wisconsin and Beyond

The Forest Exploration Center: An Immersive Introduction to Green Jobs Along an Accessible Forest Trail

About Trees for Tomorrow

Trees For Tomorrow is a nonprofit natural resources specialty school, on over 30 forested acres, in Eagle River, Wisconsin. Trees For Tomorrow uses a combination of field and classroom studies to teach sustainable practices as well as to demonstrate the benefits of contemporary resource management. Trees for Tomorrow promotes sustainable management of natural resources through transformative educational experiences. Its field-based programs, which place people in direct contact with resources that support human needs, teach knowledge and skills leading to responsible lifestyle choices. This experience inspires informed participation in policymaking and promotes stewardship and renewal of natural resources for use by future generations. Learn more.