M O R E   A B O U T   P L T                                                                        

PLT uses the forest as a "window" into natural and built environments, helping students gain an awareness and knowledge of the world around them, as well as their place in it. PLT focuses on the total environment: land, air and water and is local, national and global in scope. PLT works in the city, suburbs, and country and both in the classroom and outdoors.

PLT is a source of interdisciplinary instructional activities and provides workshops and in-service training for teachers and other educators. During the workshop, participants are introduced to the PLT activity guide and learn how to use it in their own particular setting.

Project Learning Tree continues to set the standard for environmental education excellence at the elementary, middle and secondary levels. PLT increases students' understanding of our complex environment. PLT is designed to teach students how to think, not what to think about environmental issues.

PLT Themes are:

  • Diversity: demonstrates a wide array of habitats, societies, technologies and cultures
  • Interrelationships: highlights ecological, technological and social-cultural systems as interactive and interdependent.
  • Systems: teaches how environmental, technological and social systems are interconnected.
  • Structure & Scale: demonstrates how technologies, societal institutions and components of natural and human-built environments vary.
  • Patterns of Change: shows how structures and systems change over time.

PLT Works!

PLT works because it is the result of hard work by many people: environmentalists, industry representatives, natural resource specialists, and educators. Because of this, PLT materials are easy to use and produce results. In addition, the activities 

  • can be woven into everyday lesson plans,
  • are designed to be used in all subjects and settings,
  • meet the needs of a variety of learning styles and needs,
  • are tied to current issues directly affecting the students, 
  • are correlated to national and state standards,
  • can be used in formal and informal education situations,
  • provide opportunities for service learning and community involvement,
  • model thematic teaching, alternative assessment, and constructivist 
  • learning strategies, and 
  • are fully-tested in classrooms and independently evaluated.

Anyone who participates in a PLT workshop also has the opportunity to network with a variety of specialists that can provide support beyond the scope of the materials offered.

LA PLT Workshops

PLT workshops require 6 hours of instruction time with an additional hour for lunch. The cost for a workshop is $15.00 per participant. Pre-service, home school, and scout groups are charged $10.00 per participant. PLT has been correlated to the Louisiana State Department of Education's Framework for math, science, social studies, and language arts.  Grants are also available for school projects and workshops. These grants range from $250 to $1000 per project.

If you would like to attend a PLT workshop, become a trained workshop leader, or learn more about the program, contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!