Murphys, CA…The  Northern  California  Society  of  American  Foresters  will  offer “summer  school”  for  K  through  12  teachers  for  the  twenty-­‐fourth  consecutive  year. This  June  and  July,  California  teachers  will  gather  at  four  locations  in  the  state’s  northern forests  to  participate  in  the  Forestry  Institute  for  Teachers  (FIT)  program.  These  week-­‐long  in-­‐residence  field  workshops  focus  on  forest  ecology,  forest  management,  environmental education  and  curriculum  development.

“Many  of  the  participating  teachers  are  leaders  in  their  profession,”  said  University  of  California
Cooperative  Extension  Natural  Resource  Advisor  Mike  De  Lasaux.  “The  initial  goal  of  the
program  is  to  provide  them  with  the  information  and  tools  to  teach  a  balanced  environmental
education  curriculum  that  meets  Next  Generation  Science  Standards  and  Common  Core
curriculum  requirements.”

Ultimately,  the  program  seeks  to  create  an  informed  citizenry  that  understands  the  many
values  of  the  forest  and  the  competing  demands  for  its  resources.

“As  teachers  become  better  informed,  they  share  their  findings  with  their  students,  giving  them
the  skills  to  recognize,  analyze,  and  make  sound  decisions  regarding  environmental  and  natural
resource  management  issues,”  De  Lasaux  said.  

Teachers  meet  with  practicing  resource  professionals  from  nonprofit  organizations,  universities,
private  companies,  and  government  agencies,  who  present  college-­‐level  instruction  in  forest
management,  wildlife  biology,  watershed  management,  archaeology,  and  fire  science.  These
lessons  are  followed  by  field  trips,  where  participants  see  natural  and  planted  forests,  active
timber  harvests,  stream  restoration  projects,  projects  to  restore  forests,  reduce  fire  hazards,
and  more.

Teachers  are  then  expected  to  develop  a  forest  curriculum  unit  or  project,  which  they
implement  with  their  students  upon  their  return  home.  

“I  wasn’t  sure  what  to  expect,”  said  Andrea  Brown,  a  6th-­‐grade  teacher  from  Georgetown,  CA,
who  participated  in  the  FIT  program  last  year.  “We  covered  so  much  more  than  I  could  have
imagined,  from  the  soil,  trees,  and  animals  to  the  people,  communities,  and  businesses  that  all
depend  on  a  forest.”

Each  of  the  four  sessions  is  designed  to  host  30  teachers.  Since  1993,  half  of  all  participants
have  come  from  southern  California,  a  third  from  the  Bay  Area  and  Sacramento,  and  16  percent
from  the  rest  of  the  state.  

“One  of  our  main  goals  has  always  been  to  bridge  the  perception  gap  between  the  state’s
urban  and  rural  residents,”  said  De  Lasaux.  “Urban  residents  are  most  concerned  about
protecting  natural  resources  and  recreational  opportunities.  Those  who  live  in  the  rural  north,
closest  to  the  forests,  greatly  care  about  creating  resilient  forests  capable  of  surviving  wildfire,
providing  sustainable  and  locally  grown,  lumber,  abundant  water  of  the  highest  quality  and  the
recreational  destinations  that  are  cherished.

“Both  perspectives  are  valid,”  he  emphasized.   
There  are  still  a  few  spots  available  in  this  summer’s  Forestry  Institute  for  Teachers  sessions.
For  more  information  or  to  register,  visit  www.forestryinstitute.org  or  contact  Donna  Vial  at
(209)  293-­‐2391  or  dvial@volcano.net.  

The  Forestry  Institute  for  Teachers  is  supported  by  public  and  private  funding  with  the  Northern
California  Society  of  American  Foresters  and  University  of  California  Cooperative  Extension
providing  overall  leadership.