Notable Upcoming Workshops & Events

REGISTRATION OPEN: Wisconsin School Forest Summit

LOCATION

Nels P. Evjue Memorial School Forest in Merrill

DATE

07/25/2023 - 07/26/2023

DESCRIPTION

Put on your hiking shoes, bring your forest management plan and favorite outdoor lessons, pick up your environmental education team and head to the School Forest Summit! An event you won’t want to miss that includes networking with inspiring educators, professional development, and recreation. All participants must be associated with a registered Wisconsin School Forest.

Arbor Day will be observed Friday, April 28th. It is a chance to recognize and celebrate the role trees play in our communities. Many of you have trees right outside on your school site or are sending seedlings home with 4th grade students to plant.

We encourage you to read through the host of engaging lessons, activities, and resources in this newsletter to get your students outside and learning more about trees in Wisconsin and make Arbor Day at your school a success.

Please feel free to reach out to LEAF staff at leaf@uwsp.edu if you need assistance with any of the materials provided or if you have a great Arbor Day story to share! We always love to hear from you.

-LEAF Staff

Note: Some resources and images below are adapted from DNR Urban Forestry Arbor Day outreach materials.

Champion Trees

Does your community have a Champion Tree or one that represents your community?

Wisconsin's Champion Tree Program recognizes and celebrates the state’s largest trees.

Highlight it and share some cool facts about it.

• How old is the tree/when it might've been planted?
• What local history has it seen in its time?
• How large is its canopy or circumference?

Don't have a Champion Tree? Organize a contest to pick one.

Tree Facts

Celebrate your community trees by putting out social media posts with their fun facts!

• How many trees are in your community?
• How many different types of species are in the community tree inventory?
• Where are your biggest trees?
• Which tree do you have the most of?
• How are they maintained?
• How does your urban forestry/parks and rec department run and who are some workers to highlight?
• Who helps clean up the trees after a storm?
• Who manages the trees in our parks?
• Who cleans up the streets from leaves during fall?

On-Demand Learning: Using the WI Community Tree Map as an Educational Tool

Arbor Day is also a great reminder of the various tools available to learn about the trees around us.

The Wisconsin Community Tree Map is a compilation of city and township tree inventories from around the state.

Educators can use this self-paced online module to learn how to use the Tree Map with your students! Your students can learn more about the trees and forest ecosystems around them, becoming more intimately familiar with the places and spaces in which they live.

Get Involved: Wisconsin Trillion Trees Pledge

Wisconsin has a more than century-long history of planting trees – the DNR's Reforestation Program has supplied Wisconsin landowners with over 1.6 billion seedlings since 1911. There was a record high of more than 44 million seedlings planted in 1959. Tree planting has since declined for several reasons, with fewer than 3 million seedlings being planted each year across the state for reforestation purposes.

The 1 Trillion Tree Planting pledge renews a commitment by the state to manage our public lands, work with private landowners and engage with organizations across Wisconsin to sustain and grow the benefits that forests offer. Forest products contribute $24.4 billion annually to the state’s economy, and this planting effort will help ensure that Wisconsin forest industries have the source materials well into the future.

US Forest Service: Internship Opportunity

The US Forest Service is looking to fill a Community Engagement and Education Specialist 8-month internship position though the Forest Service Resource Assistant Program and its partner, Greening Youth Foundation. The position is located in Milwaukee and requires a graduate degree by the internship start date of 6/12/2023.

This position’s duties will have connections to LEAF and Project Learning Tree’s outreach work in the Milwaukee area.

Contact Us! 

Have questions or need additional resources? Contact us at leaf@uwsp.edu. We are here to support educators and students with forestry opportunities.

Published for April 2023