South Carolina Forestry Commission
Project Learning Tree
WHAT IS PROJECT LEARNING TREE?
Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an award-winning international environmental education program of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. It is designed for teachers and informal educators who work with students from early childhood through high school. In South Carolina, Project Learning Tree is jointly sponsored by the SC Forestry Commission, SC Forestry Association, and the SC Department of Education.
PLT uses the forest as a window into the natural world, helping young people gain an awareness and knowledge of the environment and their place within it.
PLT teaches students "how
to think, not what to think" about complex environmental issues.
PLT activities supplement existing curricula.
PLT activities are hands-on action oriented.
PLT activities easily
adapt to many settings: classroom, outdoors, the home, city, forest etc. 
PLT activities are correlated to national and state academic standards as well as Boy and Girl Scout programs.
PLT is multi-disciplinary—it
is not just science!
PLT materials are designed for teachers by teachers, and do not require expensive equipment or kits.
PLT Resources for Teachers
PROJECT LEARNING TREE CORRELATIONS
Project Learning Tree ® (PLT) is an award winning, multidisciplinary environmental education program for educators and students in PreK-grade 12. PLT is a program of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. It is one of the most widely used environmental education programs in the United States and abroad, and continues to set the standard for environmental education excellence.
One way in which PLT remains a widely used curriculum is by correlating the materials to national and state educational standards. This allows educators to meet educational goals easily by using PLT activities in the classroom. Additionally, non-formal educators can structure programs to meet educational standards by using the correlations.
NATIONAL STANDARDS
In 2012, Project Learning Tree correlated its PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide to the Common Core State Standards for both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. In 2014, PLT completed correlations for 3 of its secondary modules with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (ELA). These correlations may be found online at https://www.plt.org/alignment-to-standards/national/common-core.
Correlations to national standards have also been completed for the Next Generation Science Standards, STEM Strategies, the National Social Studies Standards, and the North American Association for Environmental Education’s Excellence in EE – Guidelines for Learning. These correlations may be found online at https://www.plt.org/alignment-to-standards/national.
SOUTH CAROLINA STANDARDS
For South Carolina educators, PLT materials have been correlated to the South Carolina Academic Standards and South Carolina’s Early Learning Standards.
PLT’s Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood guide has been correlated to the 2017 South Carolina Early Learning Standards (SC ELS). Each structured activity in the book has been correlated to at least one goal in the SC ELS.
The PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide has been correlated to the 2015 College- and Career-Ready Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics, the 2014 Science Standards, and the 2011 Social Studies Standards.
Correlations for the most popular secondary module, Focus on Forests, were completed
to high school 2014 Biology I Science Standards.
Below are the correlations by grade. You must have access to, at the minimum, Adobe Acrobat Reader, to open the files.
CORRELATIONS AND REVERSE CORRELATIONS
Early Childhood
Kindergarten
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh
Eighth
High School Biology I
SC PLT Facilitator Corner
2020 PLT Facilitator Refresher Updates Presentation (pptx)
2020 Virtual PLT Facilitator Refresher - K-2 Treemendous Science E-Unit (pdf)
2019 PLT Facilitator Refresher at Cedarleaf Farm Recap (pdf)
SC PLT Environmental Education Centers
Project Learning Tree Environmental Education Centers promote collaborations that encourage long-term, high quality environmental education programing. PLT EE Centers increase opportunities for PLT activities and outreach to impact a larger number of diverse communities.
South Carolina has 7 PLT Environmental Education Centers across our state. For more information, please view SC Project Learning Tree Environmental Education Centers.
SC PLT Jerry L. Shrum Outstanding Educator of the Year Awards
Nomination Form
Nominations are being accepted for the 2020 Jerry L. Shrum Outstanding Educator of the Year through June 15.
2019 SC PLT Outstanding Educator – Dr. Lynn Hoekstra
2018 SC PLT Outstanding Educator – Cynthia Deaton
What to know more?
To learn about the progress of PLT in SC, please view the 2020 SC PLT Annual Report.
For more information on the PLT program and materials, visit the National PLT website.
For more information on PLT in South Carolina, including upcoming workshops, visit the SC PLT website, or contact:
Matt Schnabel
SC PLT Coordinator
803-896-8855
mschnabel@scfc.gov
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Environmental Education / Reference Resources / Harbison Education Programs