June 2010
The Leaflet
Louisiana Project Learning Tree
Year 2010, Issue 2
2010 Louisiana Forestry Teacher Tour
The 13th annual Louisiana hopefully
Forestry Teacher Tour was they have Inside this issue:
held June 7-11. 19 teach- all gone
ers from around the state away by PLT Online Community 2
joined us in Alexandria, now. It is
LA. They were quite enter- always a Secondary Correlations 2
taining as well as eager to pleasure to
learn about Louisiana’s #1 share our Upcoming Workshops 2
crop. We visited various passion of
Sci-Port 3
mills, an old growth tract of forestry
timber, the national and with the Come join us next year!! Back Page/Fun 4
state forests, as well as the teachers
Southern Forest Heritage that attend each year. If me:wbennett@ldaf.la.gov
Museum. Some of the you have not attended the for more information. I
teachers brought back a Teacher Tour and are in- will begin to take appli- Special points of in-
few reminders of their terested. Please contact cations now. terest:
week, (red bugs/chiggers) • 2010 Teacher Tour June 7 –11
• STHFCS Earth Day
Earth Day at STHFCS in Moss Bluff, LA • New Online Community
We had an Earth Day cele- • Secondary Correlations com-
bration at St. Theodore Holy plete
Family Catholic School in • LOOK For the next issue in
Moss Bluff, LA. Stations
September!!
were set up and the students
learned about how a tree
grows (Tree Cookies) and the
Water Cycle (Water Won-
ders). The kids truly enjoyed
this day of educational fun!!
This is what PLT is all
about!!
Join PLT’s New Online Community
PLT has launched their own online community. It is a great
place to exchange lesson plans, resources, ideas, or just keep
in touch with fellow educators. There is also a private group
for facilitators to share agendas, resources, etc.. If you have
not signed up, please join us! www.connect.plt.org
Secondary Correlations
The correlations and cross correlations to the secondary modules are complete and available on
the website, Thanks Cindy!!
PLT and Early Childhood Education
PLT has launched a new Early childhood module that comes with a music cd. PLT’s Early
Childhood Guide integrates nature-based exploration, art, literature, math, music and move-
ment, and outdoor play into early childhood education programs. The guide contains eleven ac-
tivities that encourage young children to explore the senses, the sea-
sons, and neighborhood trees. The activities highlight the importance
of kinetic learning and engagement by incorporating music and move-
ment using an accompanying music CD. PLT’s Environmental Experi-
ences for Early Childhood encourages children to explore, discover, and
communicate in expressive ways, and provides an introduction to envi-
ronmental education at a key developmental period in children’s lives.
Schedule a workshop today!! Correlations coming soon!
Upcoming Workshops
June 29 Audubon Zoo, New Orleans If you are interested in
attending a workshop,
July 28 St Tammany Parish School Board Please contact:
Waylan Bennett
wbennett@ldaf.la,gov
225-925-4500
Page 2 The Leaflet
AEP Foundation awards Sci-Port $78,343 grant for 'Going Green' environmental programs
Published Thursday, December 17, 2009 6:00 am
by Eric Gipson>
Officials of AEP SWEPCO today presented Sci-Port: Louisiana's Science Center an AEP Foundation check for
$78,343 to develop a series of environmental programs and exhibits to be used by all audiences of Sci-Port, through-
out the Shreveport-Bossier community and state of Louisiana, and by eleven members of the Association of Science
and Technology Centers (ASTC) in AEP operating regions throughout the United States.
The Sci-Port Growing Green grant funds a two-year initiative that will include eleven programs, each developed spe-
cifically for general visitors, pre-K, elementary, middle and high school students and adult education. All programs will
meet national education standards and will be easily adaptable to other states' curriculum standards. Two demonstra-
tion exhibits will also be developed, along with a variety of print and video training materials.
The grant will make the programs and demonstrations available to the following ASTC science centers in addition to
Sci-Port: Science Central in Ft. Wayne, IN; Minnetrista and the Muncie Children's Museum in Muncie, IN; the Indian-
apolis Children's Museum in Indianapolis, IN; COSI in Columbus, OH; Discovery Science Center in Tyler, TX; Austin
Children's Museum in Austin, TX; Highlands Museum and Discovery Center in Ashland, KY; Clay Center for the Arts
and Science in Charleston, WV; Impression 5 Science Center in Lansing, MI; and the Ann Arbor Children's Museum
in Ann Arbor, MI. With these science centers' and Sci-Port's combined attendance, the Going Green programs could
reach a potential 1,300,000 people at science centers alone.
Sci-Port's Growing Green activities will also be disseminated by the International Action on Global Warming (IGLO), an
ASTC project funded by the National Science Foundation that is designed to raise worldwide public awareness about
global warming.
"These Growing Green programs will be the foundation of our commitment to develop healthy and environmentally
conscious communities," said Ann Fumarolo, Sci-Port President & CEO. "AEP has been a wonderful partner to all of
the science centers in its wide service area, and we are grateful for this invaluable support," she added.
John Hubbard, AEP SWEPCO Manager of External Affairs, said, "Sci-Port Growing Green is a natural extension of the
AEP Foundation's legacy of support to Sci-Port. This initiative also dovetails beautifully with the Foundation's objec-
tives of improving lives through education and protecting the environment."
These objectives were also exemplified by the AEP Foundation's $88,300 award in 2008 to the Gilmer Independent
School District (GISD) Foundation for a three-year project to establish a sustainable pine and hardwood forest stand
on GISG property. Objectives for the project include restoring productive forest stands; providing educational opportu-
nities for students; and serving as a cooperative effort involving industry, natural resource agencies and the school
district. Funds are used to prepare the lands, plant trees, reduce competition and manage the project.
AEP is the parent company of Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO). The AEP Foundation was created
in 2005 to support the corporation's community relations goal of supporting and playing an active role in the communi-
ties where AEP employees live and work.
SWEPCO serves more than 467,000 customers in three states, including 177,000 in East and North Texas. News re-
leases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at www.swepco.com.
Sci-Port: Louisiana's Science Center is a 92,000 square-foot science and entertainment center featuring 290 hands-on
exhibits, a Space Center and Space Dome Planetarium, IMAX Dome Theatre, demonstration theater, daily changing
programs, gift shop and cafe. Sci-Port is located at 820 Clyde Fant Parkway on the downtown Shreveport Riverfront.
For general information call (318) 424-3466, toll-free (877) 724-7678 or see www.sciport.org.
Year 2010, Issue 2 Page 3
Louisiana Project Learning Tree
P.O. Box 1628
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
PLT uses the forest as a "window" into natural
Phone: 225-925-4500 and built environments, helping students gain
Fax: 225-922-1356 an awareness and knowledge of the world
E-mail: wbennett@ldaf.la.gov 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.
We’re on the Web! PLT is a source of interdisciplinary instruc-
tional activities and provides workshops and in-
www.laplt.org service training for teachers and other educa-
tors. During the workshop, participants are in-
troduced to the PLT activity guide and learn
how to use it in their own particular setting.
Teaching students how to think, not what to think!
Share your Ideas or Stories
If you have a PLT related story or Activity idea, and would like to share it with others in the
state, Please email your info to wbennett@ldaf.la.gov
FUN
What tree is found after a fire?
Answer: Ash
What tree describes a pretty girl?
Answer: Peach
What tree is older than most other trees?
Answer: Elder