Forest
Stewardship News Release
February
20 , 2007- For Immediate Release
Contact: Allyson
Muth, Phone: 814-865-3208, E-mail:
New Forest Education Program for Youth Offered
A new Pennsylvania program seeks to educate youth about forests. Penn State School of Forest Resources and The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry have teamed up to offer The Junior Forest Steward Program. The free program introduces youth (ages 8-12 years old) to the forests of Pennsylvania and the important concept of forest stewardship. "Pennsylvania youth often know very little about the forests and natural areas that cover the state," says Sanford Smith, Extension Specialist in the School of Forest Resources, "we believe this new educational initiative will get kids excited about, and interested in, Penn's Woods."
Designed for implementation by teachers, youth group leaders, and other adults working with youth, the organizers are seeking cooperating adults to help facilitate the program. Smith stresses, "the adults we need do not have to be naturalists or forestry experts to carry out the Junior Forest Steward Program, an interest and willingness to learn right along with youth is the only thing we require." The program works in both formal and non-formal educational settings.
"The program format is also flexible," says Smith. It involves youth reading an interactive Junior Forest Steward publication (individually or as a group), discussing the questions, and then participating in a forest stewardship activity led by the adult educator or helper. A guide (for adults) accompanies the publication and provides ideas for activities that youth can undertake. After participants complete the three steps, they receive an embroidered Junior Forest Steward patch as an award and reminder of what they learned. The program raises awareness of forest stewardship and the importance of being a steward of the natural world. "After all," says Smith, "today's youth will be responsible for the forests that give Pennsylvania its very name, and they will pass them on to future generations."
To find out more about the program or request copies of the Junior Forest Steward publication, contact the Forest Resources Extension Office at Penn State 814-863-0401 or 1-800-235-9473. Sanford Smith is available directly at 814-865-4261 or sss5@psu.edu.
The Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program provides publications on a variety of topics related to woodland management for private landowners. For a list of free publications, call 1-800-235-WISE (toll-free), send e-mail to , or write to: Forest Stewardship Program, Forest Resources Extension, The Pennsylvania State University, 320 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802. The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, in partnership with the Penn State's Forest Resources Extension, sponsor the Forest Stewardship Program in Pennsylvania.
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