Conservation Education

The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) Web site is full of information for students of all ages. This page links to VDOF information for kids, students, adults, and teachers.

Are you a teacher looking for wildfire prevention information, and want to present it to 4^th and 5^th graders? Learn about the training program and accompanying CD from the Virginia Department of Forestry.

Help With School Assignments

Forestry words and terms: Glossary

Project Books, School Enrichment, Competition Aids and Multimedia Resources from Virginia Cooperative Extension.

• Forestry OutReach Site (FORSite) - a forestry educational site for Virginia schools.
• Virtual Forest Tour
• Virginia Forestry Judging Program
• Virginia Big Tree Program

Educational Activity Sheets

“Enjoy Nature Near You” Family Fun Sheets: Spring | Summer | Fall | Winter

Outdoor Activities

• Trees 101: Learn how to plant, prune, and care for individual trees.
• Use pictures to learn to identify trees in Virginia.
• Forestry Camp - Information and registration.
• Go on a treasure hunt by visiting our geocache site on the Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest.

Games

• National Geographic Kids
• Smokey Bear Slide Puzzle Game
• Have FUN puting together an online puzzle.

Kids

• Boy Scout Merit Badge Requirements Web site. Contact your county forester if you need help meeting these requirements.
• Webelos - read the Forester requirements here.
• PLT Curriculum - Correlations to Boy Scout and Girl Scout Standards.
• Coloring sheets from the Virginia Department of Forestry.
• USDA Kids - Gardening, nutrition, Woodsy Owl and more are all here.
• The “Greenwing” web page at Ducks Unlimited is designed just for kids, and features project ideas, fun facts, entertaining games, and a variety of other activities.
• KidZone National Wildlife Federation site offers games and activities for all ages.
• Project Learning Tree - This Standards Of Learning (SOL) program teaches students in grades K through 9 about trees and the environment.
  Project Learning Tree (PLT) web sites: Virginia; National
• Smokey Bear's Home Page Join Smokey for some forest and campfire fun, and learn Smokey's rules for forest fire safety and prevention.
• Woodsy Owl “Give a hoot. Don't Pollute.” Coloring sheets and an activity guide.
• Yucky Worm World at Discovery.com

High School Students

• Virtual Reality Forest Tour - of our forests! QuickTime and slide show format.
• Boy Scout Merit Badge Requirements Web site. Contact your county forester if you need help meeting these requirements.
• PLT Curriculum - Correlations to Boy Scout and Girl Scout Standards.
• Forestry Encyclopedia Research tool to learn about forests.
• KidZone National Wildlife Federation site offers games and activities for all ages.
• Career Opportunities in the Forestry industry: UrbanForest.org's Fifty Careers In Trees
• Virginia Naturally Visit Virginia's Environmental Education Initiative.

Adult Programs and Continuing Education

• The Virginia Master Naturalist Program is a statewide corps of volunteers providing education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities.
• Virginia Forest Landowner "Short Course" series
• Web-based Interactive Materials from ForestAndRange.org
• Web-based Woodland Options for Landowners
  (registration site, syllabus, and link to VFLU public site)
• The Nicholas Environmental Notebook - a series of commentaries on the state of the environment, designed to bring crucial environmental issues to the attention of the public.
• Events - Virginia Tech provides this list of courses and seminars

Teachers and Educators

Lesson Plans and Teaching Tools

• Virtual Reality Forest Tour - of our forests! QuickTime and slide show format.
• Tree Cookies - Not for eating! Cross-sections of a tree trunk, known as a tree cookie, are a valuable classroom teaching aid. Learn how to find the perfect tree cookie (English; PDF format).
• F.R.E.E. - Forest Resource Environmental Education. This site is for teachers and students at all grade levels who want to learn more about forests and the management of forests.
• Life of the Forest International Paper web site offers posters and educational materials.
• Learning Landscapes has pages for teachers, students and explorers. Have a "virtual" discovery online. Created by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Education & Volunteers Group.
• Creative curriculum resources including clip art, teaching tools and lesson planners from Discovery.com.
• Project Dragonfly reaches millions of children, parents, and educators through print, web, and broadcast media by focusing on "real kids, real science."

Wood and Forest Products

• What's a Tree Done For You Lately? Products and how they're made.
• 5000 Items List. See how many everyday items use wood.
• Love-A-Tree For both instructors and students, interactive teaching tools about the environment and the papermaking process.

Trees

• Arbor Day Foundation Information resource site.
• Treetures - Learn about trees and their importance to the environment through a variety of activities with these fantasy creatures.

Water

• Project WET Water Education for Teachers (stream information).
• Water Quality activities and games for kids and teachers! EPA Office of Watersite.

Fire

• Fire Safety Web Sites For Teachers and Students
• Fire Safety Information for teacher's, parents and kids.

Insects

• Bug Club Promotes the study of entomology, especially among amateurs and the younger generation.

Wildlife and Habitats

• Fantastic Forest! - Online adventures from National Geographic Explorers.
• Forestry Index. This site is essentially a portal to forestry topics.
• The “Greenwing” site at Ducks Unlimited is designed to supply teachers with an engaging curriculum about wetland habitat and wetland wildlife. The site offers five options for teachers:
  1. Using Puddler (DU's magazine for kids) in the Classroom,
  2. An alphabetical list of dozens of wetland/outdoor activities
  3. A complete classroom curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school students
  4. A teacher's guide for grades 4-6, and
  5. Fun Zone Activity Booklets.

• Nature Activities and Info - Check out the "Trees & Seeds" section! Other neat sections too! Miami Univ., Ohio and National Science Teachers Web site.
• Pictures - excellent for pictures of tree insects & diseases. There are over 3,000 pictures that can be used free for educational purposes.
• Project Wild Find out about wildlife.
• Temperate Forest Foundation - Cool Facts for kids and educators.

Fall Colors and Fall Foliage

• Visit our Fall Foliage page to learn about autumn in Virginia.
• Take a scenic drive to see fall colors.
• Frequently Asked Questions: Why do Leaves Turn Color?

Additional resources

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Publications
• Links to Partner agencies, organizations and state forestry agencies.

Last modified: Tuesday, 20-Oct-2009 09:50:42 EDT