Revisiting the Rationale for Forestry Education

Nicholas J. Hylla

Wisconsin Forest Resources Education Alliance (WFREA)

As a new year lies out before us, it seems like a good idea to revisit some old, but important ideas. Most important to WFREA are the ideas and supportive research that tells us that forestry education is important for the students and citizens of Wisconsin. We often say that the public needs comprehensive and balanced information on forests and forestry, and that forests are amazing educational resources. In this article we’ll take a brief look at the research that supports our mission.

In 2001, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released the results of a sustainable forestry survey designed to gauge the perception that the Wisconsin public has of forests and forestry. The results, from 504 participants, reveal that the vast majority of Wisconsin residents share a concern for environmental issues (96%), but they also have some fundamental misunderstandings about forests and forestry, including that:

· the quality and quantity of forestland in Wisconsin is diminishing

· the State owns the most forestland in Wisconsin

· the use of trees today jeopardizes their future use

· trees most commonly grow back through human replanting

· few trees are appropriate for cutting

In addition, respondents recognize the importance of forests to future generations, recreational activities, wildlife, and air and water quality, but far fewer respondents recognize the importance of forests to the local economy.

Evidence suggests that misperceptions in the Wisconsin citizenry have roots in the education system. The 1997 study Are We Walking the Talk, conducted by the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education, came to the following conclusions:

· Wisconsin students have limited awareness of existing environmental issues. Further, they are lacking in the ecological knowledge base that would be appropriate to analyzing or understanding the multifaceted nature of environmental concerns.

· Given that student cognitive scores on the Student Environmental Literacy Assessment were considered lacking, it’s possible that the present student population might be inclined to make environmental decisions based on how they feel rather than on what they know.

Fortunately, EE Programs that are innovative, multi-disciplinary, place-based, and aligned to education standards have the potential to increase environmental literacy and improve student performance on standardized tests.

In Washington State, the EE Report Card requested by the state legislature and published in 2004 provides very strong evidence for the effectiveness of environmental education (EE) in improving student test scores. The report found that schools with EE programs consistently have higher test scores on state standardized tests. The report provides the following reasons why EE improves student test scores: 1) EE increases motivation for learning in all subject areas, 2) EE focuses students and improves their overall behavior, 3) EE develops critical thinking skills, 4) EE fosters the ability to work both independently and collaboratively, and 5) EE relates school lessons to one’s community and the real world.

The conclusions are supported by nation-wide research outlined by Lieberman and Hoody in 1998 and furthered by the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation in their 2000 publication Environment-based Education: Creating High Performance Schools and Students.

A primary outcome of the research is a renewed emphasis on ‘place’ as a core attribute of effective EE programs. Place-based curriculum uses the local environment as an integrating context for learning. It encompasses several proven educational practices, including: Interdisciplinary integration of subject areas, collaborative instruction, emphasis on real-world, problem-based learning, and student-centered learning.

In Wisconsin, forests have the potential to be the backdrop for place-based EE programs that improve environmental literacy and student test scores. With more than 300 registered school forests, a full-time state school forest coordinator, the newly developed LEAF lesson guides, and a supportive forest industry and forestry education foundation (WFREA), Wisconsin has the infrastructure that teachers need.

We are still missing a crucial piece of research - We do not know what students and teachers know about forests and forestry. We also do not know what teachers are teaching and how effective our efforts are in improving student performance. With current research in these areas, we will be able to quantify improvements and solidify the role of forests and forestry in K-12 education.