UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A Penn State natural resources educator has created a Web site for teachers whose curricula include sustainable forestry and natural history. The site can be found at http://sftrc.cas.psu.edu.

"School teachers often create unique and useful lesson plans for their classes, but beyond their own students, no one ever sees or benefits from their work," says Sanford Smith, a natural resources and youth specialist with Penn State Cooperative Extension."The Sustainable Forestry Teachers Resource Center is designed to address that."

The Web site allows teachers to exhibit and share lesson plans related to sustainable forestry. The sustainable forestry lessons include topics such as forest biology, wildlife management and water conservation for grades kindergarten through 12.

Smith developed the Web site with the assistance of Laurie Schoonhoven, information specialist, and Nathan Bosic, an undergraduate student, all in the School of Forest Resources.

Teachers from across the state who attended one of Penn State Cooperative Extension's Forest Resources Institutes for Teachers provided the current selection of more than 120 lesson plans on the site. Also included are links to numerous educational natural resources sites, a lesson plan evaluation page, lesson plan submission instructions and a direct link to the popular "From The Woods" publication series designed for middle-schoolers.

"The Sustainable Forestry Teachers Resource Center is a work in progress," says Smith. "New lesson plans will be added from upcoming institutes and individual submissions. All of the lesson plans are created by real teachers for use in their classrooms. They are not uniform in structure, but they all follow a simple format with the key elements easily identified."

Efforts are under way to publicize the Sustainable Forestry Teachers Resource Center as a teaching resource across Pennsylvania and nationally. Additionally, a Web-tracking system to assess the use and effectiveness of the center is in place, and teacher input is being sought for possible enhancements.

Development of the Sustainable Forestry Teachers Resource Center was made possible through a grant from The Laird Norton Endowment Foundation.

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EDITORS: Contact Sanford Smith at 814-863-0401 or e-mail sss5@psu.edu.

Contact: Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-863-9877 fax #288