UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Few educational materials exist to teach youth about natural resources, according to a conservation educator in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, who has developed a series of educational fliers aimed at remedying the situation.

"Today's youth are tomorrow's landowners, voters, stewards and policy makers for our nation's natural resources," says Sanford Smith, an extension youth-education specialist. "However, to date, most educational programs and publications about natural resources are designed for adults. A need exists in Pennsylvania for educational resources that address sustainable forestry and forest product awareness for youth."

To help meet this need, Smith and Penn State Cooperative Extension have produced "From the Woods," a series of educational fliers. Each contains attractive color photographs and illustrations. They are written at a middle-school reading level.

Although the publications are designed for youth, Smith has found that adults also enjoy them. "Many of the existing publications about sustainable forestry and forest products for adults are fairly technical," says Smith. "The 'From the Woods' fliers provide a useful introduction to natural resource issues for adults as well as youth."

Titles in the series include "Maple Syrup," "Forest Stewardship," "Hardwood Lumber," "Harvesting Trees," "White-tailed Deer," "Watersheds," "Paper," "Hardwood Veneer," "Incredible Wood," and "Sustainable Forestry."

To request a free copy of any of the titles in the "From the Woods" series, contact the Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program by calling toll-free 1-800-235-WISE, sending an e-mail to http://sftrc.cas.psu.edu). To assist educators in using the "From the Woods" series, lesson plans and pre- and post-tests also can be downloaded from the Web site. Educators and youth leaders can request multiple copies of the publications by contacting the Penn State Cooperative Extension office in their county.

The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, in partnership with Penn State Forest Resources Extension, sponsor the Forest Stewardship Program in Pennsylvania.

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

Contact:

Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-863-9877 fax #147