Project Learning Tree
UPCOMING WORKSHOP DATES:
October 14 & 21, 2026
7:00-8:15pm CST (2.5 hours total over two evenings)
Use trees and forests as windows to the world to foster environmental literacy and critical thinking! Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an internationally recognized, award-winning environmental education program designed specifically for educators. Guided by a trained SaskOutdoors facilitator, this virtual professional development workshop introduces teachers to hands-on, interdisciplinary activities that help students learn how to think, not what to think, about complex environmental issues through inquiry, outdoor investigation, and forest ecology.
Appropriate for:
Audience: K–12 classroom teachers, pre-service teachers, outdoor educators, ECE professionals, non-formal educators, and youth group leaders.
Format: Virtual evening sessions accessible from anywhere in Saskatchewan.
Goals: Educators looking for proven, multidisciplinary toolkits to integrate forest ecology, STEM outdoor investigations, and place-based learning into their curriculum.
Details
Workshop Details
Duration: 2.5 hours total (Delivered virtually over two evening sessions)
Facilitator: SaskOutdoors provides a fully trained facilitator to lead all instruction
Location: Online / Virtual Zoom meeting
Cost:
- SaskOutdoors Members: $50
- Non-Members: $80
What you Learn
Forest & Ecosystem Dynamics: How to facilitate hands-on outdoor investigations exploring tree growth, life cycles, forest structures, and forest ecosystem services.
Inquiry-Based Environmental Education: Techniques to guide students through the constructivist learning cycle (Awareness $\rightarrow$ Knowledge $\rightarrow$ Challenge $\rightarrow$ Action) using trees as a accessible teaching lens.
Schoolyard & Outdoor Classroom Utilization: Practical methods for safely using local schoolyard trees, municipal parks, and forest sites as dynamic spaces for scientific inquiry.
Green Careers & Service Learning: Strategies for introducing students to forest-focused careers, sustainable forestry practices, and student-led environmental action projects (GreenWorks!).
Applied Benefits
Direct Saskatchewan Curriculum Alignment:
Kindergarten – Grade 2: Observing living things, plant structures, seasonal changes, and sensory exploration.
Grades 3 – 5: Examining plant systems, soil dynamics, energy flows in ecosystems, and human-environment interactions.
Grades 6 – 8: Analyzing plant classification, ecosystem interdependence, carbon cycling, and climate/environmental stewardship.
High School (EnvSci / Biology): Sustainable forest management, biodiversity metrics, carbon sequestering, and environmental policy.
Multidisciplinary Integration: Seamlessly connects Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, English Language Arts, and Visual Arts into cohesive outdoor and indoor activities.
Turnkey Classroom Implementation: Equips teachers with flexible, field-tested lesson plans and downloadable student activity pages adaptable for urban, rural, and northern classrooms.