Green Job Pathways

Educators and GIS Professionals Unite to Map Out New Career Pathways

California has one. 
 
So does Virginia. 
 
But when Sageview High School science teacher Amanda Helland went looking for a Career and Technical Education (CTE) framework for teaching Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Washington State, she came up empty. “GIS has always been embedded into other courses,” says Helland, who teaches ecology, climate science, geology and environmental science in the Pasco School District. “I didn’t know how to go about the process of creating a framework, so when I heard about a GIS statewide writing team, I was immediately interested.” 
 
In May, Helland joined Pacific Education Institute (PEI) and fifteen professionals representing K-12 education, industry, Washington State University, and Tribal education and natural resources for a two-day, in-person writing workshop hosted by Educational Service District 105 in downtown Yakima. Their purpose: to develop Washington’s first career-connected GIS CTE course framework informed by statewide GIS workforce trends, existing GIS-related high school and post-secondary courses and programs and input from Washington GIS education and industry professionals. 

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Community Partner Spotlight

City of Spokane Urban Forestry

Tricia Goode has heard the message before: find community partners to supplement your classroom instruction. Often, it comes with no practical tips on where to look or how to get started. Fortunately, during a Forest as a Classroom Workshop in Yacolt Burn Forest this May, she found herself surrounded by industry experts and was able to put that recommendation into practice.
 
“I’m very excited to make these connections with forestry professionals,” says Goode, a science teacher at McLoughlin Middle School in Vancouver. “My students are in a very urban school and don’t have many opportunities to get outside. I’m trying to grow that connection to nature.” 
 
Goode and eleven other Southwest Washington educators attended a Forest as a Classroom workshop in Yacolt Burn State Forest on May 19. Participants spent a full day visiting working forest sites, learning about forest management and experiencing forest education lessons and activities. PEI’s Lower Columbia FieldSTEM Coordinator Emily Newman and Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Youth Education & Outreach Program Regional Coordinator Kelly Sullivan co-facilitated the course, which included multiple partners representing various aspects of forest management. 

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Tools & Tips for Teachers

Summer Reading List for Forest Lovers

Summer can be the perfect time for kids and adults to catch up on their reading lists.
From informative nonfiction reads to entertaining tales, these books focused on forests will help keep curious minds sharp over the summer months. Our recommended reading list includes picture and chapter books for kids, teens, and adults so that everyone in the family can connect with forests and trees.

• Educators will find riveting reads for students and parents to supplement environmental education and Project Learning Tree US and Canada lessons.

• Sustainability and natural resources professionals will discover new books to help classrooms and communities care about and for trees, encouraging and emphasizing the need for forest literacy in every environment.

• Green job seekers and mentors will uncover incredible human accomplishments and the essential role of trees through research and personal stories to help their green jobs journey.

These must-reads focused on forests and trees are a mix of new favorites and classics, with something for every age and type of reader!

Source: Project Learning Tree

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