Forests and Forestry in the Puget Sound Region – Fall 2024
A continuing education course for K-12 Teachers
Clock hours
Approval is pending for 11 clock hours through the WSU College of Education. Attendance for the duration of all class sessions and the field trip is required to receive clock hours.
Bring the forest to your classroom and your classroom to the forest
Forests and forestry are engaging topics for students of all grade levels to engage in STEM activities and learn about science, nature, geometry, and social issues. This comprehensive course will provide basic forestry training that is grounded in non-biased, research-based, university-developed content on forests and forestry issues in the Puget Sound region of Washington. This course does not provide prepackaged lesson plans developed by outside groups. Rather, this course is designed to give you a fundamental understanding of forests and forestry so that you, as the expert of your own classroom, can develop your own lesson plans that are based on objective and accurate information, dispel common misconceptions, relate to NGSS and other learning standards, and are customized for the needs of your students.
Class sessions
Review the course syllabus for a complete list of topics covered and related learning standards.
- Native Trees of Western Washington – Learn about the native tree species that call western WA home, where they are found, and how to identify them.
- Forest Stand Development – Learn about the life cycle of a forest and how students can use models of forest development to understand the past, present, and future of a forest stand.
- Measuring Trees – Learn how to take quantitative measurements of a forest stand and how students can use these measurements to understand how a forest is growing and what it will look like in the future.
- Forest Health – Learn what makes a healthy, resilient forest, how to identify common pests and pathogens, and how students can use forest health concepts to challenge common attitudes about natural beauty and good forest management.
- Saturday Field Trip (in person) – We will head to the woods to use our knowledge to measure and assess forest stands in the field. We will discuss ideas of hands-on forestry activities that you can do with your students.
- Silviculture – Learn about the art and science of growing trees, how to properly plant and care for trees, and how different management practices are used to achieve different goals.
- Forestry in the Puget Sound – Local and Global Perspectives – For the final session, we will put it all together and look at forest management and wood use in the context of a global environment, global economy, and changing climate. We will discuss how your students can be better informed citizens, contribute to solutions, and be lifelong tree ambassadors.
When and Where
Dates and Times
Evening class sessions
The four evening class sessions will be 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Thursdays, September 26 – October 17, 2024.
Field Trip
An in-person field trip will be held 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Saturday, October 12, 2024.
Location
Online – The evening class sessions will be live, interactive webinars. A high-speed internet connection is needed. You can access the webinars with your computer or mobile device. Access instructions will be provided prior to the course.
The Saturday field trip will be held somewhere in Snohomish County (exact location TBD).
Cost and Registration
Cost
The registration fee is $40 per person to cover materials and clock hour processing fees.
What’s Included:
- Four evening class sessions
- A Saturday field trip
- A digital library of educational resources and references
- A copy of the book Native Trees of Western Washington
- 11 clock hours (approval pending)
Registration
The registration deadline is 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
Space is limited and is first-come, first-served.
Cancellations must be received by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, September 19, 2024 to be eligible for a refund. Refunds will not be given after September 19th.
Register online
Register online via Eventbrite. Online registrations are subject to a non-refundable credit card processing fee. Online registration will be open until 5:00 p.m. September 24, 2024 or until the course sells out, whichever comes first.
Register by mail
Mail-in registrations must be received by 5:00 p.m. September 24, 2024 or before the course sells out, whichever comes first. Download the mail-in registration form (PDF). This fillable PDF form is an accessible document. Fill it out on your computer and then print it out and mail it in with a check made out to “Washington State University” to:
WSU Extension Forestry
Attn: Forestry for Teachers Registration
6705 Puget Park Dr
Snohomish, WA 98296
Note: for ease of filling out the mail-in registration form, we recommend you right-click the form download link above and select “Save link as” to save the PDF file, and then open it in Adobe Acrobat or the free Adobe Reader rather than viewing it within your web browser. The form functions do not work when viewed in a web browser.
Contact Info, Acknowledgements and Accommodations
For more information about this program, please contact Quinn Merrick at 425-357-6023 or nicholas.merrick@wsu.edu.
This Program is made possible by funding from the Snohomish Conservation District.
Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office. Reasonable accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities and special needs who contact Quinn Merrick at 425-357-6023 or nicholas.merrick@wsu.edu at least two weeks prior to the event.
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