Project Learning Tree is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators. PLT uses the forest as a window into the world, engaging the next generation of America's leaders and decision makers. Find resources and professional development on the Texas PLT website.

Tree Trails is a project for students, by students, to celebrate trees. Enhance outdoor classrooms at schools, nature centers and public parks by creating an education trail focused on trees. Access lesson modules and the mapping program on the Tree Trails section.

As an educator, you can introduce a whole new generation of children to Smokey Bear and his message of Wildfire Prevention. Check out a variety of materials to easily integrate into your curriculum on Smokey Bear’s website.

Educator Workshops

Texas Project Learning Tree offers workshops for all grade level educators throughout Texas. Check our calendar or offer to host one at your facility.

Teacher Conservation Institute is a week-long workshop held in East Texas which uses the forest to teach environmental education.

Tree Identification

The Trees of Texas website hosts a wealth of information from tree biology, a tree dictionary to a way to explore Texas Ecoregions. 

Envirothon

Envirothon is an intense high school team competition set up to enhance students’ environmental literacy and enable them to make informed decisions regarding the environment.

Texas Forestry Museum

Tour the Texas Forestry Museum in Lufkin or participate in grade-level programs correlated to TEKS. They offer traveling trunks that are available for checkout, as well as an extensive video library.

Forest History Society

If Trees Could Talk is a middle school curriculum in environmental history created by the Forest History Society. The 11-module curriculum gives educators the opportunity to download social studies activities based upon archival materials.

Now, it's easier than ever to get your family out and connect with nature with one of these exciting programs:

Texas Nature Challenge

The goal of Texas Nature Challenge is to get families and kids outdoors by visiting as many participating parks and nature areas in Texas as they can. At each site, participants complete activity challenges designed for family fun and nature exploration. Travel across Texas or find nature challenges in your area.

Try out two challenges you can do anytime, anywhere: Tree Time and Tree Search

Nature Rocks

Nature helps make kids healthier happier, and smarter. Nature Rocks Texas helps you find nature-based places, activities and events in your area.

Texas Children in Nature is a grassroots network working to connect children and families with nature in Texas.

Discover the Forest

Visit the Discover the Forest website to get ideas of where to go and what to do in your forest.

Pecan Tree Poster

The Pecan poster depicts the history and gives a description of Texas’ state tree, the pecan tree (Carya illinoensis).

The pecan tree grows in each of Texas’ seven regions and is native to most of the state. As a member of the hickory family, it can grow up to 150 feet tall, with a broad rounded crown. Even with rainfall ranging from 8 inches in the west to 60 inches in the east, pecan trees can be found everywhere in between—growing in orchards, open fields or forests, along streets, in front yards or parks and beside creeks and river bottoms.

In 1919, the Texas Legislature named the pecan as the state tree as a tribute to former governor James Stephen Hogg (governor from 1891–95). Hogg, on his deathbed said, “Let my children plant at the head of my grave a pecan tree and at my feet an old-fashioned walnut tree. And when these trees shall bear, let the pecans and the walnuts be given out among the plains people so that they may plant them and make Texas a land of trees.”

To request a Pecan Tree poster, email education@tfs.tamu.edu.

The Trees of Texas Poster

The colorful Trees of Texas poster walks you through how to identify the state tree of Texas—the pecan tree. To request the Tree Of Texas poster, email education@tfs.tamu.edu. For more information on tree identification, visit our Trees of Texas website.

Tree Cookie Parts

Life of the Forest

The 10-piece Life of the Forest poster series provides beautiful illustrations to help teach seed germination, tree growth and much more. This series is available as a free download to educators from International Paper Company.

Tree Activities

Tree Time and Tree Search

    

 

Forest Benefits Wheel

Working forests demonstrate a continuous cycle that provides public benefits. Cut out and put together this wheel to discover the benefits of our Texas forests.

 

Dichotomous Key Practice Activity 

Get started on learning to use a dichotomous key with this practice activity that includes six tree species. After practice with the key, identify several trees at your school or in your community and then create your own dichotomous key for those trees. 

 

• Instructions and Key (226 KB)
• Sample Leaf cards (701 KB)
• Getting Started on Leaf Characteristics handout (970 KB)
• Tree Information cards (708 KB)

• All Practice Key handouts (2.2 KB)

The Texas Nature Resource/Environmental Literacy Plan serves as a framework to coordinate efforts of formal and informal educators to provide lifelong opportunities for all Texans to become stewards of our natural resources.

Texas A&M Forest Service endorses this plan and supports environmental literacy within the six components of the plan.

• Lifelong Learning and Community Connections
• Formal Education
• Informal Education
• Professional Development
• Assessment
• Funding and Support