Educators
Arbor Day is Around the Corner
This year we celebrate National Arbor Day on April 28. A special day set aside for tree planting, Arbor Day was first observed in Nebraska in 1872 with the planting of more than a million trees. It expanded to the rest of the country in 1882 and since then communities around the U.S. have celebrated trees on the last Friday in April. If your community has a special Arbor Day celebration, it may be a member of the Tree City USA program. In cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and National Association of State Foresters, the Arbor Day Foundation provides the framework necessary for communities to manage and expand their public trees through the Tree City USA program. More than 3,400 communities have made the commitment to becoming a Tree City USA by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day. Tree City USA is a popular program in the Intermountain Region with 87 communities achieving this status in Utah, 11 communities in Nevada, 68 communities in Idaho, and 41 communities in Wyoming. Is your town one of them?
Arbor Day Fun Activities for Kids
- Help Woodsy find the Forest
- Match the tree to its correct shadow
- Coloring page - Woodsy planting a tree
- Coloring page - Arbor Day
Find out more about Arbor Day and how you can celebrate in your community from the Arbor Day Foundation.
Educational Resources
Educational Trunks
Most forests have educational trunks loaded with hands-on materials and resources you can borrow. Some of the trunks in our Region include: tree trunks, bat box, weed trunk, FireWorks trunk, wilderness box, wolf box, wild turkey box and fish box. Contact your local forest office to find out what is available.
Rocky Mountain Research Station Publications
The Rocky Mountain Research Station offers many online brochures and research publications. Some of these scientific publications would be helpful for students doing research for science fairs and other school projects.
Videos, Brochures, & Posters
Local forest offices carry a variety of educational materials. If you have a specific interest in additional materials, contact your local forest office.
Additional Educational Resources & Curricula
Career Information
In addition, Forest staff can present information about career options in the Forest Service. We are archaeologists, computer scientists, fishery and wildlife biologists, range conservationists, botanists, engineers, hydrologists, recreation specialists, interpreters, plus many more. And yes...some of us are forest rangers!
Every Kid Outdoors
The Every Kid Outdoors initiative allows fourth graders to obtain a pass for free entry for them and their families to more than 2,000 federally managed lands and waters for an entire year.
Children can discover their public lands and all they offer. As living classrooms, these outdoor places and historic sites also provide hands-on, real-world opportunities to develop critical skills and learn more about the natural world.
Conservation Education
The Forest Service Conservation Education program strives to build upon awareness, knowledge, values and attitudes of adults and youth, to foster understanding, appreciation, and appropriate behaviors concerning natural and cultural resources. The Forest Service is a leader in providing scientific knowledge and outstanding opportunities for place-based learning.
Bat Education
For all the bat basics, visit BatsLive for fun educational materials. Also, be sure to keep an eye on what our partners at Bat Conservation International are doing to help our small, furry flying friends
Junior Ranger Program
Two programs that may be available on your local forest are the Junior Ranger and the Junior Snow Ranger program. Junior Forest Ranger programs usually are available at many forest recreational sites during the summer. Junior Snow Ranger programs take place in the winter at downhill ski areas or on forest trails. Both of these programs offer hands-on activities that encourage stewardship of natural resources.
Smokey Bear
Essential wildfire prevention information, wildfire science and fighting wildfires are only a few of the items that you can learn on Smokeybear.com, you can also learn about the history of Smokey. There are a number of interactive activities for children to do as well as resource guides that are available. This site contains online activities and materials for youth. While there, don't forget to take the Pledge!
Fire Ecology
The FireWorks program focuses on fire ecology and the physics of fire. This program was created by researchers at the Forest Service Fire Research lab in Missoula, Montana. The program includes teacher workshops, fire resource trunks, and a downloadable curriculum that is appropriate for upper elementary through secondary. To locate the nearest FireWorks trunk or schedule a workshop, contact Jennifer McBride 801-798-3571
An excellent Fire curriculum and teacher guide by Nova.
Discover the Forest
For a fun way to learn about forests and what they have to offer, visit Discover the Forest. From here you can find forests or parks near you or games and activities that will make your next trip outdoors more fun. There is even a message from Lorax!
Natural Inquirer
The Natural Inquirer is a science journal that introduces 4th through 8th grade students to many topics of Forest Service research. Each edition contains student activities and lesson ideas for the teachers. Many forest offices have copies available for classroom use or copies can be downloaded.