Module 2 of the If Trees Could Talk curriculum, "From Forest to Farm and Back Again", was included in the Environmental Education Resource Packet provided to attendees at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) annual conference in November 2005. The packets were produced by the North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE) to introduce teachers to the possibilities for bringing the environment into the social studies classroom and If Trees Could Talk was a natural choice for inclusion. We were glad for the opportunity to reach a wider audience since our primary objective is to get this free curriculum into the hands of as many teachers as possible.

In June 2006, the Forest History Society, sponsored by the EPA (Region 4), Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, and the US Forest Service, will host a 2-day Teacher Institute in Environmental History for North Carolina educators at Duke University in Durham, N. C.  This will be an excellent opportunity for North Carolina educators to learn more about environmental history, gain ideas for team teaching, and learn about an exciting new curriculum that meets several of the NC Standard Course of Study requirements. The Teacher Institute will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, June 14 and 15, 2006, free of charge. Guest speakers will include Dr. James Lewis, Forest History Society Staff Historian; Dr. Timothy Silver, Environmental History Professor from Appalachian State University; Larry Earley, Environmental Historian/Author; and Dr. Norman Christensen, Founding Dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University. We hope this will be the first of many Teacher Institutes to be held across the country. Keep an eye out for a Teacher Institute in your area.

There has been another exciting new addition to our Education website, The Greatest Good K-12 Teacher Guide. The Greatest Good film and companion book were produced by the U.S. Forest Service in honor of its Centennial celebration in 2005 and provide an in-depth look at natural resource management during the 20th century. Using the film and book in a classroom is an ideal way for students to study many related issues such as forest conservation, the role of fire in our society, wildlife protection, human impacts on the environment, and environmental decision-making in a democracy. The Greatest Good Teacher Guide offers K-12 educators suggestions for incorporating age-appropriate portions of the film and its bonus materials into the social studies, science, math, and civics classroom. There are also links to complementary activities and lessons from many different organizations. We hope you find this to be a great new resource to add to your favorites. Books and DVD's may be purchased through FHS.

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