“Carbon Footprints ” is the theme for National EE Week 2008 and FHS has a module that's perfect for this theme. "Living in a Global Forest," from the If Trees Could Talk middle school curriculum, is an excellent module to use during National EE Week, April 13-19, 2008 or anytime in the month of April to celebrate Environmental Education in the U.S. " Living in a Global Forest " has students compare the ecological footprint of an average home built in 2000 with that of an average home constructed in 1950. Students learn where our wood comes from now and analyze global efforts to manage the world's forests.

From its inception the If Trees Could Talk curriculum was correlated to the National History and Social Studies standards. And now the curriculum has also been correlated to all 50 individual state standards. Most recently added were: Alabama , Arizona , Arkansas , Delaware , Hawaii , Idaho , Indiana , Iowa , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maine , Massachusetts , Michigan , Mississippi , Missouri , Nebraska , Nevada , New Hampshire , New Mexico , North Dakota , Oklahoma , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Utah , Vermont , West Virginia and Wyoming .

The Greatest Good K-12 Teacher Guide can be found on our Educational website. The Greatest Good film was produced by the U.S. Forest Service in recognition of its Centennial in 2005. Using the film 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 into the social studies, science, math, & civics classroom. There are also links to complementary activities from many different organizations. The DVD's may be purchased through FHS.

Highlighted activities from "The Greatest Good K-12 Teacher Guide" for National EE Week:

• The Greatest Good film, “Woodsy Owl” [Disc 2] with Woodsy's World Scavenger Hunt! (grade 1-3). Help students build a connection to and appreciation of their environment by using this activity.
  
• The Greatest Good film, "Conservation Leaders" [Disc 2] with Greenbelt in Your Schoolyard (grades 3-8, Science & Social Studies) - Lessons that allow student to take a closer look at nature as it relates to urban life.
  
• The Greatest Good film, "The Greatest Good? 1971-2005" [Disc 1 , Part IV] with If Trees Could Talk , “Trees in Your Own Backyard” (grades 6-9) - students consider human impacts on trees in the city landscape and the responsibility of citizens for preserving the urban forest.
  
• The Greatest Good film, "The Fight for Conservation, 1864-1910" [Disc 1, Part I] with "The Conservation Movement at a Crossroads: The Hetch Hetchy Controversy " (grades 9-12) - students study the Hetch Hetchy debate a turning point in American Conservationism.