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FRA PROMOTES TEACHERS’ TOURS
RELEASE: April 15, 2005
CONTACT: Neil Ward (301/838-9385)
nward@forestresources.org
Rockville, MD – What is the best way to get the message of forestry to the
next generation?
The Forest Resources Association proposes to put more focus on helping
schoolteachers understand forestry and the forest industry. That means
getting them into the woods. FRA has identified 27 fully developed
“Teachers Tour” programs, from British Columbia to Florida, and posted an
on-line directory at
www.forestresources.org/tt/home.html.
“People don’t realize how many excellent Tour programs have already been
established,” comments Dale Nixon, Chairman of the FRA Committee that
developed the on-line directory. “Some have been going on for decades,
others are quite new. New programs are being established all the time.”
Nixon points out that the Temperate Forest Foundation (www.forestinfo.org)
has been working with states and provinces since 1989 getting high-quality
programs launched and supporting them with curriculum materials, “but many
excellent Teachers Tour projects start up because an association, a
company, or an academic department sees a need and fills it,” he notes.
Tours typically last three to five days, with classroom time, plenty of
time in the woods—and exposure to forest operations and manufacturing.
“Most programs have concluded that it’s important to show teachers the
activities they may find most troubling and get the dialogue out in the
open,” says Nixon.
A Tour coordinator in Maine observes, “The teachers are transformed. I
don't think that's too strong a word.”
Tours need support from the forestry community, both to cover their costs
and for logistical help on the ground. FRA’s on-line directory provides
contact names for Tour organizers, inviting industry visitors to get
involved, through direct donations, sponsoring teachers’ participation, or
inviting tours to visit their operations. A response box invites visitors
to correct or update listings or to inform FRA of Tours that aren’t
listed.
Tours take place during the summer months. Visit the site today, and
support a Tour program in your region!
The Forest Resources Association Inc. is a nonprofit trade
association concerned with the safe, efficient, and sustainable harvest of
forest products and their transport from woods to mill. FRA represents
wood consumers, independent logging contractors, and wood dealers, as well
as businesses providing products and services to the forest resource-based
industries.
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