Washington’s Working Forests April 2020 Newsletter

April 15, 2020

Have no fear, newly homeschooling parents. Online forestry-focused educational resources are a click away.

In an effort to stop community spread of coronavirus in Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week that both public and private school closures would last the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year – impacting an unprecedented 1.2 million Washington students. As a result, parents are now having to contend with homeschooling their children
over the next two months.

The news has left some parents resorting to humor as they navigate homeschooling. But as parents meet the challenge of finding creative ways to engage their children and promote academic learning in their home, many are looking to online resources and news sites that offer pointers and tips.

To that end, the Washington Forest Protection Association has created a website – LearnForest.org – in collaboration with members and partners to provide a clearinghouse of forestry-focused learning resources. This is by no means an official curriculum. But it does offer families a fun and accessible opportunity to apply subjects like science, language arts, visual arts and physical education into their children’s school day from their home or backyard.

“I have heard that parents are struggling to find relevant resources for their children and teachers are overwhelmed with trying to design curriculum for online,” said Kelly Stanley, Port Blakely environmental education coordinator. “But the school closures also provide a rare opportunity for students to set aside the pressures of standardized tests and see what they like and what interests them. This is your chance to see what inspires your kids and build on that.”

have you signed?

The petition drive is still moving forward for the creation of this special Washington state vehicle license plate supporting working forests. Your help is still needed. Share our petition with your friends. Make sure our voices are heard.

How much do working forestry and wood products mean to Washington state?

An awful lot.

did you know?

Most of the public doesn’t realize that harvesting in working forests only occurs on a very small area of Washington state forestland. Of the more than 22 million acres of forestland in Washington state, more than half of those acres are restricted and cannot be logged. In the remaining 11 million acres of privately owned and state and federal-managed working forestland – harvesting takes place on less than 2% of acreage annually on average. Speedy replanting ensures that new forests are “greening up” quickly, usually within 12 to 18 months. These practices are the foundation of Washington state’s sustainable working forestry sector. [Source]