A Forest in the City? Recommendations for Developing, Implementing, and Maintaining the "A Forest for Every Classroom" in Milwaukee and Chicago for the U.S. Forest Service

Abstract

This study, conducted in three phases from February 2009 to April 2010, was guided by a single overarching goal: to provide the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Urban Connections program in Region 9 and the Conservation Education Office in Washington D.C. with recommendations to develop, implement, and maintain a conservation education program based on the A Forest For Every Classroom (FFEC) model, and tailored for use in Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI. Urban Connections is an outreach program which operates in nine cities in the Eastern Region and which aims to increase awareness of National Forests among urban populations. FFEC is a place‐based conservation education program offering professional development for both formal and non‐formal K‐12 teachers which was originally developed in Vermont through a partnership between the USFS Green Mountain National Forest and other public‐ and private‐sector partners. The program is currently active in Vermont, New Hampshire, Texas and Montana. Participating teachers develop individual curricula that utilize their local environment and resources as a context for teaching any subject matter, with a focus on creating a sense of place and developing stewardship behavior and civic responsibility. To meet the study’s overarching goal, interviews and focus groups were conducted with 85 USFS personnel, potential external partners, FFEC ‐program representatives, teachers who have participated in FFEC (“FFEC alumni”), and teachers from Milwaukee and Chicago. Interview data was analyzed using content analysis with categorization of responses. Results were used to create recommendations specific to FFEC implementation in Milwaukee and Chicago. These recommendations fall into six categories: Getting Started, Partnerships, Program Design, Urban Adaptations, School Support and Recruitment, and In the Classroom: Curriculum Implementation.