The ForestLearning website has gained positive feedback from participants and teachers alike. Nearly 4,000 downloads of teaching materials have exposed information about forests and forestry to an estimated audience approaching 50,000 students
The aim of the website forestlearning.edu.au, is to have more school teachers and educators use Australian forests and forest-based teaching resources. Funded by FWPA the site incorporates input from a network of forest educators and forestry communication specialists from organisations across Australia, collectively known as the Australian Forest Education Alliance (AFEA).
Organisations including the Forest Corporation of NSW, VicForests, Planet Ark, Primary Industries and Regions SA, Forest Education Foundation and Forest Product Commission of WA, have all contributed to the development of the new online resource.
Teachers have reported that the website makes finding relevant resources, “much easier”. The statistics show the top five resources downloaded by teacher:
- ‘Carbon and its Storage in Forest and Wood Products’ – downloaded 1120 times
- ‘A Closer Look at Rainforests’ – downloaded 1053 times
- ‘Wood as a Renewable and Energy Efficient Resource’ – downloaded 631times
- ‘Innovation in Manufacturing Wood Products and Construction’ – downloaded 572 times
- ‘Timber Harvesting in Native State Forests’ – downloaded 557 times.
- That’s 3,932 times the resources have been downloaded and if only half of those teachers delivered the lessons to classes of 25 children, then more than 49,000 children could have been exposed to a positive forest industry message, an estimate based on these top five resources only.
ForestLearning was also featured in the Winter/Spring 2016 edition of Log and Tally the newsletter for Hoo Hoo International (www.hoohoo.org), gaining added awareness among teachers and industry in Australia and internationally.
Visit the ForestLearning website
For more information, or to become involved with the project:
email info@forestlearning.edu.au or call Tania on 0412149624.