A couple of weeks ago, we learned that a project we had proposed for funding had been rejected.  Not “creative,” the letter said.  Not “innovative.”

You don’t need to tie the language in knots – or ask me to pass my sour grapes –  to parse just what “creativity” or “innovation” meant to the review panel. 

We had asked for funding to help distribute PLT’s newly-developed high school curriculum on community-level environmental issues.  After four years, the “Places” curriculum was complete – and had been reviewed by hundreds of technical experts and master educators. 

Since it was the first, fully-realized education program dealing with high-profile issues like sprawl and growth, our “Places” curriculum earned early and earnest praise from reviewers, and high marks from independent assessors.  “I wish I were back in high school, so I could work on these lessons,” wrote one highly-regarded foundation leader who had provided the earliest funding for the smart growth movement.

Just the same, not quite “good enough for government work.” 

I can follow the logic trail.  The curriculum had already been developed.  It had already been tested and printed.  In the eyes of the review panel, it seemed “old.”  Yesterday’s news.  Redundant, not “innovative.”  They wanted to break new ground, not enrich somebody else’s already-fertile soil.

The problem is this logic trail leads right off a cliff. 

Suppose someone applied to NIH for a grant to test an existing drug that had showed promise for use with another disease – and the review panel said “no thanks, we’re only funding brand new drugs.”  Or the Defense Department refused to consider modifying an existing plane at a tiny fraction of the cost of developing an altogether new one.  Or a Super Bowl-winning football coach told his team to forget all the plays that had made their season – “Nah.  We gotta do something creative and innovative.”

Don’t get me wrong.  We don’t [and shouldn’t] expect to get every grant we apply for.  Nor am I against creativity or innovation.  Sometimes new ideas emerge, and everybody profits.  Reinventing the wheel can be a good thing, especially if it produces a better wheel.

But often, what’s deemed new simply mirrors something that others have already done – and done well – before. 

How does this hurt?  Most immediately, the organization limits its opportunity to learn from what others have already tried.  It can cost money too. 

But the most pernicious effects will be felt more broadly.  In a field like environmental education, funding is scant, episodic and uncertain.  What’s deemed “new” often diverts resources from programs that might be “old” but effective.  We become locked into an endless cycle of innovation without impact.  That’s why people who care about environmental education must learn to invest wisely and, in a way, selflessly.  The biggest returns just might flow from partnerships with programs already in place.

Laurence Wiseman, President

American Forest Foundation
1111 Nineteenth Street, NW
Suite 780
Washington, D.C. ▪ 20036
Phone 202.463.2462
Fax 202.463.2461

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ATFS Notes
Five-Year Tree Farm Certification Initiative Nears Conclusion with Pending PEFC Endorsement

Tree Farm plans to submit its application for endorsement from the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) in late 2006.  Our submission will culminate a five-year effort that began with development of new standards, training of inspectors, implementation of group certification and most recently, roll-out of a full third-party sampling protocol for all Tree Farm properties. 

Tree Farm staff, with assistance from Abusow International, have completed a gap analysis that highlights administrative and program changes needed to achieve PEFC endorsement, and will implement these changes by year-end to prepare for a formal audit by PEFC.

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F²W² Update
F2W2 Project in Oregon Selected for Conservation Innovation Grant

USDA/NRCS Awards $113,000 to demonstrate Oak Savannah management practices in Willamette Valley.

The conservation forestry practices promoted will provide critical wildlife habitat as well as wood products.  Outreach activities will include the creation of an education trail, a sign program to recognize early adopters of conservation forestry, and two demonstration field days for family forest owners.  The initiative will also provide $57,000 in assistance to family forest owners for habitat restoration.

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PLT Cornerstone
PLT School Honored for Dramatic Turn-Around in Student Performance on State Assessment Tests

National School Change Award presented June 19 to Oil City Elementary Magnet School in Oil City, LA

Five years ago Oil City Elementary faced closure.  That same year, the entire faculty was trained to use Project Learning Tree as part of their curriculum.  The results were dramatic.  In 2001, just 38 percent off fourth grade students scored at the basic to proficient level of state standardized tests.  By 2005 that number had almost doubled to 67 percent performing at that level or higher.

“PLT played a major role in helping turn the school around,” said Mike Irvin, Oil City Elementary principal.  “I see teachers using PLT activities and teaching strategies every day with their students.”  Teachers regularly take their students outside for hands-on lessons using the school’s three new outdoor classrooms, a greenhouse, and a nature trail.  A PLT GreenWorks! grant is currently helping students add a fruit orchard and bird viewing station. 

The “National School Change Award” is awarded each year to six schools from around the US by the American Association of School Administrators, New York’s Fordham University Graduate School of Education, and Pearson Education. 

The Oil City experience shows how dedicated educators can use PLT for professional development and as a teaching tool that not only improves environmental knowledge, but boosts student achievement across the entire curriculum.

PLT Plans Biotechnology Supplement to Widely-Used “Risk” Curriculum

Project Learning Tree (PLT) will take up critical issues in biotechnology in a new supplement to its widely-used curriculum, Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Risk. 

Designed for grade 9-12 educators, and underwritten by a $275,000 grant from Monsanto, the biotechnology supplement will be made available and promoted to PLT’s 500,000 trained educators through our 50-state network of state cooperators and facilitators, PLT’s website and through our partnerships with other education organizations.  The project will be led by a multi-sector, multi-disciplinary steering committee.

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At A Glance is a monthly e-newsletter of the American Forest Foundation. At A Glance highlights the activities, events, and projects of the Foundation's programs, the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), Forests for Watersheds and Wildlife (F2W2), and Project Learning Tree (PLT).

		The American Forest Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works for healthy forests, quality environmental education and informed decision-making about our communities and our world. Our vision is to be recognized for our commitment to sustainable forestry, quality environmental education, and wildlife habitat and watershed protection.
		The American Tree Farm System sustaining forests, watersheds, and healthy habitats through the power of private stewardship.
		Forests for Watersheds and Wildlife links family forest landowners with conservation partners from private, state, and federal wildlife agencies to improve and restore wildlife habitat.
		PLT uses the forest as a window on the world to increase students understanding of our complex environment and to help students learn the skills they need to make sound choices about the environment.

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