Involving Children in Forest Management Projects Topic of Yale School of Forestry Panel Discussion

The Yale Forest Forum, sponsored by the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, will host a panel discussion titled “In the Hands of Children: Managing Forests, Society and Ourselves through Environmental Education,” on Friday, Dec. 11, 4-6 p.m. in Bowers Auditorium of Sage Hall, 205 Prospect St. A reception will follow the discussion, which is free and open to the public.

The panel brings together leaders in education and forestry, each with a unique perspective on the environmental movement and on the potential for involving children in community development and forest management projects.

“Children nationally and internationally are investigating, designing, monitoring and managing their surroundings through innovative environmental programs,” said Dr. Roger Hart, director of the Children’s Environments Research Group at the City University of New York and editor of the journal Children’s Environments.

“Children who genuinely contribute to the shared understanding and management of their environments develop a strong sense of their capacity to affect change. They provide what is perhaps our most vital message of hope for a sustainable future,” said Hart, who will present the keynote address.

Hart has worked extensively with UNICEF on children’s environmental education and currently serves on the boards of the American Horticultural Society, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and Hasbro Children’s Foundation, among others.

Other panelists are Running Grass, founder of the Three Circles Center, a nonprofit organization for multicultural education and environmental justice in Sausalito, Calif.; Michelle Mauthe Harvey, vice president of programs for the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation in Washington, D.C.; and Larry Wiseman, president of the American Forest Foundation, sponsor of Project Learning Tree.

The panel will be moderated by Dr. Chris Myers, editor-in-chief of Dragonfly, a national magazine for young environmental investigators. Myers is a visiting associate professor of environmental education at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

This Environmental Education Issue Forum is sponsored by the Yale Forest Forum. Its objective is to educate students and the public on issues particularly germane to the support and long-term stewardship of private forestlands. For more information, contact program director Keri Gibson, (203) 432-5117, or e-mail www.yale.edu/yff.