During this uneasy time of social distancing and staying safe at home, it can be a great time for learning, and we at ReGreen Springfield want to provide some tools for you to share with you and your family.
We’ve gathered a list of online resources for using to introduce trees and the natural world via the web. These have been assembled in partnership with the Morton Arboretum and the Arboretum at Forest Park.
- Urban Forestry Lab Exercises – developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service for elementary, middle, and high school students.[http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/uf/lab_exercises/cover.htm]
- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources offers hundreds of brochures, fact sheets, guides, and reports designed to inform citizens, educators, and business people about Illinois’ natural resources. Most of the publications are free of charge and may be ordered.[http://www.dnr.state.il.us/publications/index.htm]
- Treetures characters activities developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, American Forests, America the Beautiful Fund, United Nations Environment Program, and Davey Tree Expert Company.[http://www.treetures.com/FunActivities/funandactivi.htm]
- TreeLink – established in 1996 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Urban Forestry program to serve as a national urban forestry hub.[http://actrees.org/welcome-treelink-itreebank-visitors/]
- Conservation Education – Website developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. [http://www.fs.usda.gov/]
- Soil Education – website developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Services [http://soils.usda.gov/education/]
- Environmental Education – website developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [http://www2.epa.gov/education/]
- The Michigan Forests Forever online Teachers Guide is good source for teachers wanting to teach about trees. The site is sponsored by Michigan State University Extension, the Michigan Forest Resource Alliance, and the Michigan Forest Association. [http://mff.dsisd.net/]
- SimRoot – root architecture modeling tool for root research from Penn State University. Includes short, interesting movies showing how roots grow. [http://plantscience.psu.edu/research/labs/roots?q=en/node/113]
- Use this free, online National Tree Benefit Calculator provided by the Davey Tree Expert Company to calculate the economic and environmental benefits of a specific tree. [ http://www.davey.com/arborist-advice/ask-the-tree-doctor/]
