School Forests And The Community Your school can have its own school forest to use as a laboratory for outdoor education. The purpose of this publication is to tell you how. There can be no disagreement among thinking men and women today as to the importance of greater thrift in the use of our natural resources. We have been wasteful in the past, and we must mend our ways lest we, as well as future generations, suffer. The problem is nation-wide, but the answer must come from individuals and communities. They must be made to see the dangers and the safeguards. They must be educated to use the ounce of prevention as well as the pound of cure. Logically, the responsibility for this education is with the schools. The habits of thought and action that may be inculcated into young people will not only influence their behavior as citizens later, but will permeate throughout the community now. Planning School Forests, it seems to me, has a healthily realistic and practical approach. It points out the sources of advice and assistance in establishing and maintaining school forests. It takes into account large schools as well as small, city schools as well as rural schools. It pictures an ideal school forest as a goal to strive for. It describes some Ohio school forests already in use as outdoor laboratories. It shows how small, first-step projects can develop in size and usefulness. It is, in effect, a handbook for pioneers. Ohioans in years to come may look back with thanksgiving to the pioneering which guided their schools into wiser use of the state's vital natural resources. For these reasons I am happy to introduce Planning School Forests to educational leaders. R.M. Eyman Superintendent of Public Instruction PLANNING SCHOOL FORESTS CARL S. JOHNSON, Ph. D. Assistant Professor of Conservation A program recommended to all schools by the OHIO FORESTRY ASSOCIATION, INC. Southern Hotel, Columbus 15, Ohio PLANNING SCHOOL FORESTS 5 1. IMPORTANCE OF CONSERVATION EDUCATION The principles and practices of conservation have become an essential in the course of studies in all forward-looking schools. The wiser use of all natural resources is a necessity the world over. It is equal in importance to such problems as the establishment of peaceful relations among the nations, the attainment of good health for the individual, and the preservation of the freedoms underlying mankind's fullest development. It is unlikely, indeed, that any of these great goals can be reached unless we do achieve a more thrifty use of our natural resources. Educational leaders and conservationists agree that enlightenment in this field is a major responsibility of the schools. A survey of educational literature, 1934-1949, revealed that conservation ranked third in frequency of mention among 52 areas of educational need. When these needs were further concentrated into 16 problem areas, conservation was one of four about which 28 leading school men agreed. [Lucille L. Lurry: Problem Areas Appropriate for Core Curriculum in the Secondary School; unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 1949.] The question is no longer "Must we teach conservation?" but "How may it best be taught?" To be effective, teaching must be closely related to circumstances that will arise outside the classroom. Young or old, we all learn best by doing. The more life-like the learning activity is, the more meaningful and lasting will the lesson be. There is little justification for merely talking about a thing which may be seen, for merely looking at a thing which may be handled and used, or for classroom make-believe when real-life situations are at hand. These principles apply to all phases of education, but in a very special sense to the teaching of conservation. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS A wealth of materials dealing with all aspects of conservation is now available to teachers. The great bulk of it is in the form of pamphlets, bulletins, magazines and newspaper articles, posters, pictures and other kinds of printed matter which are free or inexpensive. Textbooks in various fields do not ignore conservation. So many different ones now refer to soil erosion that teachers can hardly avoid discussion of that great problem. However, textbook references and collateral readings seldom do more than raise the problem. The printed page does not always link the problem to everyday life. Dependence upon books may even prevent students from gaining first hand experiences. Printed materials and audio-visual aids may all be helpful, and may all be made to enrich teaching, but they are not enough. How many teachers bring the soil conservation question home to students by pointing out erosion in their own community, or even in their own state? Certainly soil erosion is serious in Asia Minor, as several elementary |