LEARNING IS FOR EVERYONE
It’s all around us this month. The August back-to-school theme is everywhere, as teachers, parents, and kids prepare for the new school year. The Georgia Forestry Commission wants to be a part of your school year as well, and develop roots that create a great foundation for forestry education in Georgia.
Every Georgian is a potential forestry student. We’re ramping up for fall, just as we close the books on a very busy season of teaching and learning. We’ve held special outdoor summer camps for kids, workshops for teachers, and outreach events that help educate pupils of all types. As the school year begins, we invite everyone to keep on learning through the myriad of resources we have to offer.
Education is a key component of our mission statement, which declares that we provide leadership, service, and education to protect and conserve Georgia’s forest resources. You can be a part of that mission and get a thorough overview of the many learning opportunities we have at https://gatrees.org/learn-explore/. There are options for home-schoolers and traditional students, teachers, parents, and care-givers. Materials and activities speak to the young as well as higher learners. Topics include everything from native Georgia tree species to intrusive invasive diseases and pests, forest products, wildfire safety, and career information. Our library is chock full of videos, suggested reading, and work sheets that are fun as well as educational. And if it’s an in-person presentation you’d like, we do those, too. Our knowledgeable foresters and wildland firefighters love getting out to meet the public, and Smokey Bear can even be scheduled for appearances!
If you haven’t checked out our You Tube channel or social media platforms (#gatrees), there’s lots of learning to be done in those places as well. Videos cover a wide variety of forestry topics, and our podcast, the Georgia Forestry Forum, delves deeply into relevant subjects every month.
Did you know that this month, August, is “Tree Check Month?” The US Department of Agriculture promotes the theme to remind people about tree health before fall begins.
This is the ideal time to examine your trees for growth issues, both good and bad. Some not so healthy signs to look for include evidence of insects, leaf defoliation, bark holes, and irregular growth. If your plum tree isn’t bearing fruit or your redbud bombed this year, it’s time to find out what’s ailing them. The GFC has a great online feature called “Ask the Arborist,” and a library of past videos just may hold the answer to your questions. Or, you can submit your own query and one of our foresters will respond quickly.
Remember, there is no end to learning. And the Georgia Forestry Commission wants to help you grow, every day.