National Hardwood Magazine - October 2018

HARDWOOD FOREST

HARDWOOD FOREST FOUNDATION NEWS Hard at Work at Hardwood Forest Foundation We all know how important it is to tell our industry’s story, and the board of the Hardwood Forest Foundation has been working diligently over the last 18 months to get the sustainable forestry message out to school age children in two ways. First, we redesigned our Truth About Trees kits in order to reach more classrooms and provide a higher quality, longer-lasting educational resource, and second, we partnered with the Omaha Children’s Museum to create an interactive exhibit called “Forever Forest” that will tour the country over the next 10 years, three cities per year, reaching millions of children and their parents. REDESIGNING THE TRUTH ABOUT TREES KITS TO PROVIDE A SUPERIOR CURRICU- LAR RESOURCE Thanks to our donors and volunteers, The Hardwood Forest Foundation now has a unique opportunity to send T.A.T kits to schools in the communities hosting the Forever Forest exhibit, reinforcing the sustainable forestry message and also educating young people about career opportunities available in the lumber and construction industries. HFF wanted the redesigned kits to be as user-friendly and long-lasting as possible. Board member Liz Langan spearheaded the exhibit and the kit redesign. “The original kits were too bulky and expensive to ship, and we thought we could create a better product for less money,” said Langan. “The feedback we received from educators helped us to redesign the kit into a higher quality product that will last a long time and actually cost less. Teachers told us they didn’t have room in their classrooms for the box, so the new kit fits in a tri-fold folder and teachers can store it with their files. They can download tiered lesson plans from our website as well as activity pages, increasing the longevity of the kit. Each kit now represents 10 years of learning for grades K-6.” The new T.A.T. kits are housed in a thick cardstock folder and contain a deck of 25 color flashcards with images of products derived from wood and information on what part of a tree was used to make them. The kits also include lesson plans, a storybook, dvd, stickers, wooden pencils, and a wood products scavenger hunt activity. “FOREVER FOREST” INTERACTIVE EXHIBIT INTRODUCES KIDS TO THE FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY The Forever Forest exhibit, currently at the St. Louis Magic House, includes six interactive components: a “Tree Top Climber” climbing structure and slide; “Harvest Time,” with a kid-friendly grapple skidder and fake logs; “Train Challenge,” where kids practice unloading and loading lumber as well as surprising tree products like chocolate, gum, and ping-pong balls; “Train Transport,” an interactive display of the process of forest products distribution; “Sawmill Please turn to page 91 BY JEFF DURST, BOARD PRESIDENT, HARDWOOD FOREST FOUNDATION, MEMPHIS, TN 901-507-0312 WWW.HARDWOODFOREST.ORG 30 OCTOBER 2018 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE

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