Press Releases
Teachers! Win $1,000 as Minnesota Forest Educator of the Year!
Get free seedlings at McDonald's April 25th!
K-12 teachers invited to enter 5th annual 'Minnesota Forest Educators
of the Year' competition; two $1,000 awards to be presented
What has quickly become a Minnesota education tradition continues in 2003, when two K-12 teachers will receive statewide recognition and $1,000 each as winners of the fifth annual "Minnesota Forest Educators of the Year" competition.
Sponsored by Minnesota Forest Industries (MFI), the statewide program is open to all Minnesota teachers who have focused at least one of their lessons during the 2002-2003 school year on helping students learn about Minnesota's forests. The awards competition, which will accept entries until June 6, is divided into separate divisions for grades K-6 and 7-12.
A panel of professionals from the forestry and education fields will review entry materials and select one Minnesota Forest Educator of the Year from each grade division. Each winner will receive $1,000 during a ceremony at the State Capitol in August.
Minnesota's teachers play a vital role in helping young people learn about the importance of Minnesota's forests in everyday life," said Wayne Brandt, MFI Executive Vice President. "Our Minnesota Forest Educators of the Year Awards honor the commitment that teachers use to help tomorrow's generation fully understand Minnesota's forests and wood products."
In 2002, teachers from all over the state submitted applications highlighting creativity used in making learning fun and informative. During an August ceremony at the State Capitol, Lt. Gov. Mae Schunk presented the winners awards to Christopher Holmes, a fifth grade teacher at James Madison Elementary School in Virginia, and Doug Ploof, a senior agri-science instructor at Little Falls Community High School.
Holmes, who oversees the Virginia School District's 120-acre School Forest, had lessons during the past school year that included tree identification, seedling planting, tree pruning, birdhouse building, and student writing of a Virginia history booklet, including the importance of logging to the city's development.
Ploof teaches two forestry classes each trimester - "Introduction to Forestry" and "Forest Management." His lessons include: field trips to the Weyerhaeuser Museum and several forests, tapping trees and boiling maple syrup, pruning 1.5 acres of pine using pole saws, a portable sawmill demonstration, and working as teams to make tables and chairs from raw materials gathered in the forest.
MFI is an association representing Minnesota's forest products companies. MFI encourages conservation, proper forest management and industry development that foster sound environmental stewardship, multiple use of timberlands and long-term timber supply.
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McDonald's Restaurants and Minnesota Forest Industries giving away
more than 50,000 free seedlings on Arbor Day, April 25
Minnesota Forest Industries (MFI) is teaming up with Minnesota McDonald's restaurants to give away more than 50,000 red pine tree seedlings this Arbor Day, April 25th.
The tree giveaway involves 200 participating McDonald's restaurants all over Minnesota, and will include instructions on how to plant and care for seedlings. No purchase is necessary; trees are free while seedlings last in each restaurant.
"Planting a seedling is a great family activity that helps people to learn about trees, right in their back yards," said Wayne Brandt, MFI Executive Vice President. "But they're not alone. McDonald's customers will add to the more than 2.5 million seedlings that will be planted throughout Minnesota this year."
Part of the Arbor Day seedling giveaway program will also include information in each McDonald's about Minnesota's forests and unique facts about trees, wildlife and the forest products industry.
"This is the second time that McDonald's has participated in an Arbor Day seedling giveaway," said Cheryl Fazendin, McDonald's Director of Marketing. "Our customers enjoy the opportunity to help enhance the beauty of our great state, and we're pleased to help them do it."
MFI is an association representing Minnesota's forest products companies. MFI encourages conservation, proper forest management and industry development that foster sound environmental stewardship, multiple use of timberlands and long-term timber supply.
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