The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of State Parks, has developed Pennsylvania Land Choices, a program that orients teachers of grades 6-12 to land use concepts and practices and gives them a level of confidence in teaching them to their students. For Pennsylvania teachers, workshops are available through the DCNR to facilitate the orientation process. (Visit the DCNR teacher workshops web page for more information on workshops.)

The program also has an educational guide with five lesson units, each with multiple activities. Its goal is to increase involvement and knowledge among students and community members in local and regional land use decisions. Though developed in Pennsylvania, the guide is a valuable reference for curriculum development in any state.

A brochure for the program provides more details: "From viewing aerial photographs to designing a park, Pennsylvania Land Choices provides inquiry-based activities aligned to current state academic standards."

The activities are for both the classroom and the Great Outdoors, and challenge students to think critically about how the landscape around them is being shaped. The guide comes with a list of academic standards met by Pennsylvania Land Choices and also a list of resources for additional learning.

The lessons are:

* The Changing Face of Pennsylvania – Students analyze changes in the Pennsylvania landscape over time and learn how historic events affected land use decisions.

* Pennsylvania Planning Tool Box – This lesson gives an overview of the key components of land use planning in Pennsylvania, including the Municipalities Planning Code which gives land use planning control to individual municipalities.

* Living in Communities – This lesson asks the broader question of what we want our communities to be like and introduces the topic of smart growth.

* Protecting Land Resources – The threat of sprawl on ecosystems and species habitat is covered here as students learn the value of protecting the natural environment.

* No Park is an Island – Students become planners as they make recommendations for communities that border one of Pennsylvania’s many state parks.

For more information, contact Estelle Ruppert, PA Land Choices Coordinator. Phone: 717-772-1807; email: eruppert[at]state.pa.us.