Drax sponsors teacher workshop in Louisiana

Teachers, girl scout leaders and other youth educators have been finding new ways to bring environmental education to life with Drax Biomass.

The renewable energy company sponsored a day of activities in Pineville, Louisiana, run by Project Learning Tree, to help teachers with lesson plans and a variety of resources and fun activities to help young people learn about the environment around them and how to take care of it.

Workshop attendees participated in various games and activities including “Tree Factory” which explains the life cycle of trees, “Birds and Bugs,” which teaches children about how insects camouflage themselves and “Water Wonders,” which demonstrates how the water cycle works.

Girl Scout Troop Leader Jessica Hall said, “One of our main focuses in the Girl Scouts is getting our troops out into nature and teaching them about the environment. The workshop has given me great, practical activities that I can use with my girls as well as sharing with the 20 other troops across Bossier Parish. I can’t wait to try the ‘Birds and Bugs’ game on our upcoming hiking day where we visit a local wildlife refuge.”

Drax Biomass sponsored the workshop at the Alexandria Forestry Center in Pineville, Louisiana, including supplying 100 copies of a lesson and activity guidebook for teachers and several activity kits for use on the day that each participant got to take with them.

The activities can be done in a classroom or outdoors and can be easily adapted to suit Kindergarten through grade 8. The activities can be integrated into lesson plans for all subject areas, in particular science, math, reading, writing and social studies and can help to improve critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Drax Biomass Senior Vice President Matt White said, “Project Learning Tree is a great initiative and we’re pleased to support a workshop like this one. Fostering an appreciation for our environment at a young age is so important as it encourages the next generation to play their part in conserving the natural world around us, which is essential for protecting our quality of life.”

Project Learning Tree – an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative - aims to promote greater awareness and knowledge of the environment through hands-on experience and engaging activities that can be integrated into the school curriculum.

Project Learning Tree Louisiana State Coordinator and employee of the USDA Forest Service, Stacy Blomquist, said: “We’re so grateful to Drax for their support with the workshop. The day was a great success and everyone who attended said they were looking forward to incorporating the activities they’d learned into lesson plans.”

The workshop was attended by teachers and a diverse range of professionals who work with young people including members of organizations such as the Girl Scouts and 4-H which is a club dedicated to teaching children about the environment.

Drax Biomass is committed to supporting the communities local to its operations through a variety of measures that include sponsoring educational programs and providing financial support in times of crisis, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.