Heartland Tree Alliance offers two environmental education programs, Trees are Terrific, for 1st – 8th grade classrooms and a flexible program, Branching Out, for organizations that exist outside the conventional classroom setting.

Both programs engage students with the natural world and impart the incredible benefits of trees. We aim to inspire responsible environmental stewards and encourage students to be active outdoors while learning to care for the plants, animals, and people that share our world. The curriculum incites critical thinking and inquiry by coupling practice with content, which is in line with the Next Generation Science Standards.

Trees are Terrific:

Four separate lessons may be conducted for each grade level: Community Benefits of Trees, Champion Trees as an Introduction to Citizen Science, Ecosystem Connections, and Creative Responses to Trees. It is recommended that these lessons are scheduled in order. To download the pdf, shown below, please click here.

Branching Out:

If you are seeking lessons for a program outside the conventional classroom i.e. for girl scouts, boy scouts, after school programs, home school programs, please send us an email and let us know what your needs are in regards to educational programming exploring trees.

Please contact Amanda Gehin, Heartland Tree Alliance Educator, at amanda.gehin@bridgingthegap.org to schedule your classroom visit.

Self-Guided Rocky Point Journal: 

Explore a local Kansas City ecological gem with the guidance of this booklet. Simply print double-sided and fold all of the pages simultaneously so the cover is facing out, and all the page numbers should then be in order. Voila! You have a booklet to guide your journey through Rocky Point Glades – a sensitive and important habitat for many native plants and animals. Girl Scouts – completion of this booklet satisfies steps 1 & 2 of the Tree Badge.