Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Register for a Professional Development Pennsylvania Land Choices Workshop

If you’re a teacher or educator, you can attend professional development trainings.

Pennsylvania Land Choices

Pennsylvania Land Choices is an award-winning educational curriculum developed by the Bureau of State Parks as a tool for teachers to educate students about land use, land conservation, and sustainable communities.

Designed for educators working with students in grades 6 – 12, this interdisciplinary curriculum provides multi-modal, hands-on activities that support current state academic standards.

Teachers can use the lessons in Pennsylvania Land Choices to help students discover the changes in Pennsylvania’s communities and the important role of each citizen in making choices that will benefit future generations in the Commonwealth.

Key features of the Pennsylvania Land Choices curriculum include:

  • Step-by-step educational activities and supporting background information
  • Maps, graphs, and additional resources
  • Pennsylvania-specific information
  • Motivational case studies and action ideas

Professional Development

Pennsylvania State Parks offer a variety of professional development opportunities for:

  • Classroom Teachers (pre-Kindergarden to college level)
  • Pre-service Teachers
  • Non-formal Environmental Educators

Workshops can be:

  • Hosted at state park sites
  • Scheduled for a school or district
  • Virtual
  • Hybrid (in-person and virtual)

All curricula address the Pennsylvania Department of Education standards, including Pennsylvania's Science, Technology and Engineering, Environmental Literacy, and Sustainability (STEELS) standards.

For Pennsylvania-certified educators, Act 48 hours are offered for all curricula listed.

Workshops

The Pennsylvania Land Choices curriculum can only be obtained by attending a Bureau of State Parks educator workshop. Educators can find upcoming professional development trainings at the Calendar of Events – Educator Workshops. If a Pennsylvania Land Choices training is not scheduled near you, with enough notice, one could be coordinated and facilitated at your local state park, school, or nature center (minimum 10 or more workshop participants).

Contact us

For questions about Pennsylvania Land Choices, please contact the project coordinator.

Email the Pennsylvania Land Choices Coordinator

Sign up for Pennsylvania State Parks Monthly Educator Emails

Be the first to know about new workshops for teachers in Pennsylvania state parks and learn about nature lessons, grants, webinars, and other educational resources.