Maine TREE Foundation Announces 2026 Forests of Maine Teachers’ Tour

Immersive Professional Development Program Invites Maine Educators to Explore the Heart of the North Woods This July

The Maine TREE Foundation is excited to announce that registration is now open for the 2026 Forests of Maine Teachers’ Tour, scheduled for July 6–10, 2026. This year’s immersive five-day experience will be based at the scenic Gorman Chairback Lodge & Cabins in Greenville, offering Maine educators a front-row seat to the ecological, economic, and social significance of Maine’s forests.

Since 1997, the Teachers’ Tour has served as Maine’s premier forest-based professional development program. It is designed to connect two of the state’s most vital workforces: the professionals who steward our natural resources and the educators who shape our future leaders.

“Our goal is to give teachers the tools to turn the forest into a classroom,” says Logan Johnson, Executive Director of Maine TREE. “By meeting with foresters, loggers, and mill operators, educators gain a first-hand understanding of how sustainably managed forests support our environment and rural economies. They leave with resources that meet academic standards and deeply rooted in the Maine experience.”

Highlights of the 2026 Tour Route

This year's itinerary offers a unique opportunity to explore Maine's diverse working forests. Participants will begin by visiting lands owned by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), where they will explore forest ecology and multi-use recreation and conservation management. The group will also visit the Forestry Immersion Program to see the benefits of experiential, forest-based education in action. 

The journey will then take a closer look at forest management planning and operations with a tour with Weyerhaeuser. The group will continue its exploration of Maine’s forest economy with a visit Pleasant River Lumber Company to see how logs harvested from the land-base they visited during the tour are transformed into products that benefit people. 

The tour portion of the event will conclude with a visit the Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District’s Williamsburg Forest, the 2026 Outstanding Tree Farm of the Year, where, with assistance from the Piscataquis Environmental Education Collaborative, the group will participate in activities that they can utilize with their students. 

What Participants Can Expect:

• Immersive Field Tours: Visit active timber harvests, conservation areas, and state-of-the-art forest product mills to see the "stump-to-product" process in action.

• Professional Development: Earn 30 contact hours toward teacher certification renewal.

• Curriculum Integration: Participate in hands-on Project Learning Tree® (PLT) workshops, providing ready-made lesson plans that meet state standards for science, social studies, and math.

• Networking: Build lasting connections with natural resource professionals and fellow K-12 educators from across the state.

The tour is open to all Maine educators, including classroom teachers, school administrators, and non-formal educators such as Scout leaders and conservation staff. All participants are eligible to receive a $200 implementation stipend and an implementation grant to support student activities (up to $750).

Registration Details:

• Dates: Monday, July 6 – Friday, July 10, 2026

• Location: Gorman Chairback Lodge & Cabins, Greenville, ME

• Cost: $200 (includes all meals, lodging, transportation to tour sites, and curriculum materials).

• How to Register: Space is limited and subject to approval. Interested educators can register online at MaineTREE.org/events.

“The woods are Maine’s greatest classroom,” added Johnson. “We invite educators from every corner of the state to join us in Greenville this summer to experience it for themselves.”