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Plan an Event

Forest Education Opportunities

Plan an Event

During National Forest Week (NFW), many volunteers help communities across the province plan and hold events that allow families to learn about the importance of forests, for our health and economy.

Whether it’s a walk in the woods, a talk in the classroom, or a showcase of the ‘critters’ that live in the forest, adults and children alike can see how registered professional foresters manage BC’s forests for a wide range of uses, including recreation, wildlife habitat, forest ecosystem protection, timber harvesting, and other values important to British Columbians.

Considerations when planning an event:

  • Who is your audience?
  • How will you reach them?
  • What resources will you need?
  • How will you attract and engage like-minded volunteers?

When starting to plan an event, think about how it will be promoted. It’s helpful to determine if other events are happening in your area and to build on those, rather than try to invent something new. It is better to piggy-back on other community events/celebrations already taking place.

Some examples:

  • Local hiking, walking, or exercise groups may like to have a walk in the forest.
  • Talk with people via local, culturally-appropriate channels. Ask them what they think would work for their group.
  • Community, cultural, and seniors centres often host lecture series; see if they are willing to feature a forest-related lecture during NFW (eg., a local forest professional could give a presentation on forestry to a seniors centre).
  • Ask librarians (public and in schools) to feature forests in the library during NFW. You can provide them with a NFW poster and list of appropriate books.

Promote Your Event

Use our fillable PDF posters to promote your free community event. The posters come in three sizes: letter, legal, and poster size:
 

NFW Posters

NFW highlights a specific theme or aspect of Canadian forestry every year, and the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) coordinates the delivery of promotional materials nationally prior to celebrations.
In 2025, NFW takes place September 21-27.
 
The theme of the 2024 poster, from the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF), was Two-Eyed Seeing: Welcoming all knowledge to sustain our forests.
‘Two-Eyed Seeing’ is a powerful perspective braiding traditional knowledge with western science. Through mutual respect and collaboration, we can learn how to implement Indigenous traditions with modern technologies to sustain healthy forests for future generations. Together we are stronger, helping to enable economic innovation and mitigate and adapt to the ever-changing climate challenges (such as wildfires, forest pests/pathogens, species at risk) facing our forests.
 
Posters and postcards are available for free each year. Posters come in English and French, as well as in poster (24×31.5), tabloid (11×17), and postcard (5×7) sizes.
 
The deadline to order promotional materials was June 30, 2024.
 
Download promotional posters (bilingual):
 
Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #NationalForestWeek
 

Free Handout Materials

The BC coalition provides a range of free materials you can give away to promote NFW.  If you wish to order some of these items, please refer to the images in document attached to the materials request form.

We are grateful to our many sponsors for providing the funds that allow us to develop and purchase these materials, including:

Visit the Teach page for a list of teacher resources.

BC Tree Posters

Have you ever wondered what kind of tree was in your backyard, down the street, or in a nearby park or school yard?

Check out our free, full-colour posters of BC coniferous and deciduous trees, available as PDF downloads.

Event Reporting

All events need a reporting form to be completed and submitted. Please download the NFW event reporting form.

Check out all NFW events across Canada (or you can register and promote your own event) on the CIF National Forest Week page.

Additionally, check out our accomplishments reports, as well as the teacher/forester experience summary reports.

Other Forestry Resources and Links

Click on the links to access external forestry resources:

Need More Help?

Contact your regional coordinator.