Freshmen in the University Scholars Honors Program at B´ÎÔª have spent the 2020-21 academic year working with the Menominee Tribal Enterprises (MTE) to promote sustainable forestry. The Menominee Forest in northeast Wisconsin has been sustainably managed by the Menominee Tribe for more than 150 years and is a premier example of forest management in the world.  

MTE’s goal is to not only perform forest management to provide maximum diversity of the forest, habitat diversity, and optimize growth, but also to educate the greater community on the importance of sustainable forestry.  

B´ÎÔª students took on several projects to engage K-12 students throughout Wisconsin and raise awareness of MTE’s efforts. One group focused on creating a video game to help children learn about sustainable forestry. Children learn the benefits and disadvantages of cutting down trees; planting trees; sweeping the forest floor to remove dead trees, trunks and underbrush; doing a controlled burn; and extinguishing fires. The game can be played online for free at:  

A second group designed coloring sheets that were distributed and collected by Culver’s restaurants throughout rural Wisconsin for an Earth Day Coloring Contest. The winning entries can be viewed online: . The same group also developed a video to teach children about Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification and how the Menominee are leading the way in responsible, sustainable forestry.