The Green Connections project is an upstate/downstate exchange program that brings together urban and rural middle school students to learn about common forestry themes and experience field trips, and actual tree growing/planting activities during one academic year. This integrated program begins with teachers attending a summer institute and continues during the school year with the students, who travel to rural and urban forestry sites and explore creative projects based on environmental themes. The program begins anew the following summer with a new set of teachers recruited, in part, by previous year’s participants. Funding for Green Connections is provided through the Watershed Forestry Program by USDA Forest Service and New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).