One of the best resources for integrating environmental and sustainability education into the classroom is Green Teacher magazine. And this year they launched a free webinar series that has been providing an incredibly wide range of inspirational ideas for engaging students and stimulating critical thinking. We hope to “see” you at one of the many upcoming events!
|
|
|
|
I was just talking to Jim McGrath, director of the Green Charter Schools Network, and he explained that the 2011 National Green Schools Conference has just been pushed forward to early 2012 in Denver: February 27, 28, and 29. I’ll post more details when they get worked out, but the Network’s website should also be a good place to get details in the weeks ahead: http://www.greencharterschools.org. As we gushed in the last post, the last conference was an incredibly rich source of green and inspirational ideas. It was also fun to share the EverGreen Twins with enthusiastic folks from around the U.S. and Canada, and we can’t wait until next year when we will have another new book which teaches ecology and sustainability to kids, this one focused on early learners who can’t yet read the original book. We’re also working on a teacher and parent guide to accompany the original activity book with 40+ Eco-Activities, Games, and Outdoor Activities which should be ready long before then. Late-breaking News! The conference website was just updated with details about the conference. Click here for the latest and greatest information. I hope to see you there!
Katie Bell, our new EverGreen Twins Outreach Director, and Rick Reynolds recently had the pleasure of attending the 1st annual Green Schools National Conference, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The EverGreen Twins Activity Book was represented among other great resources like Green Teacher Magazine, the KidWind Project and Project Learning Tree’s GreenSchools. Repeated accolades from teachers, students and program staff gave the EverGreen Twins a glowing review at the event. Farm to School programs applauded the organic food activity, Garden Box appreciated the composting and photosynthesis pieces, and teachers enjoyed the visual and upbeat tone of the book. “I LOVE the book because the graphics perfectly illustrate the concepts. I had to buy a second one to share it with a friend!” exclaimed Naomi Harper, Science Curriculum Educator from Will Rogers Middle School in Sacramento, CA. Educators also loved the book’s versatility for integrating sustainability education with science, math, language arts, social studies, art, and technology education. Several schools also planned to use it with after school programs, such as Pine Jog Elementary’s amazing green program in West Palm Beach, Florida (see more information below about the school). Teachers and parents from other states such as California, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (just to name a few!) were excited to use the EverGreen Twins with their kids, and we have already started to hear about how much the students are enjoying it. The conference gave us opportunities to engage with 700+ educators and dozens of programs from around the U.S. and Canada. In addition, these inspirational stories of students doing amazing work in their schools really stood out:
 Some of the inspiring students from Eire High Charter School pose with Rick Reynolds.  Teachers and students from Prairie Crossing Charter School with one of their rain barrels.  Youth present the results from the Summit, including their school action plans. Informative sessions covered a spectrum of themes from nature-based learning to creating energy efficient school buildings and new ways of teaching about climate change to healthier cafeteria food. Expeditionary Learning presented a compelling case for project-based education by providing stunning examples of student work and explaining the support and resources they provide to schools. The KidWind Project explained how teaching the physics of wind-generated energy is fun, easy and affordable when using adaptable and age-appropriate turbine models. Organic Valley, HealthCorps and the Food Family Farming Foundation shared innovative and low-cost methods to improve school nutrition with food reform programs such as SaladBarProject.org and the Teaching Garden Program. Prominent keynote speakers gave us personal perspectives on the state of environmental education and our global health. David Sobel of Antioch University New England presented data that suggests place-based education can improve student engagement, attendance, and even standardized test scores in areas such as reading and math, not to mention the environmental quality of the school and surrounding community. Phillipe Cousteau emphasized the harsh reality facing our oceans and freshwater systems, especially the impact that oil spills and warming ocean waters are having on marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs. Will Steger shared hopeful and effective tools for discussing climate change with his pioneering way of connecting classrooms and glaciers through first-hand video observations from the Arctic. The 2011 Green Schools National Conference will be in Denver, CO and we hope to see you there! Until then, we’ll keep engaging students with fun, hands-on activities that teach sustainability and promote environmental awareness, and we hope you do the same. The EverGreen Twins Activity Book is a great resource to begin with…or to support what you’re already doing with students in your school or kids at home.  Bicycles for rent: Another green sight in Minneapolis.  ...and another. Computer technology has been a source of fascination for as long as I can remember, and for over 15 years I have sought new ways to integrate it meaningfully into my teaching and educational resources. Over that time, it has been a continual source of amazement to me how quickly it is evolving. I can remember being wowed by my first experience with the Internet and World Wide Web, where clicking on hyperlinks could connect me to computers and knowledge around the globe, but of course, every year since it has become ever more powerful, to the point where now complex software can run entirely over the Internet. One example of this is the rise of free, open-source, content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress to develop and manage websites. Only a short time ago, WordPress was used simply for blogging, but it has quickly evolved into a robust web development platform that’s relatively easy to use, with beautiful results. When I first started developing basic websites in the Web’s early days, I had to learn the HTML markup language to create them as text-based files. Then the process was speeded up with WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) software such as Dreamweaver that created most of the code. Now, CMS software such as WordPress has made it possible to create a state-of-the-art blog and/or website without having to learn code, or even purchase software. And the active development communities are constantly expanding the power of the software. Learn more at WordPress.org, or contact me today so I can explain how cheaply and easily a CMS can be used to manage your website, blog, or eLearning resources. - Rick Reynolds Throughout my career I have enjoyed incorporating environmental education into other subjects I was teaching. For example, when I was a technology integration specialist at the elementary level, I did a project with 4th grade students in which they worked together in research teams to solve the mystery of why a rainforest tree (the durian, an amazingly stinky, but delicious delicacy) wasn’t producing fruit. And when I was teaching 9th grade social studies we looked at the geographic and environmental factors that led to the development of Ancient Greek city-states. In my experience, students enjoyed lessons like these that explored the interactions between humans and the environment, especially if they included hands-on components and/or time outside connecting with nature. For example, by making a masking tape outline of Greece and moving classroom desks, we could create a model of Greece with its rugged mountains and coastline, and then students could race to establish settlements on the limited pieces of land available. If this way they could better understand how the geography contributed to independent, competing city-states, while having a great time in the process and using very little class time. Taking students outside to a natural area to read and discuss Aristotle, the way the great scholar himself regularly did with his students, also made lasting impressions on students, as many of them reminded me in the years following their time in my world history class. Students need to be actively engaged, and it is especially effective if experiences focus on connections with nature; students need many opportunities to discover the importance of the environment in their lives and the lives of others living in other regions and times in history. These themes were wonderfully explored at the North American Association of Environmental Educators’ (NAAEE) annual conference, as well as their Research Symposium, both held recently in Portland, OR. Countless sessions focused on how to integrate environmental education into the broader curriculum, through activities such as simulations and those incorporating technology such as Google Earth. The sessions and conversations at the conference and symposium helped me to further refine my understanding and ideas about environmental and sustainability education. Although I have been passionate about protecting the environment for over 20 years, and an educator and developer of educational resources for over 15 years, the various environmental challenges our world is facing have recently spurred me to look at even more ways to link these interests. The conference was one of the most important vehicles to help me do this, and in some ways I feel that the journey is just beginning. I have been working on a series of activity books that teach environmental and sustainability education to students in fun ways that also teach and reinforce other academic skills, and I am renewed by a belief that my work is supported by the available research and needs of teachers and students. In addition, recent developments have encouraged a belief that the educational process can be transformed to integrate environmental and sustainability education into the daily lives of students. In particular, I was surprised to learn that the state of California, like the state of Washington as discussed in a previous post, was ready to move forward with integrated environmental literacy standards for all students, K-12. At the main NAAEE conference, I attended a session conducted by Lori Mann, an environmental education consultant who has been helping to manage California’s Environmental Education Initiative for the past several years. In painstaking detail, she explained how the various state agencies and administrators all had to sign off on the measures that, like Washington’s, would seek to integrate environmental and sustainability information into every grade, K-12. Lori explained how in 2005 it was state Assembly Bill 1721 that had started the process of developing that states’ Environmental Principles and Concepts (EPCs) that would eventually be developed into curriculum and disseminated around the state. Further, all textbook producers would need to integrate the EPCs if they wanted their books to be placed on the all-important list of approved materials which enabled school districts to use their textbook money to purchase them. Unlike Washington’s standards, however, the EPCs would be entirely voluntary, at least in the beginning; schools would all be expected to receive information about the EPCs, but teachers would not be required to teach them. However, I still feel better knowing that our most populous state is taking this significant step to advance environmental and sustainability education, especially as the measures are now finally being implemented. As Lori mentioned, one long-term benefit of this will likely be that, because of California’s size and the importance of it as a market for school resources, most of the textbook publishers, and probably also developers of other educational resources like software, will integrate the EPCs into their materials; these will then be sold throughout the country, as well, benefiting countless other students and teachers in the process. Another topic that came up at many points during the conference was systems thinking. This was not a new concept to me, but I have not yet fully integrated it into my teaching and educational resources. It is a fascinating way to view the world, and a very important framework to teach sustainability; I will be researching it much more in the weeks to come and how to integrate it into the materials I am producing. It is my hope that this, like the other information I have been learning about environmental and sustainability education, will allow me to produce educational resources that will be meaningful for students and help them integrate the knowledge into all of their endeavors. Did you know that the state of Washington has adopted integrated sustainability education standards and will soon be requiring students and all new teachers to demonstrate an understanding of sustainability? This is part of an exciting trend underway across the country, as educators and students learn more about the challenges facing our world and seek positive steps to address them. I recently attended the Sustainability Education Summer Institute (SESI) held at the amazing IslandWood facility on Bainbridge Island, WA, and the exchange of ideas was phenomenal. We had to endure a record-breaking heat wave, so it was a good thing the conference was also sizzling! Check out the images and captions below for a small sampling of the highlights, and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions. You can also see more photos of the Institute and learn more about the Sustainability Education presentations and discussions at the event by joining the WA Sustainability Education networking site. Enjoy! Click an image for a larger view:
Welcome to our new blog! We invite you to join in the exchange of ideas by leaving comments or suggesting new topics that relate to our mission. Also, please do not hesitate to post questions, or send Rick Reynolds, M.S. an email and he will be glad to answer you promptly. If you would like to receive future posts via email, please enter your address to the right; we will not use it for any other purpose. Thank you for visiting and we hope you enjoy!  The buzz before the "Trashion Show." Students from art classes at both West Linn and Wilsonville High Schools, as well as district middle schools, made fashions, such as this dress made of Tootsie Pop wrappers that were sewn together. What do you get when you gather passionate students, teachers, administrators, and community members with a commitment to sustainability and a desire to share what they’ve learned and created? Answer: a “Sustainability Showcase,” the social and educational event of the year! The West Linn-Wilsonville School District recently presented the event to a packed house at West Linn High School, which included a “Trashion Show” of student-created fashions made from reused items. Superintendent Roger Woehl even showed off a hat he made. The Showcase was a smashing success and highlighted many of the core elements of our philosophy at Engaging Every Student. We have been developing a sustainability curriculum and activity books for grades preK-12 that also teach the other content area standards, so it was exciting to see some of the same kinds of ideas put into action. One of the driving goals of our company and blog is to help teachers around the world engage every student to the degree exhibited at the Showcase. While the “Trashion Show” resulted in the most cheering and applause of the evening, as educators, we were even more excited by the quality of student projects which explained everything from the how-tos of composting to building a wind turbine. The wind turbine project, presented by Nate Snyder from Mr. Quizling’s 5th grade class at Bolton Primary School, involved Nate engineering his own turbine! Dozens of other student and class projects added to the celebration of learning. Attendees also participated in hands-on education with organizations such as Metro, which brought a demonstration worm bin. Check out more examples below and let us know what you think!  Students have fun on Michael Biancardi's energy-generating seesaw as he looks on (in blue shirt). A retired engineer from the community named Dick Bailey helped him with the design and construction.  Fifth-grader Nate Snyder talking about his wind turbine in a video presentation.  A Metro representative was on hand with hands-on projects and educational resources on everything from worm bin production to green cleaner recipes.  Mitch Halverson and Matt Pempler show off their green redesign of the 700 Building at West Linn High School. It was done as part of a school project.  This is another design for the 700 Building done using CAD software.  ...and another design. Projects detailed written explanations of the "green" features of their buildings and how they saved energy and helped the environment.  A video presentation showing preschoolers at Bolton Primary School getting help building tables from reused lumber and tree stumps.  "The Irresistible Effects of Magnetism and Motion in Groundwater Remediation": one of many amazing projects showing the results of primary research.  Another outstanding project: "The Thermotolerance of Invasive Species."  There were many great graphic design projects to promote sustainable living; this one was by Rachel Tennis.  Native plants were promoted, as opposed to invasive species...all while raising some money  Everything you always wanted to know about composting but were afraid to ask.  Standing room only for the "Trashion Show"  The MCs who described the creations really added to the fun  Stacy Erickson, an amazingly energetic teacher and librarian from West-Linn High School, helped organize the event.  Science teacher Becky Farris enjoys a tasty organic treat, one of her last official acts before a well-deserved retirement.  Parents also helped out, here promoting the use of alternative transportation.  Teacher Andy West's son Fisher enjoys a scupture made of reused items.  Attendees were asked to bring sneakers for recycling  President Nancy Frazer and Board member Dave Flaming of the Prescott Bluebird Recovery Project had hands-on resources including one the bluebirds' favorite foods--mealworms! Yum.  Toys made by students at Stafford Primary School from reused items.  Information about CREST, the districts' Center for Research in Environmental Sciences & Technologies. Click the image to find out more! | |
|
|
|
