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ACNW Environmental Education News
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June 12, 2018
Dear Charter School Leaders, EE Contacts, Teachers, and Board Members,
June is Great Outdoors Month, a celebration of nature and the activities that connect us with our lands and waters. However, many of our favorite outdoor pastimes wouldn't be possible without proper stewardship of parks and habitats. Outdoor Stewardship Week, June 11-15, is a social media campaign to celebrate those who #ServeOutdoors, and inspire others to be good stewards. As you prepare your school’s EE Surveys (due to ACNW by June 30), share the great work you and your students have done online! (Tag @auduboncenterelc and #ExperienceYourEnvironment so we can easily find and see it, too!)
This will be the last EE Update until school is back in session in September, but we hope to hear from you about your plans for the upcoming school year and see you at the EE Teacher Workshop in August! (You can find more info and registration details below.)
Sincerely,
The ACNW Charter School Division
43 Main Street SE, Suite 507
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(612) 331-4181
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Students at Discovery Woods School in Brainerd presented projects at their EE Exhibition this spring. Students in Grades K-6 made art pieces out of trash, reduced electricity use by funding new LED lights in the library, and made recycled paper art.
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Fifth graders at Partnership Academy in Richfield spray painted stencils to label storm drains and went door to door leaving information about how individual households can do their part to protect the Mississippi River. Students stenciled 172 drains and put up 365 door hangers in Saint Paul in May!
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2018 ACNW EE TEACHER WORKSHOP
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The ACNW Teacher Workshop is back again! We are so excited to have David Sobel, author of Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities, join us to keynote and lead a few sessions. Over the course of the workshop we'll dig into this approach to teaching that emphasizes connections among school, community, and environment. You'll leave with plenty of hands-on training, a copy of either Project Learning Tree (K-5) or Project WILD (6-12) curriculum, a water quality test kit to use with your classroom, and ideas for writing in nature. Connect with teachers in other ACNW schools who are finding new and innovative ways to create environmentally literate students. We are looking forward to another great workshop!
In addition, we are looking for teachers willing to share their “Bright Spots” – short (no more than ten minutes) highlights of something EE-related you’re proud of or has worked well for your program. It’s a great way to network with your peers and get ideas from those doing similar work! Email Erin with your ideas or if you’re willing to present.
- Date: Wednesday, August 1 (check-in at 11:00 AM) through Friday, August 3 (end by 1:00 PM)
- Where: Audubon Center of the North Woods, Sandstone
- Who: K-12 teachers in ACNW-authorized schools
- Cost: ACNW expects that each school will send at least one teacher. ACNW will cover the cost (meals and lodging) of up to two teachers. Additional attendees may participate as space allows at $225/person.
- Pre-registration is required by July 20, 2018. Register online.
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Sometimes, we put things in the recycling bin and hope for the best. But items like disposable coffee cups or greasy pizza boxes can often do more harm than good. Too many of these kinds of items can contaminate a batch of recycling — especially now that China, one of the world’s main importers of recyclable waste, has said it will reject shipments that are more than 0.5% impure. Here are six key offenders to keep in mind the next time you’re debating whether that container you’re holding belongs in the recycling bin or the trash can. Most importantly, be sure to check with your waste hauler or recycling service provider for the skinny on what can actually go in the bin!
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ENGAGING AND MANAGING STUDENTS IN OUTDOOR SCIENCE
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Every teacher has to struggle with and figure out how to approach student management, which is not a small challenge, and knowing how to engage students in meaningful ways is a huge part of that. This guide, developed by the BEETLES Project, presents a student-centered approach to engagement and management, an approach focused more on creating an environment conducive to student learning, and less on how to “deal with” or discipline students if they’re not behaving the way you’d like. This is a guide on how to engage students positively from the beginning by creating an environment in which they have the highest chance of being the best versions of themselves, so that everyone in the group can have a positive experience and learn.
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Captain Planet Foundation ecoTECH Grants
ecoTech Grants are specifically offered to engage children in inquiry-based, STEM-related projects that leverage technology and/or use nature-based design to address environmental problems in local communities. ecoTech Grants were created to combat the notion that students needed to choose between “the screen” or “the green” and to encourage educators and students to explore the role technology can play in designing and implementing solutions to some of our most pressing environmental challenges. ecoTECH grants are available as cash grants up to $2,500 and support the purchase of materials and other project implementation expenses. Deadline to submit an application is July 15, 2018. Learn more and apply online.
PLT GreenWorks! Grants
Project Learning Tree offers GreenWorks! grants up to $1,000 to schools and youth organizations for environmental service-learning projects that link classroom learning to the real world. Students implement an action project they help design to green their school or to improve an aspect of their neighborhood’s environment. The annual deadline to apply is September 30, 2018. Funding will be distributed in December. Learn more and apply online.
Seeds for Education Grant Program
Wild Ones offers assistance for all aspects of schoolyard enhancement projects, such as butterfly gardens, nature trails, and wildflower planting. Cash grants under $500 are available for plants and seeds. Wild Ones can help schools locate experts and information specific to its area. Applicants must submit an electronic application by October 15, 2018. Notification of awards will be made by February 15, 2018. Learn more or download application instructions.
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SciGirls training on gender equitable STEM teaching
PBS's SciGirls is offering a free GO GREEN Educators’ Workshop to learn about gender equitable teaching strategies. The training will focus on using SciGirls programming, a national educational initiative that uses media, activities, and professional development to empower youth ages 8 to 12. Participants will learn about the SciGirls GO GREEN curriculum and several hands-on science inquiry lessons using recycled materials that you will be able to implement in your program. The workshop will be offered Saturday, June 16 from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM at the Golden Valley Library. Learn more or register online.
U of M Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative webinar series
The University of Minnesota Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative is offering monthly webinars on various forestry topics for natural resource managers, landowners, and educators. The next webinar on Tuesday, June 19 will focus on the Urban Forest Inventory and Analysis, conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, that provides annual information on the extent, character, and condition of urban trees and forest. This tool has been used in Minneapolis starting in 2017. Learn more about the upcoming webinar and all webinars in this series.
Educator Brainstorm: Green STEM Documentary
In the Twin Cities and looking for summer professional development? Sign up for one of Climate Generation’s educator brainstorm sessions to helps us craft a classroom strategy for our new documentary: "Green Careers for a Changing Climate." Beer and/or coffee provided. Learn more or register for one of two dates online (Tuesday, July 24 at 9:00 AM or Thursday, August 2 at 3:00 PM).
Teaching in the Outdoor Classroom Workshop
All who teach children are invited to explore innovative ways to use an outdoor classroom during this K-12 immersion workshop, June 25-28 at Prairie Wetlands Learning Center in Fergus Falls. For 30 CEUs, this workshop is only $50, and free lodging available in the PWLC dormitory! Observe professionals and apply outdoor classroom methods by leading the same youth daily, outdoors, in a supportive team teaching environment. Gain knowledge and real world experience with the prairie pothole ecosystem while strengthening your outdoor teaching and reflection skills, and learning how to apply them to your indoor curriculum. Learn more or register online.
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Nature is everywhere – we just need to learn to see it
How do you define "nature?" If we define it as that which is untouched by humans, then we won't have any left, says environmental writer Emma Marris. She urges us to consider a new definition of nature -- one that includes not only pristine wilderness but also the untended patches of plants growing in urban spaces -- and encourages us to bring our children out to touch and tinker with it, so that one day they might love and protect it.
International School Grounds Month Activity Guides
The 2018 International School Grounds Month Activity Guide is the result of a collaboration between the International School Grounds Alliance and organizations around the world, who each contributed a school ground activity that reflects their own organization’s mission, programs and areas of expertise. The Activity Guides include ideas for engaging kids outside on school grounds year round!
Activating My Democracy
The youth-led climate advocacy group, This is Zero Hour, published lesson plans for middle and high school students that help students understand advocacy, based on the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.
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