Hello friends and colleagues,
In the midst of abundant meaningful programming, public speaking, working with students, coaching my intern, partnering with colleauges, and writing course proposals, I'm taking a deep breath to write and connect with all of you. It is always during this process that I'm reminded just how blessed I am to to get to do this work alongside so many generous talented partners and colleagues.
There's a lot to share here. Please take a moment to scroll down and view the variety of projects I've been working on. Also know that I regularly post updates on facebook and in the news section of the website. We have also been fortunate to be in the news media a bit lately; listen to and read news stories here.
In these murky messy times in our world, I offer a quote from author Terry Tempest Williams I read last night in the most recent High Country News issue:
"I think each of us needs to really search our soul and ask, “What is my gift? What can I contribute to my community, wherever we live?” In this time where it’s easy to wonder, “How can we live with this kind of despair,” I think despair shows us the limits of our imagination."
Keep your imagination alive, your heart open, your soul well fed, your mind well aware, your body healthy, and I believe anything is possible. Thank you for being part of my life and interested in the work I'm up to. Together, I believe we're making a difference.
Take care,
Sarah R. Johnson, MAEd
Founder, Wild Rose Education
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Invited to Speak at Carleton College Science Education Research Center (SERC)
In mid-October I was asked to attend and invited to speak at the national Earth Education for Sustainable Societies InTeGrate Meeting. For an audience of nearly 90 earth education leaders (secondary and higher education) I presented a short presentation: Transforming Ourselves Will Transform Our Future Classrooms and then engaged in a most authentic and thoughtful Q&A session.
Also, SERC's InTeGrate project published my essay on their national online platform: Earth Education Expands to Teach Active Participation in Public Life. Earth Educators have the heavy task of teaching students about one of the most wicked problems in human history: climate change. If taught through a lens of teaching learners how to be systems thinkers, how to investigate environmental issues weighing the opportunities and trade-offs, how to listen to and respect diverse perspectives, how to communicate their evidence based opinions, and how to participate in and contribute to public life, we as educators will have fostered a future of sustainable communities for all. Read entire essay
Finally, I joined a small working group to develop a Fresh Water literacy framework to add to the Geoscience Literacy tools that would be used by educators across the county and beyond. If you are interested in contributing to this project with your insights please complete this form https://tinyurl.com/WaterLiteracyFramework.
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Elevate Student Voices; Publish Their Work on the Youth River Voices Blog!
All students (middle, high, college, university) are invited to share their river, water, and climate change research, call-to-action projects, community works, poetry, videos, original music and more on the new Youth River Voices blog. Students from across the country and beyond are invited to contribute.
The professional water and river community can learn from the youth. Students will learn from each other. Students can use the blog posts as writing samples to build their resumes and portfolios. Everyone celebrates youth participation in the water, river, and climate change conversation and action.
Read the blog at youthrivervoices.com. View detailed instructions for submissions here.
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Only 3 Weeks To Healthy Rivers Youth Water Summit
We're in the thick of the planning for the December 5, 2019 Healthy Rivers Youth Water Summit. We are excited to have over 100 students participating and presenting their call-to-action water and climate change presentations to federal, state, regional, and local policy makers. It is an honor to host Colorado River Watch founder Barb Horn as the keynote speaker. View the schedule here. Contact Sarah if you would like to volunteer or attend this invite only event.
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Wild Rose Education is thrilled to announce a partnership with The Wilderness Society to pilot and evaluate the effectiveness of the brand new Public Lands in the United States curriculum for learners 16 years and older. The proposed courses include classes for the new Aspen Mountain Guide School, Colorado Mountain College, School of Mines Teacher Enhancement Program, Western Colorado University Teacher Institute, and Western Colorado University Extended Studies. Learn more and view course dates.
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Local Students Trained to Teach Leave No Trace Workshops
We piloted an innovative approach of teaching the Leave No Trace Trainer Course for the new Aspen Mountain Guide School students in October. View photos and listen to radio news story here.
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Help Me Raise $2000 for CAEE
The Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education is celebrating 30 years of excellence in 2019 and we're raising $30,000 to ensure a strong future for the organization. Please help me raise $2000 for CAEE to support EE practitioners and leaders across Colorado. I've been giving my time as a board member for 5 years and am honored to contribute in so many meaningful ways. Thank you for considering a gift of any size. Donate here.
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Coordinating 2020 Naturalist Nights
For the 5th year I'm honored to coordinate the Naturalist Night winter speaker series for Wilderness Workshop. This year's lineup is one of the very best. Along with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and Roaring Fork Audubon, we're looking forward to this annual free program. Details will be posted here very soon.
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