Welcome to the Conservation Education newsletter from the Nebraska Forest Service! Each month receive CE tips, updates on new opportunities, and see what workshops we have coming up around the state.

Project Learning Tree & Project WILD Workshop Kick-off the New Year!

January 13th and 20th, 6:30-8:30 PM CST via Zoom
The Nebraska Forest Service and Nebraska Game and Parks commission are teaming up to provide a combined Project Learning Tree and Project WILD Educator Workshop during January 2021. Educators can become certified in both Project Learning Tree's K-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide and Project WILD's K-12 Curriculum Guide, receiving access to more than 200 interdisciplinary environmental education activities through this professional development opportunity. PLT and WILD lessons are perfect ways to implement STEAM education, but also include connections to literature, language arts, and so much more! 

Each night participants will be led in activities and discussions by both NFS and NGP Education Staff. The content covered is applicable for any educator that works with students from kindergarten through high school and wants to connect their students to nature. Find out more information here

Participants must register online by January 12th and attend both live zoom sessions to receive the curricula and professional development credit hours. Space is limited for this unique professional development experience, so sign up today!
Questions? Contact Us
Sign Up Today!
The following was originally aired by National Public Radio during a December segment of "Morning Edition" by Nina Kravinsky. 

Adventurer Blair Braverman says just because it's getting cold in much of the country doesn't mean the outdoors can't still be a pandemic refuge. Braverman — who wrote Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North — grew up in California, but she and her husband are now dogsled mushers in northern Wisconsin. She's completed the Iditarod and frequently goes out with the dogs for days at a time.

Even if you're not about to dogsled across Alaska, Braverman has some tips for staying warm during lower-stakes outdoor fun.
 
1. Create an air bubble: The point of layering is to insulate yourself from the outside air, so Braverman says the bigger and warmer your bubble, the better. That means don't shy away from a long puffy coat and plenty of thick layers underneath. The outermost layer should also be wind resistant. It also helps to have layers you can unzip or take off if you start to get too warm, Braverman says.
 
2. Wear good shoes: Insulating yourself from the ground is important, too, since "you lose heat much more quickly through contact with solids/liquids than through contact with air. You should be looking for shoes or boots that create distance between yourself and the ground.” Braverman says she also likes to size up to add a wool insole, which further insulates her feet.
 
3. Take snacks as well as bathroom and movement breaks: Now that you're well outfitted, it's time to venture out. Braverman says it's important to keep your heart rate up and move around to stay warm — she recommends activities that don't make you too sweaty in the process, like walking, jogging or knee bends. It's also important not to get hungry. Braverman says a big meal will make you feel colder, but snacks throughout the day will keep you warm. It might not sound like hardcore trail fuel, but Braverman likes to snack on pieces of frozen cheesecake and red licorice when she's out dogsledding for days at a time.
 
Staying hydrated and taking frequent bathroom breaks is also key, Braverman says. "You gotta pee a lot," Braverman says. "A lot of people try to not drink water because they don't want to have to go to the bathroom while they're out. But if you have a full bladder, it's going to make you so much colder, because your body is wasting energy keeping that extra liquid warm."
 
4. Get cozy: If you're back inside and you're still cold, it might seem intuitive to keep your boots or coat on until you warm up. Braverman says that's the wrong instinct. "You want to take off as much as possible. Like, be barefoot, strip down to your base layer, because all your clothes are holding on to the cold air from outside. "Now that you're back in and warm, enjoy it! Heat up that cup of cocoa and snuggle under some blankets.
 
"Just embrace winter, go for the whole thing," Braverman says. "There's a reason that the places with the coldest climates also have real cultures of coziness. It's the balance of being outside in winter, you really enjoy this coziness all the more."
Read or listen to the original article 
Mark your calendars! Starting in January 2021, the NFS Conservation Education Team has a new series of 90 minute MiniWorkshops planned for the last Wednesday of every month! During the first quarter of 2021, each workshop will be themed on "CE in a Winter Wonderland."

On January 27th from 6:30-8:00 PM CST, attend our Getting Little Feet WET MiniWorkshop for early childhood educators via zoom. Cost is only $14 per person and participants get access to Project WET's award-winning early childhood guide. Attendees will receive 1.5 hours of professional development for childcare licensing as well as the skills they need to implement eleven water-focused environmental education activities in their work right away. Register online at nfs.unl.edu/workshops.

Can't make it January 27th? Save the dates for additional MiniWorkshops coming February 24th and March 31st and watch for additional offerings in each month's CE newsletter! 

NEW! Green Jobs Online Course from Project Learning Tree

Can't make it to a live workshop? Complete PLT's *NEW* Green Jobs Online Course on your own schedule!
PLT’s newest on-demand Online Professional Development Course is an enhancement to PLT’s Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers guide to help educators best use and adapt the activities, while also giving them the option to earn continuing education credits or continuing forestry education credits.
 
The course consists of 10 self-paced online modules, each lasting 5 to 15 minutes. It includes:

  • Step-by-step guidance for leading PLT’s Green Jobs activities, as well as planning worksheets for educators to easily plan and modify activities for their learners and setting.
  • Curated videos to expand and deepen educators’ knowledge of forest and conservation jobs.
  • Adaptations for Remote Teaching
  • Teaching Tips and Tricks from seasoned facilitators and educators about teaching outdoors and modifying the activities for different learners.
  • Connections to Academic Standards that describe how each activity supports three-dimensional science instruction, with a primary focus on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
  • Knowledge Checks for educators to check their understanding and receive feedback through multiple-choice quizzes.
  • Activity-At-A-Glance handouts for quick reference for leading the activities.
  • Additional Resources curated resources from trustworthy sources.

PLT’s Green Jobs Online Professional Development Course is the first of a new generation of PLT online professional development courses. As with all PLT professional development, it follows best practices for adult learning.
 
Find out more information about this new course and purchase your copy at plt.org!

Questions? Contact Us

NFS ELSEWHERE

F O L L O W on F A C E B O O K F O L L O W on F A C E B O O K
F O L L O W on T W I T T E R F O L L O W on T W I T T E R
F O L L O W on I N S T A G R A M F O L L O W on I N S T A G R A M
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Copyright © 2021 *|Nebraska Forest Service|*, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can
update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list