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2011 MEEA Annual Conference Workshop Strands:21 st Century Skills : Use Environmental Education to build skills including problem-solving, creativity, inquiry and communication needed to be a productive and involved citizen. Detailed Workshop Descriptions:A1. Forests As Unifying Themes: A Basis for Effective Lessons in Secondary Science and Math High School teachers in Central and Downeast Maine are integrating study of forest resources into curriculum for life, earth, and physical sciences, as well as algebra, geometry, and other school subjects. In this hands-on workshop, the project's participating teachers will share key elements of successful lessons that have been conducted in field, lab, and classroom, in both urban and rural schools. Activities in tree identification and wood physics will provide examples of effective lessons that build students' knowledge, skills, and understanding of forest resources and sustainability principles. The "Forests as Unifying Themes" project has been funded by a grant from the Maine Department of Education.
A2. Maine 's Environmental Literacy Plan: What is it and What Does it Mean for Maine Educators and Students? Maine is one of the first states to have a completed and approved Environmental Literacy Plan. We are now ready to apply for federal funding when the No Child Left Inside Legislation passes in DC. What does this mean for students, teachers, administrators, higher education and those community groups that educate K-12 students about the environment? Join us to find out. A3. Rivers & Givers: Using Riparian Buffers to Connect Science and Stewardship Discovery is the first step to recovery. Come share how the synchronicity of storytelling and science can engage creativity, satisfy natural curiosity and instill a conservation ethic. Explore how real service-learning projects can restore riparian buffers—protectors of aquatic ecosystems—and serve to teach wise environmental management practices while building a sense of community. During this workshop we'll share participatory storytelling, a PowerPoint presentation on riparian buffers, small-group discussion, brainstorming and model activities for building bridges between these two different ways of experiencing the world around us. Participants will receive information about how to plant riparian buffers, lists of online resources for teaching about buffers and contact information for state watershed coordinators. Michael will also introduce RIPARIA'S RIVER—his new picture book about a group of children who organize their neighborhood to restore health to the river they love (Tilbury House Publishers: Gardiner, Maine ). A4. Taking Science Outdoors: Consider More Ways to Get Students Outdoors Expand the classroom walls to include the schoolyard and you will improve student learning, students' enthusiasm for school, and help connect children to the natural world. We will engage in a variety of outdoor education lessons that will enhance what you are studying inside the classroom. Participants will learn practical (but unique) tricks for improving the outdoor experience; hear about the Boston Schoolyard Initiative's success story in getting students and teachers outdoors for learning; and how FOSS, a hands-on inquiry based science program, is embracing using the schoolyard to support what is going on in the classroom. This workshop is designed for regular education teachers and informal educators who work with schools to consider other ways to get kids outdoors. We will go outside! A5. Signs of the Seasons: A Maine Phenology Project What is Phenology? It is the study of the seasonal timing of life events in plants and animals, such as migration, flowering, and reproduction. Climate scientists have found that it is one of the most sensitive indicators of the local effects of global climate change, and they are eager to monitor and record changes in species in Maine and throughout the world. Signs of the Seasons is a new environmental monitoring and climate change education program for Maine citizens of all ages. Through the program, citizens contribute to scientists' understanding of the local effects of global climate change by observing and recording the phenology of common plants and animals living in their own backyards and communities. Please join us for a hands-on workshop, we will practice monitoring spring phenology on the Chewonki grounds. We will also introduce Nature's Notebook, an online phenology database and data visualization tool developed by the USA National Phenology Network (www.usa-npn.org), and provide information on how you or your organization can become a Signs of the Seasons volunteer monitor. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Sea Grant coordinate Signs of the Seasons in partnership with the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN), Maine Audubon, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Maine , Schoodic Education and Research Center , and Acadia National Park . A6. Every Child in the Woods: Building Sustainable Communities Together Please join us for a facilitated discussion as we share an integrated approach for weaving health, fitness, education, and sustainability into your existing program. Learn about the power of partnerships in creating sustainable and viable programs for the future. Strategize ways to work with fellow educators and agencies to build a cohesive network of experiences for youth across Maine 's rich and varied environmental education landscape. Share your own best practices, learn new techniques for engaging the next generation, and uncover ways to build a sustainable learning community together. Methods used in the workshop include: facilitated panel discussion, listening/brainstorming session, sharing of best practices, and opportunity to join a working group. A7. Chewonki Sustainable Energy Tour For years, Chewonki has worked at reducing its fossil-fuel use and thus its carbon dioxide emissions. This reduction has been achieved with aggressive conservation, “green” building designs, and the use of renewable energy. This on-site tour explores our facilities, which include passive-solar buildings, solar electricity from photovoltaics, solar water-heating systems, a geo-thermal system, a wind turbine, and a hydrogen-fueled backup power system. Participants also see methods of renewable liquid fuel manufacturing (biodiesel) and learn how Chewonki is able to use such fuels in our vehicles and furnaces. B1. Organizing the Coalition to Support the Implementation of the Maine Environmental Literacy Plan The environmental education (EE) community and the State as a whole anticipates that the adoption of the Maine Environmental Literacy Plan (ME ELP) in December 2010, will be a catalytic event for EE and especially for the youth of Maine . The creation and passage of the ELP took not only our wisdom, experience, and creativity, but also our collective voices to let it be known that this is a vital once-in-a-generation undertaking for the state. The next crucial step in our work is, implementation. This session will both help develop the general outline for the campaign to ensure the implementation the ME ELP, and also energize us, the environmental education community, to take on this task. Organizing the support for implementation is not just an advocacy activity or policy exercise, it will establish the buy-in and participation from the wide array of partners crucial to the success of the plan. The goals of this workshop will be to help organize the campaign to implement the ME ELP, including soliciting ideas, resources, and participation. Note: While one of the impetuses for the development of the ELP, the Federal “No Child Left Inside” Act (NCLI), has not yet passed Congress, the EE community knows that the more important reason to have adopted the ME ELP is to have a guide for the future of environmental education in our state. If you are interested in the Federal bill, see www.naaee.org/ee-advocacy. B2. Energy and 21st Century Skills – Partnerships That Matter How can energy audits influence student and school practices that lead to a more sustainable culture? With support from willing teachers, guest speakers, and by investigating energy uses within their schools, students explore, communicate and identify school wide practices through problem solving and hands-on learning. The Maine Energy Education Program (MEEP) together with Project Learning Tree (PLT) is assisting Shane Barker , Poland Middle School teacher, to conduct student run GreenSchools Investigations. Participants will receive energy statistics from the state of Maine and gather on site data using auditor tools with assistance from experienced students. Poland Middle School students & teacher will share their story about practical school wide investigations. Presenters will address how this inquiry-based approach to understanding school infrastructure and practices will increase student awareness for making sustainable choices that impact their lives and their communities. Shane Barker , a Poland Middle School teacher, is a co-presenter at this workshop. B3. Educating a Generation of Solutionaries Imagine if the basics in education served a bigger purpose: to provide all students, in age appropriate ways, with the knowledge, tools, and motivation to be conscientious choicemakers and engaged changemakers for a healthy, sustainable, just, and humane world for all. Put another way, imagine if all our graduates were "solutionaries," ready and able to solve entrenched challenges and make the systems within their chosen professions restorative and peaceful. In this inspiring and practical workshop, you'll learn to use innovative activities and approaches to bring the most pressing challenges of our time into educational settings in ways that stimulate critical and creative thinking while nurturing reverence, respect, and a sense of responsibility for the earth and all its inhabitants. B4. How Understanding of Nutrition Affects Land Conservation Many people are aware that preserving land benefits the local communities, and while some benefits are obvious (e.g., protecting the watershed, preventing soil erosion), others can be difficult to quantify in terms of value to human health (e.g., pleasing scenery, relaxing sit spots). One crucial value that is rarely discussed centers on wild food. Examination of isolated populations and numerous independent studies have shown that wild, nutrient-dense foods are necessary for a life free of chronic disease. In fact, many people unknowlingly bear the burden of poor health issues directly related to poor nutrition. Our current food production systems are not viable substitutes for wild food. This lecture takes a provocative look at agriculture and its effects on the environment and human health. Understanding the anatomical and genetic changes that have occurred in the past century will help illuminate deficiencies in our diet. Appreciating the critical need humans have for wild food provides another powerful argument for the protection of land from uses that drastically alter its ecological function. Arthur Haines Research Botanist B5. Intro to Project WILD Aquatic Project WILD Aquatic is multidisciplinary wildlife and conservation activity guide targeted at grades K-12, focuses on aquatic habitats and wildlife, and is full of hands-on participation and current information on Maine wildlife. Forty hands-on activities take a closer look at whales, wetlands, turtles, salmon, invertebrates, marine/freshwater environments and more! This intro session will whet your appetite for attending a full workshop. We will run thru several acitivities that you'll be able to use with your students immediately! B6. Nature - Just What the Doctor Ordered It wasn't until as a society we became increasingly less connected to nature that the health benefits of this connection began to be understood. There is increasing evidence that being outside has significant health benefits that can improve many of the maladies afflicting the Maine population today. We will focus particular attention on how a regular connection to the natural world can help to combat the epidemic of obesity across this state and indeed the nation. Participants will learn about health trends, and will discuss ways to promote outdoor recreation and activitiy into your programs. Working to support educational programming and to produce food year-round for our kitchen, Chewonki's farm intimately links students with the source of their food. Join us to learn more about the logistics, challenges, and opportunities of this dynamic farm-to-table connection and to participate in activities centered around connecting eaters with their food system. C1. The ABCs of Environmental Literacy Curriculum — Planning, Implementation and Impact Study Results Explore how a successful Environmental Literacy Curriculum is implemented in one Maine school district. Explore how to utilize your schools' grounds, field trip experiences, overnight programs and hands-on field ecology to provide comprehensive environmental education opportunities for students. Impact Study results show encouraging evidence of program achievements. C2. EE Best Practices...this is not your mother's nature walk. We know the "Drag and Brag" or "Amble and Ramble" old-school nature walk is not effective. Many of us (myself included) have at some point, felt like an "enviro-clown", leading a group of people of any age through some activity that felt more like eco-tainment than education. Many people love to "get outside" and research shows the importance of these experiences in young people's lives, but what are some of the best ways to educate adults and children in order to create a more sustainable world? We will explore the research and our experiences. "Cliff Notes" not included. C3. Sustainable Food Production and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Want to teach children about food safety, environmental stewardship, and human health? How about a subject that ties them all together into an engaging, relevant curriculum that teaches kids concepts they experience on a day to day basis? Integrated Pest Management (IPM) does just that! IPM links modern food production, to the environment and public health, and demonstrates how human actions have ricocheting consequences that are not always apparent. IPM also teaches children critical thinking skills for developing new solutions to everyday problems that have a lower impact on our world. It is a great subject for making students environmentally literate citizens. C4. Geocaching Your Watershed The most exciting way to learn about the environment is to get outdoors and experience it first-hand. Around the country people are being reintroduced to the outdoors through Geocaching. In this workshop we will explore the concept of geocaching and how to set up a watershed- or environmentally-based geocaching program. An organization or group can use geocache sites, real locations that participants will visit, to educate participants on resources in the watershed and how to protect these resources. One of the direct benefits of this activity is that it can become self-promoting and self-directed once established. Geocaching efforts can be done as an ongoing activity or as one-time events for local camps and groups. We will use a combination of hands-on demonstrations and examples to guide participants in learning how to develop and set up their own watershed geocache experience. We will also cover how a GPS unit works, how to load coordinates and navigate with a GPS unit, and how to design, register , and promote your own geocache sites.
C5. Systems Thinking through Ecosystems Being able to think systemically is the key to crafting sustainable solutions to the interconnected challenges we face, so it's no wonder that the Partnership for 21st Century Skills included Systems Thinking in their framework of 21st Century Student Outcomes. Of course, the most powerful and concrete way to understand complex systems is through ecosystems, so environmental educators have an important role to play in helping learners of all ages develop systems thinking skills. This workshop will explore systems principles and the habits of mind of a systems thinker through experiences in nearby ecosystems as well as in the classroom. C6. Using Smart Meter Technologies to Spark Student-Led Science Projects Using data from utility smart meters and energy monitoring devices, students investigate electrical energy use and ways to reduce consumption in school and at home. Participants will learn how several new electronic monitoring tools including smart meter technologies are being used in classrooms to further students' understanding of how electrical energy is used in school and at home. Attendees will learn how these technologies work, explore their capabilities and limitations, and examine the type of data they provide. Examples of how students have collected and used this data to engage in student-initiated science projects will be shared. In addition to exploring effective strategies for incorporating these new monitoring technologies into classroom, lessons to promote student learning, tips on getting started, and how to access these open source materials will be discussed. C7. VitalVenture: Engaging learners. Exploring watersheds. Connecting communities. What environmental issues affect the place where you live? With VitalVenture, students observe, ask questions, investigate, take action, and deepen their scientific understanding and connection to their local watersheds. VitalVenture was designed for Maine 's 5-8th grade classrooms, but could be used with girl/boy scout groups, environmental summer camps, citizen scientist groups, after-school programs, etc. Join us to explore VitalVenture's free, hands-on, standards-aligned educational resources (curricula and activities) that will engage your students with meaningful learning as they investigate issues affecting their own community and learn essential 21st century skills along the way. http://vitalventure.gmri.org
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