by editor | Aug 10, 2011 | Forest Education
by Chris Gertschen
For the past three decades, I have been an activist, a volunteer, a student and a teacher of conservation. My activist years gave me an advocacy perspective but I quickly saw a great need to expand my own natural science education – to give some foundation and balance to my life and love of the earth. My studies of biology as an undergrad were focused singularly on human biology and physiology. The word “ecology” was not then part of the curriculum. As a graduate student, I was introduced to a whole new world. In the natural history interdisciplinary program that I designed for myself at Boise State University, I studied geology, zoology, ecology and public affairs. And, I began to learn about conservation biology. (more…)
by editor | Aug 9, 2011 | K-12 Classroom Resources
by Greg Traymar
Sharing Nature North America
If you want to get through to an 8-year old, find an inspired 16-year old.
That’s what I’ve found in an extraordinary experience I had during the 2009-10 school year in which I trained a group of 16 high school students in Sharing Nature® games. These students, in turn, taught close to 300 elementary and middle school students in California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii. The results were astounding, as exemplified one day when the elementary teacher told us that her class was one of the most challenging groups of students in the school. (more…)
by editor | Jul 22, 2011 | Outdoor education and Outdoor School
By Joshua Klaus, Director of Academic Programs, Ecology Project International (EPI)
Taking students into the field can provide an endless array of occasions to learn new skills, see theoretical concepts enacted, make connections, and learn about the world around us. Given the endless places that offer valuable learning opportunities, it must just be a matter of heading out the door for students to have impactful educational experience, right?
Though it would be nice if it were that easy, there are a few key strategies that will allow any educator (novice or veteran) to make the most of their time – before, during, and after their field experience. (more…)
by editor | Jul 18, 2011 | Outdoor education and Outdoor School
by David Strich
North Cascades Institute
Mountain School has ended for me, but this recent spring session changed my life as an educator. I have become more convinced that I am pursuing the right career and that my teaching techniques have had meaningful impacts in my students’ lives. It is embarrassing for me to speak so candidly and arrogantly, but the parent chaperones have told me I am doing good work. I know this is true because in two successive weeks I choked up at home while journaling. Though I write this article more than two months later, I still feel the emotions welling inside me as I recall specific moments that impacted me earlier in the season.
I blame one student who eloquently spoke about how he feels empowered to change the world. I fault another whose sheer smile in her own accomplishments makes me tear up every time I am reminded of her voice. (more…)
by editor | Jul 5, 2011 | Outdoor education and Outdoor School, Place-based Education
By Joseph Cornell
Profound moments with nature foster a true and vital understanding of our place in the world. I remember an experience I had as a five-year-old boy that awakened in me a life-long fascination for marshes, birds, and for a life lived wild and free.
I was playing outside on a cold, foggy morning when I suddenly heard a startling chorus of “whouks” coming toward me through the air. I peered intently at the thick fog, hoping for at least a glimpse of the geese. Seconds passed; the tempo of their cries increased. They were going to fly directly overhead! I could hear their wings slapping just yards above me. All of a sudden, bursting through a gap in the fog, came a large flock of pearl-white snow geese. It seemed as if the sky had given birth to them. For five or six wonderful seconds their sleek and graceful forms were visible, then they merged once again into the fog. Seeing the snow geese thrilled me deeply, and ever since then I have wanted to immerse myself in nature. (more…)
