The Latest
Integrating Place-based EE, Literacy, and the Performing Arts
Staging Nature Integrating Place-based Environmental Education, Literacy, and the Performing Arts by Regine Randall, Rebecca Edmondson, and MaryAnne Young "Teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher!” Such a cry is likely to get any educator’s attention—and...
Focusing on local environmental issues
Building Environmental Education from Community Resources Sophie Diliberti, Justin Hougham, Brad Bessler, and Brooke Bellmar ocusing on specific aspects of learners’ local context can increase their engagement in environmental education. One way for educators to...
Field-based Research
How to Design Field-based Research Experiences By Molly L. Sultany, msultany@nwacademy.org High School Teacher, Northwest Academy, Portland, Oregon Navigating Unchartered Waters How can educators help students feel more connected to the outdoors while engaging with...
Idaho Environmental Education Teacher Award
Idaho teacher awarded for environmental education instruction Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on June 26, 2023 Misha Smith, a sixth grade teacher at Hawthorne Elementary in Boise, earned two recognitions for her work as an environmental science and geography...
Experiential Learning to Create Authentic Learning
Experiential Learning to Create Authentic Learning by Haley Korcz hen in your academic career did you question why you were learning something or how it would benefit you in real life? Did real-life connections from your academic learning impact your career choice?...
Equity in a Time of Socio-Environmental Justice
Equity in a Time of Socio-Environmental Justice by Max Jimenez Environmental Literacy, Policy This article was republished with permission and originally appeared in California Classroom Science (CCS), an e-newsletter produced by the California Science Teachers...
“We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate, and lack. We should not long to return, my friends....
Special Issue: Justice, Equity and Diversity in Environmental Education
Guest Editor: R. Justin Hougham, Ph.D. Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison Special Advisor: Derek Hoshiko, Community Organizer and Educator on Climate Change and Environmental Equity e are excited to bring our readers this special edition of CLEARING...
Using Stations to Increase Student Independence: Overview and Lesson Plan
by Allison Breeze s an educator, I believe that learning happens when students are applying their knowledge in practice. To this end, I am always looking for activities that engage students in hands-on ways with whatever topic they are learning about. Exploration and...
Maybe the problem wasn’t WHAT we were learning but WHERE we were learning?
At-risk students are exposed to their local environment to gain an appreciation for their community, developing environmental awareness built on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors applied through actions. Lindsay Casper and Brant G. Miller University of Idaho...
Exploring the Classroom Beyond: A Beginner’s Guide to Implementing Place-based Education
by Lucy Clothier eing a new teacher in this contemporary era of education can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. The demands placed upon teachers are extensive, often lacking clear pathways to achieving these substantial goals. Within the...
Finding Dragons
by Erin Banks Rusby rerinted from the Idaho Press n the summer of 2023, a group of high school students and adults converged over their shared interest in science and dragonflies. Known as the Finding Dragons program, the effort aimed to provide hands-on, publishable...
Leaning into Content with Lesson Sequencing
by Zachary Zimmerman Bainbridge Island, WA s an outdoor educator, I often get sucked into the false binary that lessons are either fun or informative, that content must be sweetened with games, stories, and activities like applesauce for children’s medicine. But...
Bird by Bird We Come to Know the Earth
by Emma Belanger As someone who comes from a low-income background and grew up in a semi-urban environment, birds were one of the first aspects of the more-than-human world that I felt truly connected to without having to obtain expensive gear, resources, or and a way...
Asking Questions
Key Considerations for Asking Questions as a Field-Based Science Instruction By Amos Pomp Introduction We do not ask [questions] in a vacuum; what we ask, how, and when are all related. – Bang et al., 2018 How can field-based science instructors be intentional with...
ADHD in the Outdoors
Five 5th-grade students sit or stand facing a sunny pond surrounded by lush greenery, working on a writing task or exploring quietly. Photographed by Greyson Lee Background Music and Birdsong: ADHD in the Outdoors by Greyson Lee After several hours of watching my dad...
River Newe: Creating New Narratives
River Newe: Creating New Narratives On Historic Landscapes In this article we present our work that directly addresses Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) for our tribal youth of the Shoshone-Bannock people. We have reimagined what JEDI means for us...
The Judgment of the Barnacles
There’s a song in the sea for those who listen, and messages in the sand for those with far reaching eyes. By Dr. Gloria Snively and Doug Wonnacott The morning silently creeps in upon the gray, green waves. Smooth flat rocks that tumbled together for a thousand...
Ear to the Ground: Interviews with PNW Environmental Educators
Robert Steelquist, Coastal Explorer, Environmental Educator (2021) Jane Tesner Kleiner (2021) Greening the Schoolgrounds Gary Dorr (Standing Red Bear) (2018) Reclaiming a Culture through the Traditional Canoe Monica Nissen (2015) 2015 Environmental Educator of the...
Mind the Gap: How Environmental Education Can Step Forward to Address the STEM Achievement Gap
Environmental Education is a broad field encompassing nature centers, school forests, outdoor education facilities, state and national parks among others. This diversity of organization type allows for wide engagement by the public and holds great potential for...
Inside the Spring 2019 Issue
Inside the Spring 2019 issue https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/15269 https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/16855 https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/14324 https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/14370
Justice and Equity in Environmental Education – Special Issue Winter 2022
CLEARING Special Focus Issue: Justice, Equity and Diversity in Environmental Education Guest Editor: R. Justin Hougham, Ph.D. Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison Special Advisor: Derek Hoshiko, Community Organizer and Educator on Climate Change and...
Fall 2018 EE Resources
https://clearingmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/F18Resources.pdf
Thoughts of an Outdoor Education “Elder”
by Daniel Kreisberg During college I was a waterfront director at a sleepaway camp and absolutely loved it. When my post college job search led me to residential outdoor education centers I was thrilled. It was summer camp all year round and it allowed me to follow my...
Bringing Nature Back to the Schoolyard
by Jane Tesner Kleiner, RLA Imagine walking out the back door of your school, surrounded by the songs of spring time birds, the soft scents of flowers in bloom, the wind billowing through nearby trees, and (if you are lucky) the croaking of Pacific tree...
Learning in an authentic, meaningful, interdisciplinary environment
A Year in the Watershed There is no doubt that if you want to get students truly excited about what they are learning, ask them to tackle a real-world question or problem — ask them to solve something that is relevant to their lives. by Jean M. Wallace It is no...
Making Outdoor Education More Accessible
Effective Practices For Night Hike By: Grace Werner The mainstream outdoor industry, as it exists today, is a blanket of whiteness that ignores sacred stories, crucial histories, and traditional knowledge of black and brown people (Brown, 2019). This truth is...
Land Acknowledgement Resource Cards
A New Tool: Land Acknowledgment Resource Cards (LARC) by Grace Crowley-Thomas Throughout Canada, New Zealand, and parts of the United States, educators and leaders are engaging in a practice called “land acknowledgment.” Generally, this is a practice that is meant to...
Ear to the Ground: Jane Tesner Kleiner
Jane Tesner Kleiner is a Registered Landscape Architect (RLA), ecologist and environmental educator with over 25 years of experience in design, project management and program coordination. She loves working with schools and communitiy partners to create spaces and...
Zoos and Aquariums to the Rescue
by Jon Biemer Zoos and aquariums help heal our planet. In addition to wonderful experiential and educational activities, many zoos and aquariums have committed themselves to species rescue and recovery. I am a student of strategies that can create a healthier...
Advice for White Environmentalists and Nature Educators
by Sprinavasa Brown I often hear White educators ask “What should I do?” expressing an earnest desire to move beyond talking about equity and inclusion to wanting action steps toward meaningful change. I will offer you my advice as a fellow educator. It is both a...
EE Activities K-12
EE Activities F17EE Activities F17 K-12 Environmental Education Activities Here are some ideas, separated into grade levels and subject areas, that you can use to instill environmental learning when you are looking for something to fill a gap in your activity plan....
Ear to the Ground: Robert Steelquist
Robert Steelquist: Coastal Explorer Robert Steelquist is a native Pacific Northwest writer, photographer, naturalist, and environmental educator with a 40-year career introducing learners to the nature of the Northwest. He has led hundreds on nature walks, backpacking...
Food Waste and Climate Change
PEI Offers Food Waste and Climate Change Storyline Workshop for Teachers Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, the United States is also one of the most wasteful. America holds the dubious distinction of throwing away more food than every other...
Confronting a World of Wounds:
Aldo Leopold famously wrote,"One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds." As environmental educators, we must ask ourselves what we are giving our students that equips them to deal with this harsh reality. by Nick...
Integration Can Help You Teach More Science and Environmental Education
Integration Can Help You Teach More Science and Environmental Education by Jim McDonald Central Michigan University The demands on classroom teachers to address a variety of different subjects during the day means that some things just get left out of the curriculum....
Trees as Storytellers
he thought of talking trees conjures up images of the fantastical. Tolkien’s ents patrol the forest, Baum’s forest of fighting trees throws apples at Dorothy, and Marvel’s Groot guards the galaxy. Or, perhaps, we think of those who speak for the trees that cannot...
Digital Environmental Literacy: Student Generated Data and Inquiry
How do we train educators to successfully interface technologies with the outdoor experiences that they provide their students? by R. Justin Hougham, Marc Nutter, Megan Gilbertson, Quinn Bukouricz University of Wisconsin - Extension Technology in education (ed tech)...
Reclaiming Spaces
Providing opportunities for students of color to explore the outdoors and science careers Text and photos by Sprinavasa Brown recall the high school science teacher who doubted my capacity to succeed in advanced biology, the pre-med advisers who pointed my...
Earth Connections: Science Through the Seasons
Science Through the Seasons by Shea Scribner Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center Carnation WA igns of the shifting seasonal cycle are all around us. Children are especially keen to notice and appreciate the changing colors of leaves, frantic activities of squirrels,...
Empowering Female Voices
Brave with Braids Empowering young female voices By Jennifer Allen uthor Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s words have been echoing in my head recently; “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller, we say to girls, ‘You can have ambition, but not...
Teacher Favorite Activity Ideas
Favorite EE Activity Ideas from PNW Educators Practical and proven environmental education activities for all grade levels and subject areas, shared by members of the EE community. What is your favorite? Nature Journal Kristen Clapper Bergsman My favorite EE...
K-12 Activities: Monitoring Biological Diversity
K-12 Activity Ideas: Monitoring Biological Diversity by Roxine Hameister Developing a biodiversity monitoring project at your school can help students develop many skills in an integrated manner. Here are some simple ideas that you can use to get your students...
Poetry and Science Education
Poetry as a Tool for Science Communication by Whitney Chandler Funding for the arts is continuing to be reduced year after year. The importance of serving our children’s right brain has been pushed aside to afford them lessons in math and science. However,...
Advice for white environmentalists and nature educators
by Sprinavasa Brown I often hear White educators ask “What should I do?” expressing an earnest desire to move beyond talking about equity and inclusion to wanting action steps toward meaningful change. I will offer you my advice as a fellow educator. It is both a...
Violence, environmental violence, and pro-environmental action
Violence, environmental violence, and pro-environmental action Richard Kool Royal Roads University hile there are many tasks on the plate of any educator, there are two that, to me at least, really seem essential and that are often overlooked; these tasks are for the...
An Educator’s Guide to Stewardship
An Educator's Guide to Stewardship by Breanna Caruso Click on the title to view PDF version of article.
Why Environmental Educators Shouldn’t Give Up Hope
Photo by Jim Martin Why Environmental Educators Shouldn’t Give Up Hope by Jacob Rodenburg I’m trying hard not to get discouraged. Being an environmental educator in today’s world feels like you are asked to stop a rushing river armed only with a teaspoon. There are so...
Embracing the Unfamiliar Through Adventurous Eating with an Equity Lens
Embracing the Unfamiliar Through Adventurous Eating with an Equity Lens By Caroline Bargo Adventure Awaits As I began exploring the IslandWood campus in August it became abundantly clear that the garden would be one of my favorite places here on the 255-acres...
Perspectives: Educating as if Survival Matters
Educating as if Survival Matters Nancy M Trautmann Michael P Gilmore BioScience, Volume 68, Issue 5, 1 May 2018, Pages 324–326, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biy026 Published: 22 March 2018 ver the past 40 years, environmental educators throughout the world have...
Climate Change
A Chance to Make a Difference: Tackling Climate Change in a Middle School Classroom by Angela Duke Northwest Expedition Academy Hayden, Idaho n the days of selfies and social media mania, it is often a difficult job getting middle schoolers to look up instead...
Immersive Storytelling
Immersive Storytelling: A Reminder to Read to Your Students Outside By Hannah Levy Sitting amongst towering cedars as the sun treated us to the last bits of golden hour, our final field study day was coming to a close. We had a hard week, for many of my students, this...
Climate Scientists
On a sunny fall day in Oregon students are outdoors learning about the new citizen science observation site in their schoolyard. With a mix of 4th and 5th grade exuberance and the seriousness of adults they are taking on the mission of gathering basic data for a...
Exploring Culture and Environment – Pt 1
Canoes and other forms of human powered watercraft have been utilized by human beings all around the world since time immemorial. For this reason, the study of canoes can serve as a gateway to analyze, compare and learn from the world’s cultures and the...
Exploring Culture and Environment – Pt 2
This article is a story of how fourth-grade students in Moscow, Idaho studied the confluence of cultures throughout Idaho’s history by building a canoe, hand-carving paddles, and actively participating in the resurgence of the traditional canoe throughout the Pacific...
Native Voices: Reclaiming a Culture Through the Traditional Canoe
Native Voices: Reclaiming a Culture through the Traditional Canoe Interview with Nathan Piengkham (In conjunction with Blooming Culture: The Canoe as a Vessel for Exploring Cultures) Nathan Piengkham is a member of the Kalispel Tribe and the Executive Director of The...
E.E.’s Philosopher King
Not One More Cute Project for the Kids: Neal Maine’s Educational Vision by Gregory A. Smith Lewis & Clark College, Professor Emeritus PART ONE eal Maine, now in his late-70s is an iconic figure for many environmental educators in the state of Oregon. Early...
E.E.’s Philosopher King (Pt 2)
Not One More Cute Project for the Kids: Neal Maine’s Educational Vision by Gregory A. Smith Lewis & Clark College, Professor Emeritus PART TWO (see Part One here) Sustaining Neal’s Place-Based Vision of Education: Lessons Learned Despite the power...
Lessons from IslandWood
Adventure Hike to a Harbor: Creating a space for all to engage with marine science By Julia Glassy I am currently a graduate student of University of Washington over on Bainbridge Island, WA at IslandWood, a non-profit outdoor education center. I am passionate about...
Ear to the Ground: Gary Dorr
Native Voices: Reclaiming a Culture through the Traditional Canoe Interview with Gary Dorr (In conjunction with Blooming Culture: The Canoe as a Vessel for Exploring Cultures) Gary Dorr is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe and Chairman of The River Warrior Society....
Poetry and Science
Utilizing the Tools of Poetry for Science Inquiry by Jim Martin CLEARING consultant pril is National Poetry Month. Can we celebrate it by using poetry to facilitate teaching science as inquiry? What does the flow of thoughts, images of relationships, grammar and...
All You Need is Love
Four Lessons in Global Education from the Beatles By Sean Gaillard, June 19, 2017 Editor's note: Sean Gaillard, principal of Lexington Middle School in Lexington, North Carolina, is a huge proponent of international collaboration for students in his school. In this...
Outdoor Learning
NatureBridge Takes the Classroom Outdoors: Inspires Teachers and Students Through Discovery by Karen West for NatureBridge “The future will belong to the nature smart… the more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.” – Richard Louv, author of “Last Child...
Connecting Art and Science
Making Science Engaging at Camp Connecting art and science helps students find STEM classes more engaging and enjoyable By Elli Korthuis is a youth development organization that focuses on helping members, ages 5-19 years, grow as individuals through their...
Forget Your Botany!
by Jan van Boeckel MANY PEOPLE DEPLORE the loss of direct contact with nature. Moreover, this absence might be one of the root causes for the ecological crisis we are experiencing today, and for the mood of indifference that many people feel for it. It is hard to care...
Art and the Environment
Getting to the HeART of Teaching Marine Conservation by Kerry Hynes “I don’t understand. This is too hard. Why are we learning this?” These are just a few of the phrases that I hear in my classroom that force me to stop, take a deep breath, and remind myself that,...
Book Review: Place-based Education
Enlivening Students by Gregory A. Smith Review of Sarah Anderson’s, Bringing School to Life: Place-Based Education across the Curriculum (Lanham, Massachusetts: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) or the past two decades, books and articles written by place-...
Marine/Aquatic Education: Nudibranch Population Dynamics
The search for sea slugs Linking non-divers to the excitement of ocean discovery by Elise Pletcher Citizen Science and Volunteer Coordinator The Marine Science and Technology Center Highline College he Nudibranch Team is a citizen science volunteer program at the...
Blog: Teacher Preparation
Know and Do What We Teach: How many times are we assigned to teach a subject we know little about? by Jim Martin CLEARING Special Contributor t a riparian ecology training for teachers a few years ago, I met two who epitomize a perennial problem in education in...
E2E Grant Project Report – Alaska
E2E Grant Project Report Evaluate EE Programs for Systemic Change in Your Community How to improve the effectiveness of teacher professional development in environmental education By Cathy Rezabeck, Marilyn Sigman and Beverly Parsons illingham, Alaska is a...
Marine and Aquatic Education: Underwater Technology and ROVs
Engaging Students in Underwater Technology and ROVs by Jessica Lotz Education and Outreach Coordinator The Marine Science and Technology Center Highline College ften times it’s hard for us air breathers to really appreciate the depth and immensity of our ocean when we...
Blog: Science, Art, and English Education
What is the Place of Science in Art and English Education? by Jim Martin CLEARING Special Contributor School districts have, over the past four decades, reduced their arts offerings in order to meet increased demands for time devoted to science, mathematics, social...
Outdoor, Hands-on STEM Learning
Outdoor Learning in Shelton: A Surge of Hope by Eleanor Steinhagen Bayshore Preserve – Shelton, WA wo 7th graders have just tossed their pears into Johns Creek and are jogging downstream to see which one will cross the finish line first. Maneuvering around a...
Empathy and Environmental Education
The Compassionate Educator: Empathy and Environmental Education Tom Stonehocker common challenge in environmental education is working with students who feel disconnected from their environment. This disconnection not only impedes a student’s ability to understand how...
Journey to Understanding: Lessons from a Canoe Curriculum
Tribal teachers set out to help design an integrated curriculum around the canoes of Pacific Northwest Native American tribes. Article by Suzie Boss Click here to view article in PDF format: Canoe Curriculum PDF
Reframing Sustainability
Reframing Sustainability Peter Denton, Ph.D. Keynote Address - EECOM Conference 2016, International Peace Gardens peaking here today is kind of like preaching to the choir. It is great to have a friendly crowd who does not think a polar icecap is the name of some new...
Urban EE and Sense of Place
Urban Environmental Education and Developing a Sense of place Authors: Jennifer D. Adams, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, USA David A. Greenwood, Lakehead University, Canada Mitchell Thomashow, Philanthropy Northwest, USA Alex Russ, Cornell...
Environmental Handprints
Environmental Educators Create Handprints by Jon Biemer he Handprint is a paradigm whose time has come. The Handprint motivates by focusing on the positive ways to think about sustainability and follow through with appropriate action. Over the past...
Integrated Teaching
Photo by Jim Martin Integrated Teaching: The Student-Directed Investigation by Jillian Whitehill s educators, our goal is to increase the growth of each of our students, foster their passion for learning, and best prepare our students for the real world. While there...
Forest Schools
When Water Speaks: The Power of the Forest School Movement by Amanda Crawford issouri is a treasure trove of outdoor places and wild spaces dedicated to adventurers of all kinds. The natural brilliance of the Missouri landscape is no secret. And yet, unbeknownst to...
Eco-Art: How to Flow Upstream
By Shimshon Obadia hirty-one degrees Celsius and the air is dry to the touch in downtown Kelowna, BC. I whip my bicycle down the shoulder of Pandosy Street where the bike lane would be until I hit K.L.O. Road where I connect to the actual bike lane embedded in the...
Jim Martin on Inquiry
Is active learning an effective vehicle to train science inquiry mentors? Walking along with you is far better than telling you "I’ll show you the way." ow should we prepare mentors of teachers who wish to learn how to engage their students in authentic science...
Suquamish Basket Marsh: Creating a Living Library
Traditional Ecological Knowledge The Suquamish Basket Marsh: Creating a Living Library An Outdoor Environmental Learning Classroom for the students of Suquamish Elementary School By Melinda West There is a Salish legend passed down by the First Peoples of the Pacific...
Place-based Education
The Time is Now for Place Based Education Schools are not just training grounds for children to learn content and job skills for twelve or more years before they are allowed back into broader society, ready to pursue their own individual enrichment. In the place-based...
Of Education and Place
Everyone Ought to Have a Ditch "What gets lost, when we focus on facts, are the initiation experiences, the moments of transcendence when the borders between the natural world and ourselves break down." by David Sobel spend a lot of time these days talking with...
Connecting to the Natural World – Biome Bonanza!
A Biome Bonanza! After taking a class for teachers about sustainability several years ago, my teaching partner and I were inspired to get kids out and about and connected to the natural world more. We looked at our science curriculum and with the help of Bob Carlson...
Outdoor Education Perspectives
Outdoor Education — Thoughts From an Elder by Dan Kriesberg uring college I was a waterfront director at a sleepaway camp and absolutely loved it. When my post college job search led me to residential outdoor education centers I was thrilled. It was summer camp...
Environmental Education Activities K-12
Environmental Education Activities K-12 a potpourri of teaching ideas for the classroom GRADES K-2 Science Flannel Beach Life Cut out pictures of intertidal animals from calendars or a cheap field guide. Laminate pictures and use stick-on velcro to turn...
STEM Learning: Quatama School/Oregon Zoo
by Alison Heimowitz Every fall students in Sharon Angal’s third-grade classroom at Quatama Elementary, a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) school in the Hillsboro School District, wait patiently for the arrival of the “salmon lady.”...
Climate Change Education
Climate Change Education: A Student's Perspective by Eliot Brody At my recent high school graduation, I found myself reflecting on the 12 years I spent in Oregon’s largest school district, Portland Public Schools. While I sat through the speeches in my...
Ocean Plastic Pollution
Mitigating Microplastics Development and Evaluation of a Middle School Curriculum by Marie Kowalski and Tracy Crews ABSTRACT Microplastics are plastic marine debris less than five millimeters across. Microplastics are a threat to the health of our ocean. One...
Jim Martin on Teacher Mentors
Why would a practicing teacher need a Mentor? Is the idea of mentoring teachers an unnecessary element in our Schools? by Jim Martin If you were to trace your ancestry 25,000 years or further, you'd find that your forebears read no books about the natural...
My Favorite EE Activity – Margie B. Klein
By Margie Klein Retired Interpretive Naturalist Now doing environmental ed. and nature interpretation part-time at local public lands sites. She is also a writer and author of many articles in national magazines; co-author of a nation-wide curriculum; recipient of an...
Jim Martin on Science Inquiry
Can We Learn What Science Inquiry Does For Us? What To Teach; And How? by Jim Martin n a previous blog, a student, Maria, noticed a salmon fry darting toward a rock covered with periphyton, a thin colony of algae which supports microbes and invertebrates living...
Garden of Wisdom
News release submission for CLEARING Magazine - February 2017 The Garden of Wisdom A peace-building program among environmental educators and conservationists in the Middle East inspires children to love and nurture the natural world. Please help us to publish our...
What Can I Do Monday Morning?
50+ Simple EE Activities Across the K-12 Curriculum GRADES K-2 SCIENCE Back to the Earth Display food items such as a boiled egg, apple, peanut butter, bread, jelly, strip of bacon, etc. Pictures can be used. Ask students to identify the food items you...
The Importance of Deep Experiences in Nature
The Importance of Deep Experiences in Nature By Joseph Cornell rofound 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,...
Eelgrass as Teacher – Integrating Tradition, Science, and Learning on the British Columbia Coast
Eelgrass as Teacher Integrating Tradition, Science, and Learning on the British Columbia Coast by Nikki Wright ith a respectful hush, students squat on the sand or sit on logs on the warm beach, listening intently to Trish speaking about the way her indigenous...
STEM Field Study Kits for All! – Investigating the Natural Environment
STEM Field Study Kits for All! by Martin E. Fortin, Jr. AWSP Director of Learning Centers arly in my career as a science teacher I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by the famous Princeton professor Dr. Herbert Alyea. His demonstrations were so legendary he was...
The Value of Creative Teaching – Art and Environmental Education
The Value of Creative Teaching Place-based environmental education through the lens of art and creative writing by Tess Malijenovsky lace-based environmental education is taking front seat inside and outside classrooms across the country in part to prepare...
NGSS and Active Learning
Maria’s Eye: How do we empower it to engage and understand her world? by Jim Martin CLEARING writer and contributor f I could imagine the best possible classroom in the world, it would be one in which each student is empowered to look out into the world, see something...
A Pedagogy for Ecology
A Pedagogy for Ecology by Ann Pelo s a teacher, I want to foster in children an ecological identity. I believe this identity, born in a particular place, opens children to a broader connection with the Earth; love for a specific place makes possible love for other...
The Confluence Project (Idaho)
from the Fall 2016 Issue of CLEARING Integrating Watershed Science in High School Classrooms: The Confluence Project Approach by Audrey Squires, Jyoti Jennewein, and Mary Engels, with Dr. Brant Miller and Dr. Karla Eitel, University of Idaho It’s not just because I...
Understanding Ecosystems
Understanding Ecosystems is a Real Need: Will we help today's kids learn what they ought to know about ecosystems? by Jim Martin CLEARING Writer and Contributor ids in school today, and their children, need to understand ecosystems, and their own place within them....
Classroom without walls
“Mr. D., that was the best science class I’ve ever had!” The trials and successes of a classroom without walls By Greg Derbyshire he above feedback, made by a grade 8 student, is one of many similar comments made to me by students and parents who recognize and...
Ear to the Ground – Rus Higley
An Interview with Rus Higley 2016 Marine Education Classroom Educator of the Year Rus Higley has worked as Manager at the Marine Science and Technology Center at Highline College since its opening in 2003. He was born in Alaska, but grew up in Des Moines and graduated...
EE Questions and Actions
Critical Questions 1. What kinds of support are available in your school, district and community for supporting environmental educational activities? 2. In what ways can environmental education activities enhance learning? 3. What are the most effective strategies for...
Ethics and Science
Chymograph by Jim Martin· kymograph (‘wave writer’): a device that produces traces on a piece of smoked paper clamped onto a rotating drum, a mechanically amplified graphical representation of spatial position over time, such as the rise and fall of a worm’s blood...
10 Tips for Teachers
These tips, developed by The Straub Environmental Learning Center, may be helpful for teachers who are beginning to integrate a service learning component into the classroom: 1.Start small, and find other teachers who are interested in doing a community project....
Restoration and Renewal
Environmental Learning Center: Restoration project heals environment, community and college Written by Shelly Parini, CCC senior executive project manager he Environmental Learning Center at Clackamas Community College (CCC) represents something different to...
NGSS and Environmental Education
Use the Real World to Integrate Your Curriculum In today’s test-driven schools, there’s little room for including the world outside the classroom in the curriculum, even though school is supposed to be based on the real world. And prepare us for it. by Jim Martin...
Urban Schools and Environmental Education
Urban Schools and Environment Education by Alison Swain IslandWood Graduate Student/ Field Instructor his past fall, an IslandWood instructor gave me the advice that a teacher can only take her students from the place they are coming from. Through weeks of teaching...
Wolverines, Wonder and Wilderness
Wolverines, Wonder and Wilderness Why the Wolverine Matters to a Kid Who Has Never Seen a Raccoon by Megan McGinty IT IS APRIL AND I AM SITTING UNCOMFORTABLY on the cobbles of a gravel bar on the Skagit River in the North Cascades National Park with a group of local...
Permaculture Garden
Care for Self, Care for Others, Care for the Land: How Springwater Environmental Sciences School Uses Their Permaculture Garden as a Microcosm for the Environment. Kaci Rae Christopher t first, starting a school garden that combined permaculture and science seemed...
Jim Martin on NGSS
Active Learning: Is this something our pre-service education equips us for? ’m interested in the Resource section on the New Generation Science Standards (NGSS) web site (http://www.nextgenscience.org/resources). At the very end of the materials, there is a link to...
Transformative Power
The Transformative Power of Wilderness Education A graduate student finds an understanding of the effect of wilderness on the development of young people’s sense of self-worth by Rory Crowley n July 7th, 2001 I lie huddled in my sleeping bag, shivering as I survey the...
What is Good Environmental Education?
What is Good Environmental Education? Our students need to be ready to invest in building positive futures for the communities to which they belong - household to global. by Peter Hayes he choice to become an educator brings with it a career-long sentence to the...
Integrating Place-based Learning
Wenatchee School District’s Case Study of Science Field Experiences by Susan Ballinger and Karen Rutherford his year (2005) in the shrub-steppe eco-region of rural Eastern Washington, over 3600 elementary students, teachers, and adult volunteers will spend a...
Human/Natural Systems Interactions
Human/Natural Systems Interactions: A Framework A critical thinking tool for developing ecological literacy throughout the curriculum compares cultures and their relationship to the natural world. by Barbara Jackson n this era of relentless consumption of...
4-H Urban-Rural Exchange
By being on the land and walking in the shoes of their host families, students begin to understand more deeply how and why Oregonians manage the land the way they do. By Maureen Hosty With contributions from Gary Delaney, Deb Schreiber, John Williams, Jed Smith and...
Digging Deeper
by David A. Greenwood, Lakehead University, Canada As part of the 2009 North American Association of Environmental Education Research Symposium, this article addresses the cultural and theoretical frameworks that we bring to environmental education, the web of...
A While in the Wild: Educating for Environmental Empathy
A While in the Wild: Educating for Environmental Empathy Experiences in wild nature, the leadership of a significant adult, and the educational support of the classroom offer powerful tools in shaping students toward lifelong leadership in environmental...
Ear to the Ground – Ryan Monger, Sultan High School
An Interview with Ryan Monger Winner of 2015 EPA Presidential Award for Innovation in Environmental Education Ryan Monger, Sultan High School Sultan, Washington Ryan Monger, an environmental education teacher of students in grades 9 through 12 at Sultan High...
Wild Words: A guide to integrating creative writing into field-based education
Wild Words: A guide to integrating creative writing into field-based education by Becca Deysach “I’ve always wanted to write but never gave myself permission.” This sentiment is the one I have heard most frequently since I began teaching creative writing several years...
Place-based Learning: Community Mapping
Engaging Students With/in Place through Community Mapping By Susan Jagger University of Toronto This article was reprinted from Pathways - The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, Volume 26, Issue 3 ommunity mapping brings together local people as they celebrate...
Teaching Science
Why kids need ecology now! Teachers, as well as science majors and graduate students, need to understand the process of science. And they need to be able to argue it, discuss it, suggest novel perspectives, give and respond to criticism. Does our inservice education...
Ear to the Ground – Monica Nissen
An Interview with Monica Nissen 2015 Environmental Educator of the Year The Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM) has named Monica Nissen as the 'Outstanding Environmental Education Non-profit Individual' for 2015. In addition, the...
STEM – Joseph Gale Elementary
The Utility of Partnerships - Joseph Gale Elementary Because clean water is part of daily life and it’s readily available, we often take it for granted. It’s easy to see why local utilities, wastewater included, don’t always come to mind as educational partners. In...
Citizenship Education
Seeking Environmental Maturity at Starker Forests Helping students climb the ladder to responsible citizenship by Richard Powell tarker Forests is a family-owned tree farming business of about 80,000 acres, mostly within an hour’s drive in the Coast Range west of...
Combining the Strengths of Adventure Learning and Place Based Education
Combining the Strengths of Adventure Learning and Place-based Education How re-conceptualizing the role of technology in place-based education enhances place responsive pedagogies through technology. by R. Justin Hougham, Karla C. Bradley Eitel and Brant G. Miller...
Jim Martin: Arts and Humanities in the Sciences?
Arts and Humanities in the Sciences? Is that incongruous, or what? By Jim Martin Have you ever ‘felt’ the weather as cloud formations began to change? I love to watch Mares’ Tails form; multiple long extensions of a cumulus cloud that race out ahead, then turn up and...
Environmental Leadership: Making Connections
Environmental Leadership: Making Connections Two service-learning programs within the Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Oregon aim to deepen students’ knowledge of their bioregion through day-long, hands-on field trips. By Kathryn A. Lynch,...
Forest Schools and the Benefits of Unstructured Outdoor Play
Forest Schools and the Benefits of Unstructured Outdoor Play By Deanna Fahey Miami University, Oxford, Ohio t is snowing outside and you’re getting your child ready to go to kindergarten. While other children may be wishing for a snow day so they can play in the...
Teach a School to Garden…
Teach a School to Garden… by Brandi Mendenall Central High School Springfield, Missouri s I watched the dump truck unload what would be the first of three loads of the highest quality compost our small school club could afford, I could not help but wonder if we really...
Environmental Education: The Science of Learning and Doing
Environmental Education: The Science of Learning and Doing by Cecelia Bosma Trinity Lutheran School Litchfield, Arizona e live on a planet with limited resources that are often consumed without caution. Finding ways to engage students in...
On Teaching Science
What's the Difference... ...between a single performer and an energetic band? Can students teach themselves? by Jim Martin CLEARING Master Teacher n an earlier set of blogs, we followed a middle school class whose science teacher had started them on a project to study...
Sowing the Seeds of Community and Place-based Learning
Sowing the Seeds of Place and Community-based Learning by Becs Boyd Place and Community Based approach can be transformative for students and teachers, schools and communities. Making this approach work means taking a fresh look at the school community, the wider...
Lessons for teaching in the environment and community – 3
Photo by Jim Martin “Lessons for Teaching in the Environment and Community” is a regular series that explores how teachers can gain the confidence to go into the world outside of their classrooms for a substantial piece of their curricula. Part 3: Emergent...
Lessons for teaching in the environment and community -2
Photo courtesy of Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School “Lessons for Teaching in the Environment and Community” is a regular series that explores how teachers can gain the confidence to go into the world outside of their classrooms for a substantial piece of their...
Tips for bringing students into the field: Strategies for success
Tips for bringing students into the field: Strategies for success By Joshua Klaus Director of Academic Programs, Ecology Project International (EPI) aking students into the field can provide an endless array of occasions to learn new skills, see...
Schools Gone Green
Schools Gone Green Get inspired by these four Portland-area schools that are doing more than their part to save the planet. “What makes me most excited about Oregon Green Schools is hearing from the students about their progress. I appreciate that we are...
Teaching Science Inquiry
Can I become a science inquiry facilitator? . . . If I’ve never been one? by Jim Martin What do I need to be competent in, comfortable with, being a facilitator instead of a top-down teacher? I think a first thing is the recognition that people can learn on their own;...
Girls in Engineering and Marine Science
Girls in Engineering and Marine Science (GEMS) by Marie Kowalski Reprinted from Oregon Coast STEM Hub blog A team with their light trap On April 16th, twenty-seven young women arrived at Hatfield Marine Science Center, excited for two sunny days of science and...
Bringing Home the Data: The Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School
Bringing Home the Data: The Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School by Mike Weddle The Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School (JGEMS) is a public charter school located within Waldo Middle School in Salem, Oregon. The ten-year old school has an enrollment of 90...
Environmental Justice and Urban E.E.
How Environmental Education Can Address Issues of Environmental Justice in Urban Settings by Anjelique Hjarding, Alicia King and Belinda Chin HIGHLIGHTS • Environmental injustice occurs when the most vulnerable, poor, minority or underserved populations carry the...
EE and Language Arts: The Hunger Games and the Nature of Rebellion
The Hunger Games and the Nature of Rebellion By Natalie Gillis In my nature explorations, I’ve always been fascinated not just with identifying the species I encounter, but with digging deeper and learning their backstories. There are many stories behind the plants...
Educating About Water
Brightwater: An Opportunity for Connection by Cynthia Thomashow he Metro bus opens its doors, releasing 40 fourth-graders who have ridden an hour from South Seattle to the Brightwater Water Treatment Center in Woodinville, Washington. “We’re in the wilderness!”...
Earth Day
Although this article was written in 1996, and contains references to events and people from that era, much of Weilbacher's critique remains relevant today. -Ed. Every Day is NOT Earth Day Reflections on the True Meaning of Earth Day by Mike Weilbacher 'll...
Reaching Out with Respect: EE with Underserved Communities
Reaching out with Respect: Environmental Education with Underserved Communities Thinking about environmental education and underserved communities is an opportunity to challenge our assumptions about nature, culture and science, and, our assumptions about the life...
Jim Martin: Is Science Communication?
Is Science Communication? Can students, moving around and talking, do science? by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor You’re trying to answer a question. Student work groups have designed their own investigations to understand the question, develop inquiries to...
Bird Language
Creating the Need to Pay Attention Field trips and adventures in the woods are tremendously important experiences for children, especially those students that don’t often get to spend time in a natural setting. Some of the most important, lasting results of good...
Coastal Margin Science and Education
CMOP: The Best Environmental Education Program You've (Probably) Never Heard About . . Coastal Margin Science and Education in the Era of Collaboratories by Vanessa L. Green, Nievita Bueno Watts, Karen Wegner, Michael Thompson, Amy F. Johnson, Tawnya D. Peterson and...
Why Garden in School? (Part 4)
Can School Gardening Help Save Civilization? (An Essay in Four Parts) by Carter D. Latendresse The Catlin Gabel School Abstract This paper is an argument for gardening in schools, focusing on two months of integrated English-history sixth grade curriculum that...
Jim Martin: Do We Learn As Our Students Learn?
Do We Learn As Our Students Learn? by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor We propose that an essential feature of learning is that it creates the zone of proximal development; that is, learning awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to...
Incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Geoscience Education
It Takes a Community to Raise a Scientist: A Case for Community-Inspired Research and Science Education in an Alaskan Native Community By Nievita Bueno Watts and Wendy F. Smythe The quote, "lt takes a village to raise a child," is attributed to African...
Greening the Language Arts
Considering Sustainability Outside of the Science Classroom by Lauren G. McClanahan Western Washington University Humanity is exalted not because we are so far above other living creatures, but because knowing them well elevates the very concept of life. —E.O. Wilson...
Place-based Education
15 Ways to Know You're Connected to a Place What Does "Connecting to a Place" Really Mean? By Cliff Knapp Environmental and place-based educators frequently refer to a goal they set for their students — connecting or reconnecting them to a place. What does this really...
No Fooling: Exploring the Nature of Responsibility, Progress, Success, and Good Work
No Fooling: Exploring the Nature of Responsibility, Progress, Success, and Good Work How we answer a challenge raised over half a century ago regarding the way we handle the blessings of nature will go a long way towards determining our future. by Peter Hayes In the...
Why Garden in School (Part 3)
Can School Gardening Help Save Civilization? (An Essay in Four Parts) by Carter D. Latendresse The Catlin Gabel School Abstract This paper is an argument for gardening in schools, focusing on two months of integrated English-history sixth grade curriculum that...
Finding Lessons In the World Around Us: Bringing the Pieces Together
Were You Assigned A Class You Have No Background or Preparation to Teach? by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor ne year, I worked with a middle-school mathematics teacher who decided to engage his class in some work on a wetland and lake bordering a large...
Bias and the Educator in the Mirror
Bias and the Educator in the Mirror Our inherent perspectives color the world we share with our students. by Victor Elderton Many of us in environmental education strive to create lessons and activities which we hope will facilitate greater understanding and stimulate...
Why Garden in School (Part 2)
Can School Gardening Help Save Civilization? (An Essay in Four Parts) by Carter D. Latendresse The Catlin Gabel School Portland, Oregon Abstract This paper is an argument for gardening in schools, focusing on two months of integrated English-history sixth grade...
Phenology Wheels: Earth Observation Where You Live
Phenology Wheels: Earth Observation Where You Live By Anne Forbes, Partners in Place, LLC This article originally appeared in Earthzine - http://earthzine.org/ . . aking a habit of Earth observation where you live is a fun and fundamental way to practice Earth...
How Big is Science? Can I Discover its Dimensions?
How Big is Science? Can I Discover its Dimensions? There is great beauty in thoughts well conceived and clearly expressed. This is science, when it is skillfully done. by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor (Photo by Jim Martin also!) When I first taught high school...
Ecological Métissage: Exploring the Third Space in Outdoor and Environmental Education
Ecological Métissage: Exploring the Third Space in Outdoor and Environmental Education By Greg Lowan An increasing number of scholars, both Indigenousi and non-Indigenous, are asking, “Is it possible to blend Western and Indigenous North American ecological...
In Support of Outdoor School
In Support of Outdoor School By Merrill Watrous “I not only learned about ghost shrimp and how to catch them, I did catch them. I not only learned what a chitin was and where it lived, I went out to where it was and petted it. Almost everything (at Outdoor School) was...
Students’ Lived Experience
Effective Education: Turning the Classroom Inside Out By Indira Dutt s a child at school I remember sitting in a stuffy portable looking out the window to the field and houses beyond. I felt constrained: my seat was attached to the desk, the classroom was just barely...
Why Garden in School (Part 1)
Can School Gardening Help Save Civilization? (An Essay in Four Parts) by Carter D. Latendresse The Catlin Gabel School Abstract This paper is an argument for gardening in schools, focusing on two months of integrated English-history sixth grade curriculum that...
Helping Teachers Gain Competencies in a Technological Age
Helping Teachers Gain Competencies in a Technological Age Is Active Learning, Learning? by Jim Martin Because active learning requires practice and feedback on thinking like an expert (a scientist), it demands considerably greater subject expertise by the teacher. . ....
EE Research: Storytelling as a Tool for Young Learners
EE Research: Storytelling as a Tool for Young Learners Using storytelling is the best way to engage very young students from EE Research Bulletin Nicole Ardoin, Editor Research suggests that lasting attitudes toward nature and the environment form in the first few...
Book Review: The Sixth Extinction
Reviewed by Mike Weilbacher The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History By Elizabeth Kolbert Henry Holt. 319 pp. $28 We inhabit an extraordinary planet overflowing with an abundance of life: massive coral reefs built by billions of tiny invertebrates, rain forests...
Book Review: A Pedagogy of Place
What is Outside of Outdoor Education? Becoming Responsive to Other Places By David A. Greenwood A review of Wattchow, B. & Brown, M. (2011). A Pedagogy of Place: Outdoor Education for a Changing World. Clayton, Victoria: Monash University Press. As someone who follows...
Earth Tales and Activities
The Power of Storytelling: Earth Tales and Activities Show the Way for Living in Balance by Michael J. Caduto ©2014 All Rights Reserved From Siberia to the tip of South America, and from Africa to Polynesia, stories have grown from the very Earth upon which...
EE Research: Using Inquiry-Based Activities to Teach Science
Using Inquiry-Based Activities to Teach Science from EE Research Bulletin THE RESEARCH: Tan, A.-L. & Wong, H.-M (2012) ‘Didn’t get expected answer, rectify it' — Teaching science content in an elementary science classroom using hands-on activities. International...
Integrating STEM and Sustainability through Learning Gardens
Integrating STEM and Sustainability Education through Learning Gardens: A Place-Based Approach to the Next Generation Science Standards by Sybil S. Kelley and Dilafruz R. Williams; Portland State University ur ecological and social problems are deeply interconnected....
How Teachers Are Learning About Place Through Service Learning
To view this article in .pdf format, click here: MyMcKenzie An environmental education professional development program using place-based service-learning by Kathryn Lynch University of Oregon Environmental Leadership Program here does your drinking water come from?...
Re-thinking Trash
Re-thinking Trash with Students! Getting youth—and anyone—to reconsider their trash can be difficult, but that’s what Trash for Peace, a Portland-based nonprofit, does. The organization aims to help people reduce waste through functional art by using the items we...
Students on the Road for Science
Students on the Road for Science For two weeks in July, seven Heritage University students and 11 high school students from White Swan and Yakima traveled more than 2,000 miles for a class that was one part field experience and one part cultural exchange. The course,...
EE Research: Writing Stories Builds Scientific Literacy
Writing Stories Builds Scientific Literacy From Environmental Research Bulletin Nicole Ardoin and Jason Morris, Project Leaders THE RESEARCH: Ritchie, S. M., Tomas, L., & Tones, M. (2011). Writing stories to enhance scientific literacy. International Journal of...
Share Your Standards to Integrate Your Teaching
Teaching Science: Share Your Standards to Integrate Your Teaching by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor Let’s say you wish to incorporate an activity in the neighborhood of your school into a unit you are planning in science, and have been thinking about asking the...
Supporting Our Children’s Innate Sense of Wonder
Holding the Space: Supporting Our Children's Innate Sense of Wonder By David Strich, M.Ed. “If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and...
Ripples in the Pond: Building Deeper Conceptual Understandings in Science
Teaching Science: Ripples in the Pond: Building Deeper Conceptual Understandings in Science by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor Flat, circular and smooth, the rock spat at the clean surface of the water, twisted slightly on its axis, and flew again. Dark and...
EE Research Summary: Comparing the Philosophies of Muir and Leopold
Who's a Better Role Model: John Muir or Aldo Leopold? From Environmental Research Bulletin Nicole Ardoin and Jason Morris, Project Leaders THE RESEARCH: Goralnik, L., & Nelson, M. P. (2011). Framing a philosophy of environmental action: Aldo Leopold, John Muir,...
Teaching Stewardship Through Native Legend
Teaching Stewardship Through Native Legend Abstract: This article provides the reader with a general background of Alaska Native education and resource conservation, focusing on southeast Alaska cultures. European contact severed these education models by creating...
New from Dawn Publications: Forest Bright, Forest Night
Classify It!- Learn about animal classifications through a guided discussion of the book Forest Night, Forest Bright. http://dawnpub.com/activities/Classify_Activity.pdf
Teaching and Learning Ecologically
Cultivating Ecological Teachers and Learners Using Project Learning Tree by Jaclyn Stallard from The Branch, Project Learning Tree's E-newsletter Summer 2014 "Ecological teaching and learning is not just a matter of pedagogy, but also philosophy. Ecological...
Using Snowpack to Teach Climate Change
Climate Change Education SWEet!: Using Cascade Snowpack to Teach Climate Change by Padraic Quinn, Rachel Carson Environmental Middle School Padraic_Quinn@beaverton.k12.or.us Illustration by Bill Reiswig Three years ago I was given the opportunity to learn with the...
Using Links as Labs: First Green Connects Kids, Classrooms and Golf Courses
2014 E3 Green Apple Award Winners Using Links as Labs: First Green Connects Kids, Classrooms and Golf Courses As the United States seeks to meet the rising need for graduates with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) degrees, First Green is filling the...
Listening To The Language of The Land and People
Place-based Education: Listening to the Language of the Land and the People By Clifford E. Knapp, Professor Emeritus, Northern Illinois University Introduction The intersection of place and education has occupied much of my teaching even though this field has not...
11 Great EE Resources for July
Special thanks to Phyllis Dermer and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 1. Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation Grants K-12 teachers are invited to apply for grants to develop or implement environmental curricula that integrate hands-on...
Are economies the only things that expand and contract?
Are Economies the Only Things that Expand and Contract? Do we need to inject more time for contemplation into our curricula? by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor Photo by Jim Martin Concentration and contemplation. Expand and contract. Walk drive. Makes life...
Gardens Grow Minds: The School as Green Educator
Gardens Grow Minds: The School as Green Educator by Mary Quattlebaum “We have a garden! With flowers and butterflies!” The third graders beam as they describe their wildlife garden during my author visit to St. John the Baptist (SJB) School in Maryland. I...
The Power of One
The Power of One by Michael J. Caduto You must be the change you wish to see in the world. — Mahatma Gandhi bout five years ago I started to plan for a new book for children, parents and teachers about global climate change. I soon found that there...
Starting a Community-based Natural Resource Education Program
Starting a Community-based Natural Resource Education Program Strategies for Authentic Community Engagement Authors Patrick Willis Oregon State University Extension 4-H Portland, Oregon Susan Cross Environmental Educator Tucson, Arizona lmost every school has a...
Using litter-fall to study carbon cycling
The LitTER Project: A field method for using litter-fall to study carbon cycling by Lee Cain & Nick Baisley Astoria High School Science Department ABSTRACT During a NASA funded Teacher-Researcher Partnership program focused on bringing Global Warming and Climate...
10 Questions to Ask When Developing Place-based Learning Experiences
10 Questions to Ask When Developing Place-based Learning Experiences by Gregory Smith, Professor of Education, Lewis & Clark College he March 19, 2014 Oregonian included an article about two math teachers at Benson High School in Portland who have created a course...
Using snowpack data for inquiry, graphing and analysis
Middle School Students Use Historic Snowpack Data to Gain Inquiry, Graphing and Analysis Experience by Joe Cameron Beaverton Middle School teacher What do you get when you mix researchers, teachers, authentic science opportunities and a group of GREAT people?...
Environmental Literacy: What have students learned that is not on the test?
Environmental Literacy: What have students learned that is not on the test? by Janell Simpson and Susan Meyers reprinted from the North American Association for Environmental Education he intent of this article is to provide tools to the classroom teacher to document...
Don’t call it “Climate Change”
Barack Obama, scientists and campaigners have all looked at how to engage Americans more powerfully on the environment. Now researchers have come up with one critical piece of advice: do say "global warming", don't say "climate change". New research released on...
from Edutopia: Place-Based Learning MEASURES Up
Successful educational projects that focus on the community share key characteristics. by James Lewicki During the last several years, I have worked with dozens of elementary, middle, and high schools that value place-based learning enough to shift curriculum...
NOAA: Bridging art and science to protect salmon habitat
Balancing waterfront development with the needs of salmon is a continuous challenge that requires innovative thinking. To step outside the box, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Pacific Northwest College of Arts formed a unique...
Top 10 Benefits of Environmental Education
By Susan Toth in Educator Tips & Stories, PLT Blog Environmental education (EE) connects us to the world around us, teaching us about both natural and built environments. EE raises awareness of issues impacting the environment upon which we all depend, as well as...
56 EE Activities You Can Do Today!
50EEactivities
Community-based Science Teaching: A Journey of the Mind?
By Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor he young woman carefully pours hydrogen peroxide into a graduated cylinder, presses a key on a computer keyboard, then measures ten drops of liver homogenate into the cylinder. The surface of the hydrogen peroxide seems to leap...
Nature Connection Pyramid
http://www.naturekidsinstitute.org/
Coyote Teaching
by Connor O'Malley reprinted courtesy of Alderleaf Wilderness College http://www.wildernesscollege.com/ oyote teaching is a phrase popularized by Tom Brown Jr. and Jon Young. Similar teaching methods however, have been used by indigenous people, philosophers,...
Next Generation Science Standards:
Should they direct students’ educations, or would they be better applied to teachers’ educations? by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor icture this: Science teachers with a strong background in doing science, working in a collegial environment, building their own...
A Journey Of Surprises
Rivers reveal their secrets to Idaho students researching water quality through rigorous scientific inquiry Photos and story by Suzie Boss Squiggly blue lines cover the map of Idaho, a state with more than 2,000 lakes and hundreds of miles of rivers. From the...
Race, Class, Climate Change and Outdoor Education
Race, Class, Climate Change and Outdoor Education By Jay Roberts A recent post on climate change and race (http://tinyurl.com/b6fzp7) brings up an issue that really needs to be on the forefront of outdoor and environmental education moving forward. It is becoming...
The Fifth Annual Newport High School Senior WalkCreative Writing, Resources
The deal was: if we saw a bald eagle on the beach the morning of the fifth annual Newport High School Senior Walk, I, the teacher, would cancel the killer vocabulary final because the appearance of a bald eagle on a publicly-owned Oregon Coast beach always instills a...
Literacy as a Stepping Stone to Environmental Citizenship
“The librarian tells me that there have been skirmishes over books, especially on topics we’ve been discussing in class. She and the librarian see this as a problem but not me. I see small steps towards victory with my class. The interest [in Environmental Literacy]...
Indigenous Response to Global Climate Change
isdom of the Elders is developing a summer field science camp focused on environmental and climate change issues, and career pathway planning in STEM fields. The Wisdom Project is a youth leadership initiative for Native and low-income youth in the greater...
Natural Teachers: 10 Ways You Can Add Vitamin “N” to your Classroom & Beyond
NATURAL TEACHERS: 10 Ways You Can Add Vitamin "N" to your Classroom & Beyond. from the Children and Nature Network website http://blog.childrenandnature.org/2013/03/23/natural-teachers-10-ways-you-can-add-vitamin-n-to-your-classroom-beyond/
Planning and Evaluating Your Environmental Education Program
By Pamela Jull, PhD Applied Research Northwest t’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of planning the activities of an environmental education program. Programs are neat. They are often fun and innovative and they usually give participants a memorable, positive...
Building a Citizen Science Center: A Framework
by Shamin Graff Lake Katherin Nature Center & Botanic Garden Palos Heights, IL he sat quietly for several moments, watching and waiting. Suddenly, a streak of yellow flew by and then another. She quickly snapped a few photos on her phone as they flew off....
Will You Teach Science Better If You Have Done Science?
By Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor hat if science teachers did science before they began teaching? Might a teaching model like this be possible to employ? Instructive to explore? There have been initiatives which followed up on this possibility. Their...
Strategies for Community-based Education: Developing Healthy Partnerships
Strategies for Community-based Education: Developing Healthy Partnerships by Pat Willis Oregon State University 4-H Extension ommunity-based education is an approach to teaching and learning that connects learners to community and place. Educators who adopt this...
Leaving Space for Awe
We need to provide opportunities for students to establish connections with the natural world, to be in awe of its power and beauty. t was February 2012 in northwestern Ontario. I was in teachers college and my outdoor, environmental education cohort was on a...
5 Outstanding EE Resources You Should Know About
1. Across the Spectrum: Resources for Environmental Educators This downloadable collection of resources, perspectives, and examples will help nonformal environmental educators learn more about the field of EE, access resources, and gain skills to improve their...
Embedded Curricula: Environments hold a treasure of effective curricula we can learn to teach
by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor mbedded curricula. The curriculum that you can find just about anywhere you go: Fractions, transportation, velocity, acceleration, centrifugal force, metaphor, alliteration, poetry, drama, communities, transportation, and on....
Teaching Climate Change (and other resources you should know about)
1. Climate Change: Connections and Solutions Facing the Future offers this free two-week curriculum unit for middle school and high school which encourage students to think critically about climate change and collaborate to devise solutions. Students learn about...
Honeybee Heroes: Carter Latendresse at Catlin Gabel School
Honeybee Heroes: Carter Latendresse at Catlin Gabel School by Katie Boehnlein arter Latendresse is the sixth grade English teacher at Catlin Gabel School in Portland, OR. In addition to his classroom courses, which focus on fostering social responsibility in his...
Honeybee Heroes: Sarah Red-Laird at Bee Girl
by Katie Boehnlein arah Red-Laird, or “Bee Girl” is an Ashland, OR native who says that she has been fascinated with honeybees since her early childhood. On the playground in elementary school, she would pick up bees and pet them to impress other kids. Her aunt’s...
BOOK REVIEW: Three new nature titles from Dawn Publications
by Michael D. Barton CLEARING Associate Editor Dawn Publications (Facebook/Twitter/blog) has three new children’s nature books out for ages 3-8, and I am delighted to not only have copies for my children, but to share with you how awesome they are. This publisher does...
Honeybee Heroes: Ryan King at Southern Oregon University
An Alternative to Traditional Education Honeybee Heroes: Ryan King at Southern Oregon University by Katie Boehnlein outhern Oregon University in Ashland, OR is a “sweet” place to be. Ryan King, a recent graduate of Southern Oregon’s Master’s of Science in...
Fueling the Fire: North Cascade Institute’s Path for Youth
Fueling the Fire: North Cascade Institute's Path for Youth by Mollie Behn t is no secret that today’s youth are increasingly disconnected from nature. As a result, youth are less aware of issues and threats facing the environment and how to address them. We need to...
When you empower students, you teach more than content
by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor e left the teacher we have been following as she was planning a project she and her class will do on a creek at the edge of the school property. What she is doing, as well as her plans, appear to approach what the National Board...
Honeybee Heroes: Eric Engman at Mt. Vernon High School
by Katie Boehlein ric Engman is a physics teacher at Mt. Vernon High School, where he has also taken on the role of “campus beekeeper.” The process of starting a school beehive began some years ago, when Eric began installing a rotational series of mostly...
Beehives Take Flight: “Honeybee Heroes” and apiary-based education in the Pacific Northwest
by Katie Boehnlein . n recent years, there has been an audible buzz, on both the community level and in the media, about the future of pollinators. In 2009, CLEARING asked you “Why Care About Pollinators?” and the issue is still hot today. The future of the honeybee...
Ear to the ground: Sue Staniforth, North Saanich, British Columbia
What is your current job title? I am self-employed as an environmental education and research consultant – my company is Staniforth & Associates, so I guess I am the principal! How did you get into this field? I worked as a field biologist for years, researching...
Plants and People
Plants and People Three service learning teams from the University of Oregon Environmental Leadership Program tackle teaching children about the ecological and cultural importance of native plants. . . by Kathryn Lynch Environmental Leadership Program University of...
Ear to the Ground – Ralph Harrison, Science and Math Institute
Ralph Harrison is the 2013 winner of the EPA's Presidential Award for Innovation in Environmental Education. We caught up to him as he was heading for Alaska and managed to get some insight into his personal perspectives and motivations as a teacher of environmental...
Meet the BEETLES: Bringing Wonder, Curiosity & Science to Residential Outdoor Schools
by Kevin Beals & Craig Strang magine a residential outdoor science program where instructors—all of them—routinely combine their passion for the natural world with a deep understanding of research-based teaching approaches that are based on all we know about how...
How Embedding Your Curriculum in the Environment Meets Certification Criteria
by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor teacher has made a commitment to design and execute a unit which explores the curriculum embedded in a small creek at the edge of her schoolyard. She didn’t just decide, then go; instead, she visited the creek, became familiar...
EE Research: Give students a say in what and how they learn
Dr. Peter McInerney et al. review the literature related to the theoretical foundations of place-based education (PBE). They propose that the main task of PBE in schools is “creating opportunities for young people to learn about and care for the ecological and social...
Laaqudax, the Northern Fur Seal: an Integrated Approach to Education on the Pribilof Islands
by Lisa Hiruki-Raring AFSC Education Coordinator Alaska Fisheries Science Center National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA n a small group of islands in the middle of Alaska’s Bering Sea, half of the world’s population of northern fur seals gathers each summer to breed...
Ear to the Ground – Sara Focht, Idaho Non-formal Environmental Educator of the Year
What is your current job title? I am a Conservation Educator at MK Nature Center for Idaho Department of Fish and Game. That means I teach classes at the Nature Center for about 10,000 students annually. Most of our crowd is prek-3rd graders. I do that ¾ time. My...
Share your favorite EE activity with us!
If you're a teacher, CLEARING would love to hear from you! We are compiling anecdotal examples of fun, engaging and successful environmental education activities from teachers around the Pacific Northwest. We are especially interested in teachable moments that sprang...
8 Ideas, Resources, or Programs You Should Know About
1. National Geographic Education: Collections The National Geographic Education website has a number of collections dedicated to different areas within the natural sciences. Topics include ocean education, ecosystems, natural disasters, endangered species, and much...
Details, Details, Details…
Details, details, details... The degree to which you can elaborate detail determines the level of confidence you’ll have in teaching curricula which begins in the real world by Jim Martin CLEARING Associate Editor ust as the degree with which they elaborate the...
Stepping into the Real World – What happens when you open the door
Stepping into the Real World - What happens when you open the door by Jim Martin, CLEARING Associate Editor Let’s explore what science and environmental education could look like if we were to use the real world as if it were an...
Book Review: On the Day You Were Born
On the Day You Were Born Author: Debra Frasier ISBN-13: 9780152579951 Reviewed by Seth Webb any of the stories that we tell our students and the cultural lessons that we share are our part of our collective oral tradition – they belong to all of us. They are of the...
Book Review: The Kids Outdoor Adventure Book
The Kids’ Outdoor Adventure Book: 448 Great Things to Do in Nature Before You Grow Up by Stacy Tornio and Ken Keffer (Guilford, CT: Falcon Guides, 2013), 224 pp. Reviewed by Michael D. Barton n an ideal world, kids would spend more time playing outside, in their...
On Rain / A Poetic Confrontation
by Matt Love n a Thursday in late November 2010, a month that eventually produced the second wettest November since instruments have measured depressing records of this kind, I sat at my desk in my classroom and heard rain falling for the 31st day in a row. I...
What is School?
Teaching how to involve and invest students in their education and empower them as persons isn’t a passive set of knowledge, skills, and understandings. Rather, it is an active, dynamic process, not as easy to teach, at least within the current education paradigm. by...
Earth Day and Beyond: K-12 Activities for Rivers and Streams
The following activities were submitted by K-12 teachers from around the Pacific Northwest who have participated in watershed education programs in their classrooms. The majority of these teachers were involved in the following coordinated watershed education...
UNEP Year Book 2013: Emerging Issues in our Global Environment
The 10th edition of the Year Book series from the United Nations Environment Programme focuses on rapid change in the Arctic which threaten ecosystems while providing new development opportunities, including easier access to oil and gas, minerals, and fisheries. ...
Seeking Environmental Maturity…
...at Starker Forests Helping students climb the ladder to responsible citizenship by Dick Powell This past summer I attended the World Forestry Center's International Educator's Institute (IEI). As an environmental educator without any formal pedagogical or...
Learning is more than a classroom exercise
By Lee Sherman In Brief Whether identifying fish or monitoring water quality, students combine education with service through OSU's Oregon Natural Resources Education Program. Through partnerships with local watershed councils and other agencies, students are making...
5 Ideas and Programs You Might Want to Know About
1. Slow: Children at Nature Play This attention-catching sign is designed to raise awareness about the importance of connecting children to nature. The goal is to promote getting children outside and exploring nature similar to the neighborhood signs that ask drivers...
Teach the student who lives within the body
Photo credit: Sarah Sullivan, Abernethy School, Portland by Jim Martin Clearing Associate Editor he last time we met, students had planted seeds in parts of a garden plot they chose. So, where do they go now? They’ve made their decisions about where to plant each of...
6 Useful Ideas, Projects and Programs You Should Know About
1. Ocean Science Summer Institute This institute, June 24-27, 2013 in Port Townsend, Washington, is a Training of Trainers for both formal and informal educators. Participants will receive hands-on experience with the Ocean Sciences Sequence including implementation...
Inquiry Learning: Asking Your Own Questions
When you make the finding yourself - even if you're the last person on Earth to see the light - you'll never forget it. -Carl Sagan by Jim Martin Science Educator and CLEARING guest writer oing out into the world beyond the classroom for science and other curricula...
7 EE Ideas, Grants, or Projects You Should Know About
1. Environmental Literacy Grants NOAA’s Office of Education has issued a request for applications for projects designed to build the capacity of educators to use NOAA data and data access tools to help K-12 students and/or the public understand and respond to global...
Learning Eco-Literacy (Lessons from an Orca Grandmother) Pt. 3
by Sally Hodson, Ed.D. author of Granny's Clan, published by Dawn Publications See Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. Part 3: Tell a Story How do we prepare young people for the 21st century challenge of caring for our planet so that it can sustain future generations...
The Power of Fun
By Carol Malnor courtesy of Dawn Publications . “Your class sure looked happy,” one of my colleagues remarked last week. And I agreed! They were very happy. When the sun reappeared after a cold spell, I took my Nature Connections students outside for an activity that...
The Urban-Rural Exchange Bridges Oregon’s Greatest Divide
The Urban-Rural Exchange Bridges Oregon's Greatest Divide By Judy Scott From Oregon's Agricultural Progress Wallowa County in northeast Oregon was the destination for one of this year’s four exchanges. The young guests from the city arrived in the thick of calving...
Teachers discover authentic lessons in crayfish and caddis flies
Teachers discover authentic lessons in crayfish and caddis flies What is that bug? Teachers Kathryn Davis from Hood River High School, Molly Charnes from the Academy of International Studies in Woodburn and Thomas McGregor from The Phoenix School in Roseburg work at...
Oregon Environmental Literacy Plan: Building a Network
Oregon Environmental Literacy Plan: Building a Network by Traci Price In 2009, the Oregon Legislature passed the No Oregon Child Left Inside (NOCLI) Act that established an eleven-member task force charged with developing The Oregon Environmental Literacy Plan: Toward...
6 EE Grants and Classroom Resources You Should Know About
1. Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators The Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators Program, a partnership between the CEQ and the EPA, recognizes outstanding K-12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental...
Do It Yourself First: Leading Student-Directed Inquiry
Do It Yourself First: Leading Student-Directed Inquiry by Jim Martin CLEARING guest writer f you’ve never taken your elementary, middle, or secondary students out of the classroom to learn, and can’t find a helpful mentor or workshop, it’s okay to learn to use the...
Tree Journals and ONE place
by Harmony Roll, Clearing Regional Advisory Panel from Taiga Teacher The turn around point on my regular running trail in Kodiak. hen I had my 3rd and 4th grade multi-age classroom in Fairbanks, I was in teacher paradise. I was in a Title 1 school, but was given a lot...
4 EE Grant Opportunities You Should Know About
1. Action for Nature Young Eco-Hero Awards Action for Nature seeks applications from students ages 8-16 for its International Young Eco-Hero Awards Program. The awards program recognizes the individual accomplishments of young people whose personal actions have...
Four States and a Region Added to EECapacity State Consortia Network
(from NAAEE) — New England, New Mexico, Kentucky, Oregon and Utah have joined California, Colorado and Maryland as part of the EECapacity State Consortia network. State Consortia receive funding to develop capacity and networking for EE and related practitioners...
5 Environmental Ed Resources You Should Know About
1. Pacific Education Institute Toolkit PEI recently created multiple guides as part of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Conservation Education Strategy Toolkit. These include the Project Based Learning Model, Field Investigations, Fostering Outdoor...
Video: How to Start a School Garden
From Edutopia comes a short video on starting your own school garden.. .To see additional videos, go to http://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-school-gardens
Learning Eco-Literacy (Lessons from an Orca Grandmother) Pt. 2
by Sally Hodson, Ed.D. author of Granny's Clan, published by Dawn Publications See Part 1 of this series. . Part 2: Asking Questions ow do we prepare young people for the 21st century challenge of caring for our planet so that it can sustain future generations of...
The Return of Salmon Watch
Salmon Watch is back by popular demand and coming soon to a stream near you! . by Lizanne Saunders . his Fall ten classes of middle and high school students in the Portland metropolitan area are participating in a revitalized Salmon Watch program sponsored this pilot...
Green Living Project Seeks Student Videos
Green Living Project (GLP) is accepting submissions for its fall 2012 Student Film Project contest. GLP is looking for student-created short films focused on sustainability or the environment. The deadline is November 28th, and winning films will be screened at the...
Sarah and Gage – Kid Cultivators
eet Sarah and Gage, educators at Vernon School in NE Portland. They realized that many local parents weren’t sending their kids to Vernon, so they decided to try something new to reconnect families to their neighborhood school. From the Oregon Museum of Science and...
Birthright: People and Nature in the Modern World
From the book jacket: uman health and well-being are inextricably linked to nature; our connection to the natural world is part of our biological inheritance. In this engaging book, a pioneer in the field of biophilia—the study of human beings’ inherent affinity for...
Learning Eco-Literacy (Lessons from an Orca Grandmother)
by Sally Hodson, Ed.D. author of Granny's Clan, published by Dawn Publications . Part 1: Thinking in Webs . lanet Earth is home whether you’re a plant, an animal or a human. Our Earth is the only place in the universe we know for sure that can support life. So how...
Grade 6-8 Activity: Stormwater Wonders
These lessons were developed by the Bainbridge island Woodward Middle School 6th grade team in cooperation with the Bainbridge Island Watershed Watch program. Stormwater Wonders Background Storm water or runoff is defined as rainfall that falls on impervious...
Grade 3-5 Activity: Animal Tracking
Grade Level: 3-5 Subject: Science Teacher: Nancy Fisher, Sauvie Island Academy Another powerful science lesson students do in my class is to ask ourselves, "Who might live in our habitat and how could we find out?" We brainstorm a list and then partners build an...
Grade 3-5 Activity: Worms
Grade Level: 3-5 Subject: Teacher: Laurelei Primeau, Coquitlam School, BC It was a damp, sunny day, and my grade three class was called to the front lawn of the school for a school-wide portrait. Classes from kindergarten to grade five trooped out and jostled for...
Grade 3-5 Activity: Nature Observation
Grade Level: 3-5 Subject: Science Teacher: Nancy Fisher, Sauvie Island Academy Section off squares in an outdoor nature area. These can be a square foot or a few square feet, but not larger than that. Assign each student or pairs of students a section. Have them spend...
Discovering Place: A Place-based Education Video Series
urious about place-based education? Check out this free place-based education (PBE) video series, produced by University Outreach at the University of Michigan-Flint. The series was made possible through a $20,000 grant by the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network...
5 E.E. Resources / Ideas That You Should Know About
1. Green Living Project Sustainability Film Contest GLP is proud to announce its fall 2012 Student Film Project contest! Students are encouraged to document and submit their own stories of sustainability. The contest is open to 6th grade through college level...
My Passion
by Bobbie Snead Straub Environmental Learning Center he male osprey swoops down to join his mate on the enormous stick nest in Minto Brown Park. Sixty yards away, the third graders from a local elementary school gasp and clap in delight. I've taught them about...
EE Research: Give students a say in what and how they learn
Posted By Alex Kudryavtsev from http://eelinked.naaee.net/n/eeresearch Dr. Peter McInerney et al. review the literature related to the theoretical foundations of place-based education (PBE). They propose that the main task of PBE in schools is “creating opportunities...
Science Inquiry in the Real World
Science Inquiry in the Real World by Jim Martin Retired Science Educator CLEARING Special Contributor f you’ve never done a self-directed inquiry, or don’t see a connection between inquiry in the real world, and the science you teach in the classroom, here are three...
Teaching in the Outdoor: A Primer
by Jay Roberts Originally published in the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) newsletter. Introduction Teaching in the Outdoors Teaching in general can be a scary thing. We are put in a position of authority and knowledge whether or not we feel...
Book Review: Companions in Wonder: Children and Adults Exploring Nature Together
Review by Michael Barton received this book to review earlier this year, and while wanting to post about it as soon as possible, I have restrained from mentioning it here until I was completely done reading it. Companions in Wonder: Children and Adults Exploring...
5 More EE Resources You Need to Know About
1. Biomes and Ecosystems The National Earth Science Teachers Association’s Windows to the Universe biomes and ecosystems, offers an interactive map to explore various biomes and learn about the natural history and current conditions in the dry steppes, alpine tundra,...
Lessons for teaching in the environment and community — 23
"Lessons for Teaching in the Environment and Community" is a regular series that explores how teachers can gain the confidence to go into the world outside of their classrooms for a substantial piece of their curricula. Part 23: Notice is a Powerful Verb: Noticing...
What is Community-Based Social Marketing?
by Katrina Landau o what exactly is social marketing, and how does it work to change peoples' behaviors? While traditional marketing works by raising public awareness, social marketing works to identify barriers to behaviors and create long-lasting change. Instead of...
Lessons for teaching in the environment and community — 22
"Lessons for Teaching in the Environment and Community" is a regular series that explores how teachers can gain the confidence to go into the world outside of their classrooms for a substantial piece of their curricula. Part 22: Use It All Why settle for simple recall...
5 New EE Resources You Should Know About Today!
1. Schools That Change Communities Schools That Change Communities, a new one hour documentary from award winning producer Bob Gliner (Lessons From The Real World, Democracy Left Behind) focuses on a diverse range of K-12 public schools in five states – Massachusetts,...
I Am Clark’s Creek – Puyallup School District
I Am Clark's Creek - Puyallup School District ometimes it takes the imagination and inspiration of youth to push a project towards success. When the Puyallup River Watershed Council in Washington State became concerned about Clark’s Creek, it was the student project...
6 Environmental Education Resources You Should Know About
1. Estuaries 101 Middle School Curriculum The National Estuarine Research Reserves has released the Estuaries 101 Middle School Curriculum, a multi-media online science curriculum offering students virtual field trips to estuaries around the country. The curriculum...
Living Planet, Living Imaginations (.pdf)
Click on the image to read the article.
Lessons for teaching in the environment and community — 21
"Lessons for Teaching in the Environment and Community" is a regular series that explores how teachers can gain the confidence to go into the world outside of their classrooms for a substantial piece of their curricula. Part 21: Where Brains Learn Some cognitive...
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
By now, most of us are aware that there is a large patch of floating plastic in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. What you may not know is that it’s not made up of plastic bags and empty bottles. It’s made up of billions of tiny pieces of plastic, and it’s basically...
7 EE Resources You Should Know About
1. Fukushima Daiichi Accident EarthEcho’s Water Planet Challenge provides information and materials to help middle and high school students take action to protect and restore our planet's natural resources while teaching to key standards. The Hot Topics presents...
Inquiry: Letting Kids Wonder
Inquiry: Letting Kids Wonder by Katie MacDiarmid (reprinted from the SEECing Natural Discovery website of the Siskiyou Environmental Education Center) cientific inquiry” is one of those things I thought I knew how to do. I had taught middle school science and I’d...
Lessons for teaching in the environment and community — 20
"Lessons for Teaching in the Environment and Community" is a regular series that explores how teachers can gain the confidence to go into the world outside of their classrooms for a substantial piece of their curricula. Part 20: Beginning at the Beginning . by Jim...
Lessons for teaching in the environment and community — 19
"Lessons for Teaching in the Environment and Community" is a regular series that explores how teachers can gain the confidence to go into the world outside of their classrooms for a substantial piece of their curricula. Part 19: Walking Backwards May Get You There...
K-12 Oregon Forestry Literacy Program supports teaching about forests
Teachers and school administrators now can access Oregon Forest Resources Institute’s The Oregon Forest Literacy Program, a K-12 Conceptual Guide to Teaching and Learning about Oregon Forests. The new program provides a framework for educating Oregon’s K-12 students...
Youth, Education and Climate Change
By Jana Dean From a talk given at the United Nations. was invited to speak here because I spend a lot of time with some of the funniest, most hopeful and energetic people on the planet: thirteen and fourteen year olds. While my official charge is to teach math and...
5 EE Resources You Should Know About
1. YardMap YardMap is a free, interactive, citizen science mapping project about habitat creation and low-impact land use from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, designed to cultivate a richer understanding of bird habitat for both professional scientists and people...
Browse by Category
Art & Humanities
Environmental Literacy
Interviews with Educators & Leaders
Learning Theory
Climate Change & Energy
Features on Outstanding Programs
Justice, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Outdoor Education
Conservation & Sustainability
Gardening, Farming, Food, & Permaculture
K-12 Activity Ideas
Resource & Book Reviews
Environmental Education News
Higher Education & Career Development
Learning Standards
Tribes & Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Stay Up to Date with the Latest News & Updates
Join Our Newsletter
Stay up to date on environmental education in the Pacific Northwest. We’ll deliver our latest news to your inbox once a month.