E3 Washington Showcase News Articles (Newest to Oldest)
EETAP RELEASES NEW EE ARTICLE
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- Washington Team goes to National Conference on Sustainability and Systems Education
- EPA Announces Environmental Justice Video Contest: Faces of the Grassroots
- Free copy of Coyotes Guide 2nd Edition
- 2010 Thurston County Master Composter Training starting soon!
- PLEASE JOIN US AS A PARTNER IN SALMON SUMMIT
- E3 Success Story! Washington environmental and sustainability teacher education program is a national model
- 2010 Endangered Species Art Contest
- E3 Co-Chairs Send Thanks to Leaders Across State
- Incredible Milestone for Environmental Education
- NOAA’s Washington Watershed Education Teacher Training Program (WWETT) Grant Program for the Pacific Northwest
EETAP RELEASES NEW EE ARTICLE Demographic changes and the emergence of a more global society have challenged the field of environmental education (EE) to be more inclusive and to offer programming that is relevant to culturally diverse groups. But what do we mean by diversity, and where is the EE field going with it? “Still Developing the Toolbox: Making EE Relevant for Culturally Diverse Groups,” by Joanne M. Lozar Glenn addresses this question and profiles five organizations working to connect their programming to the communities they serve. From creating learning groups to reaching urban, immigrant, and native audiences, these organizations address what it means to work with diverse audiences, and how connecting with these communities changes what they’re doing and how that work gets done. The article includes 10 “learnings” that have emerged from environmental educators who are on the ground and at the forefront of efforts to make EE more inclusive. The article also provides a list of resources (books, articles, websites, programs, and organizations and individuals) designed to inspire readers who want to learn more about this topic and to get ideas they can apply to their own work. To read and download the article click here. Note: If the above link does not work copy and paste the following address into your browser: http://eetap.org/media/pdf/StillDevelopingToolbox.pdf
The Washington Team, five of the eleven which were youth, with representatives from the Environmental Education Association of Washington (EEAW), the Pacific Education Institute (PEI) and the Tahoma School District attended the national Society of Organizational Learning Education Partnership Conference in Garrison, New York the week of July 12th. E3 Washington is a proud member of this national, and soon to be international partnership. Many thanks to the Sustainable Path Foundation, Puget Sound Energy, the Tahoma School District and the Cloud Institute (scholarships) for sponsorship of the Washington Team’s participation. The most impressive component of the national gathering was the representation of youth to adult ratio, 34 of the total 88 attendees were youth. Such a large representation of youth made for a stronger overall conference result. Sites from all over the country included St. Louis, Missouri, Long Island, New York, Lake Forest Illinois, Burlington, Vermont and Ashland, North Carolina in addition to the Washington team. MIT’s Peter Senge facilitated the conference which focused on combining systems thinking with education. The first few days were spent laying the groundwork to systems thinking and visioning. The key to any successful change in any systems starts with a shared vision. One of the biggest highlight was the Learning Journeys on Wednesday. One of the sites visited by the Washington team was St. Augustine Catholic School, which used chickens and gardens for the students to learn hands-on. The blatant poverty demonstrated at the facility greatly impacted the youth’s perspective of education. However, Erica Baker, representative from PEI, said “the site was so inspirational. I want to fly back and learn more!” Stone Barns was the other site visited by the Washington Team. Stone Barns is an old Rockefeller farm that has been transformed into an outdoor learning academy, high scale restaurant and sustainable gardening facility which sells their product at a farmers market on site. Stone Barns is a growing, working tool to help teach the children and public about sustainability. The Learning Journeys were able to physically demonstrate the systems approach to learning and teaching. EEAW will continue to work with the many partners involved in bringing sustainability and systems thinking to our communities and invite others to participate. From this conference we hope to take systems to a new level in the schools around Washington State. In the week following the SoL Education Conference, the first ever Sustainability Education Summer Institute was held at Islandwood near Seattle, Washington. SESI was inspired by many years of teacher leadership in Washington and last year’s SoL Ed conference. A report of SESI will be posted to the E3 site soon!
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is sponsoring an environmental justice video contest that challenges amateur and professional filmmakers to create videos that capture the faces of the environmental justice movement. The Faces of the Grassroots contest is an opportunity to publicly exhibit creativity, environmental justice stories, and connect with others working to raise awareness of the movement. “Faces of the Grassroots will help EPA expand the conversation on environmentalism and work for environmental justice,” said Charles Lee, director of the Office of Environmental Justice. “Participants can make a difference for the historically underrepresented in their community by using motion pictures to show the struggles and triumphs they have endured to advance environmental justice.” Videos can focus on any environmental justice activity, issue, or topic. Examples would be a music video about climate change, or a video recording a successful environmental justice project that has made a community a healthier and happier place to live. Awards will be given to the winning submissions in each category. The videos will also be featured on EPA's website and may be used as public service announcements. Entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Thursday, April 8th, 2010. EPA will announce winners in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. Below are the categories and prize money: |----------------------------------------+--------------------------------| | Public Service Announcements (30-60 | Informational Video (3-5 | | seconds) | minutes) | |----------------------------------------+--------------------------------| |1st Place - $2,500 |1st Place - $2,500 | |----------------------------------------+--------------------------------| |2nd Place - $1,500 |2nd Place - $1,500 | |----------------------------------------+--------------------------------| |3rd Place - $1,000 |3rd Place - $1,000 | |----------------------------------------+--------------------------------| |Student Winner - $500 (13-18 years old) |Student Winner - $500 (13-18 | | |years old) | |----------------------------------------+--------------------------------| More information: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/events/video-contest.html Press release: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/e9ad08715c645b37852576d9005ef43a?OpenDocument Contest Web page: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/events/video-contest.html YouTube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDBl2_f_CSk EPA homepage banner (click on banner #4): http://www.epa.gov/ Flyer: (See attached file: Faces of the Grassroots_Poster.doc) Web Link: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/events/video-contest.html
Jon Young, Twin Eagles Wilderness School, and OWLink Media are excited to announce the launch of a new web educational series titled, "Mentoring, Community and Resilience" expanding on the newly released edition of Coyote's Guide to Connecting With Nature. For a limited time, when you purchase the web educational series (at a cost less then the price of the book with shipping) you receive a free copy of the new Coyote's Guide! In addition to the new web series and book we have also produced free online videos with my friends, experts and I talking about the lineage of tracking and how they put nature connection and cultural mentoring into practice with children, gardens and music. To see the free videos, learn more about buying the educational web series, get a free copy of the Coyote's Guide to Connecting With Nature and for other special offers; follow this link: http://naturementoring.com The educational web series expands on the teachings in Coyote's Guide and gives readers tools to get started with the book right away. This series includes 2 hours of video presentations by me (Jon Young), an audio mp3 download of the presentations, transcripts of the presentations with citations and links to the articles, books, studies and other resources referenced. Released in 2008, the first edition of Coyote's Guide has become the essential guide for mentors, parents, and educators for how to connect with nature in a deep and exciting way. Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods hailed the Coyote's Guide as "good medicine for nature-deficit disorder." Based on feedback from mentors and educators across the world, we now bring you the Second Edition of Coyote's Guide - expanded from 408 to 548 pages, with beautiful full color photographs, a comprehensive index, and color codes that link the principles and activities for easier navigation.
Master Composters are trained volunteers who teach the basics of home composting to the citizens of Thurston County. Participants receive 14 hours of hands-on training based on a variety of composting topics. Some of these subjects include kitchen and yard waste, worm bins, compost safety, how to maintain piles, troubleshooting, application tips plus much more. It is our goal to not only provide a research based composting program, but to also provide instruction that will assist volunteers to become successful composters. The year after training trainees will agree to give 35 hours of volunteer service working as a community composting educator. Master Composters can participate in a wide range of activities; giving free workshops on backyard composting to community members, staffing information booths at community events, giving composting presentations to community groups, help Master Gardeners compost garden waste at three demonstration sites, work with community organizations to help them learn the benefits of composting and much more. Master Composter training will be conducted at the following times: Wed, March 31: 6:30pm - 8:30pm Wed, April 7: 6:30pm - 8:30pm Wed, April 14: 6:30pm - 8:30pm Wed, April 21: 6:30pm - 8:30pm Sat May 1: 10:00am - 12:00pm (field days) Sat, May 8: 10:00am - 12:00pm (field days) Wed, May 19: 6:30pm - 8:30pm
If you need more information, please e-mail Cori Carlton at carltoc@co.thurston.wa.us or call 360-867-2162.
Salmon Summit is the culminating activity for “Salmon in the Classroom” schools. After raising fish through the winter and spring, Salmon Summit provides students with an outdoor learning experience that enables them to release the fish into an approved water body. During Salmon Summit, students attend field stations to learn about wise use of water, fish tagging, hydroelectric dams, fish transport, agriculture, salmon recovery efforts, local wildlife, natural resource conservation and other topics. Over fifty entities, including federal, tribal, state, county, municipal, corporate and non-profit organizations contribute financial support, staffing, or goods and services to Salmon Summit. Over 300 volunteers participated in Salmon Summit 2009. This year, Salmon Summit will include schools from Benton, Yakima, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties. To accommodate all these students, Salmon Summit activities will be offered on Tuesday, May 4 and Wednesday, May 5. We are expecting over 4,000 students. We hope that you can join us for both days of Salmon Summit by providing a 20-minute student activity for one classroom at a time. To RSVP or for more information, please contact Rachel Little at rachel-little@conservewa.org or (509)832-1329.
This success story addresses these E3 Goals: Build Support - Garner funds to provide equitable, adequate coverage and meaningful impact of education for sustainable communities. Connect Up - Use networking and technology to create inclusive leadership and diverse partnerships to achieve education for sustainable communities. Story Highlights Teachers now able to specialize in environmental and sustainability education (ESE) in Washington State. Initiative geared to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) priorities and advances applied learning, inquiry, and systems thinking. Standard 5 requiring pre-service teachers be able to design curricula preparing their students to “be responsible citizens for an environmentally sustainable, globally interconnected, and diverse society” is a companion initiative that preceded the new ESE Specialty Endorsement. These two initiatives are significant contributions to a new system of education in Washington being built by multiple education, business, tribal, community and public interests across the state.
A major milestone has been achieved for incorporating environmental and sustainability education into teacher professional development. On May 21, 2009 the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) approved an Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) Specialty Area Endorsement, the first of its kind in the nation. Stated Gilda Wheeler, Program Supervisor for Education for Environment and Sustainability Education in the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), “Other states such as Pennsylvania have created an environmental education specialty endorsement, but our direct connection to sustainability including systems thinking is what really makes us unique.” Because specialty endorsements are new to Washington, there are currently only two others that are available, deaf education and gifted education. This achievement marks a measurable success for E3 Washington, especially for the K-12/Teacher Education sector that included the following in their plan (which rolls up into the five state goals): Goal 2: Teachers, administrators, and community based educators will participate collaboratively in high quality ESE preparation and ongoing professional development. Strategy 2: Develop and secure approval for an ESE Specialty Endorsement. “We can check that one off the list and proceed with other strategies to create the infrastructure needed in K-12 professional development that support the five comprehensive E3 state-level goals” exclaimed Dr. Margaret Tudor, Co-Director of the Pacific Education Institute (PEI) and leader of the E3 K-12/Teacher Education sector along with Wheeler. Together, PEI and the Environmental Education Association of Washington (EEAW) applied to OSPI for the ESE Specialty Endorsement. Dr. Dennis Sterner, Dean of the College of Education at Whitworth College and President of the Board of PEI, led the charge to secure support from these two organizations and Washington’s colleges of teacher education. Colleen Putaansuu, Program Specialist, Professional Education and Certification at OSPI coordinated a series of competency writing sessions over 6 months involving teachers, teacher educators, school and college administrators and representatives of tribal, business and environmental and sustainability education organizations. One of these representatives, Dr. Victor Nolet, Director of Assessment and Evaluation at Western Washington University stated, “An ESE Special Area Endorsement is an elective that is added to the resumé of a teacher candidate or a teacher already working in the schools. Ultimately we want students to develop the understanding that nature isn’t something you have to drive to and sustainability isn’t something that involves buying a fancy bicycle or hybrid car.” The ESE Specialty Endorsement will ground a teacher fully in environmental and sustainability education content and methods including utilization of systems thinking and project based learning. The requirements are three fold: content, methodology and competencies. Content: “a teacher must know and critically analyze the historical development, purposes, interdisciplinary nature, defining characteristics and guiding principles of environmental and sustainability education.” Methodology: “teachers must use the unique features of environmental and sustainability education in the design and enrichment of curricula and school programs. They teach and assess environmental and sustainability curricula and create stimulating and motivating learning environments.” Competencies: “teachers belong and contribute to the environmental and sustainability education professional community and understand that professional development is a life-long endeavor.” (ESE Specialty Endorsement Competencies approved by PESB, May 21, 2009) The ESE Specialty Endorsement was preceded in November of 2007 by another important component of the infrastructure needed to support teacher professional development in environmental and sustainability education. Standard 5 and particularly Standard 5.3.D. requires that all pre-service teachers have environmental and sustainability part of their education and are able to design curricula preparing their students to ‘be responsible citizens for an environmentally sustainable, globally interconnected, and diverse society’. According to Putaansuu, “21 colleges and universities approved to offer teacher education programs in our state are finalizing their preparations to update their programs to meet the new Standard 5 requirements including 5.3.D. As such they will review all programs plans regarding Standard 5 updates in July 2009. They will also make approval decisions for programs wishing to offer the ESE Special Area Endorsement.” Gilda Wheeler added that only one or two colleges will be ready for the 2009 fall term including Eastern Washington University. There is, however, growing enthusiasm and several universities have expressed interest in adding this to their curriculum. “Beginning in 2010 we should be seeing several universities embracing this new endorsement, said Wheeler.” The universities will be creating their own curriculum and submitting programs to the PESB. Pertinent organizations or resources: www.k12.wa.us/curriculumInstruct/EnvironmentSustainability www.wce.wwu.edu/Resources/TFPF/Summer%20Institute.shtml http://www.pacificeducationinstitute.org/
The nationwide Endangered Species Day Art contest provides students with an opportunity to learn about endangered species and express their knowledge and support through artwork. The contest is organized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Endangered Species Coalition, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art/ University of New Orleans. Endangered Species Day is a celebration of our nation’s wildlife and wild places. Started in 2006 by the United States Congress, Endangered Species Day is an opportunity to learn about endangered species. The art contest is an integral part of the fifth annual national Endangered Species Day, May 21, 2010. The contest’s winner will be honored with their name engraved on a special trophy designed by a gifted young artist, Meredith Graf of New Orleans, LA and will also be recognized at a reception in Washington, D.C. in May, 2010. The contest is open to students in grades K through 12. Judging will take place in four categories, K-Grade 2, Grades 3-6, Grades 7-9, Grades 10-12, with one national winner being chosen from the semi-finalists in these four categories. The contest is organized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Endangered Species Coalition, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art/ University of New Orleans. The Endangered Species Coalition is a national network of hundreds of conservation, scientific, education, religious, sporting, outdoor recreation, humane, business and community groups across the country. Through public education, scientific information and citizen participation, we work to protect our nation's wildlife and wild places. The ESC is a non-partisan coalition working with concerned citizens and decision makers from all parties to protect endangered species and habitat. Web Link: http://stopextinction.org/esd/194-esd-art.html
E3 Co-Chairs Send Thanks to Leaders Across State At the launch of the E3 website and implementation phase of E3 Washington, Governor Chris Gregoire, Bill Ruckelshaus and Billy Frank Jr. send their regards to all contributed to this achievement. “We offer our wholehearted thanks to the thousands of people and organizations across Washington who gave their time, talents and real-world expertise to help craft E3 plans. Your work reflects the incredibly rich cultural and geographic diversity of our state. Your superb work laid an excellent foundation for future success.” “By linking education, the environment and the economy, you’re helping to encourage sustainable communities, which will enhance Washington’s quality of life and our reputation in the global economy.” “For those unfamiliar with E3, we encourage you to visit its website at http://www.e3washington.org. Most importantly, we hope you will consider getting involved in this important work. Your participation will help ensure the health of our residents, communities, environment and economy for generations to come.”
Incredible Milestone for Environmental Education: President's ESEA Blueprint Includes Environmental Education This weekend the President released his blueprint for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It at this point does not appear that the administration will introduce a fully drafted bill. This blueprint does mention environmental education twice – elements below. Although it does not indicate direct support for NCLI, it does show that the President and Secretary of Education have made environmental education a priority. Please see the attached document to view the blueprint.
You are invited to participate in no cost NOAA Watershed Education Professional Development workshops, held aboard our 65-foot SEA program vessel Indigo. Attached is an overview that provides locations / dates of upcoming workshops – as well as all of the benefits (free clock hours, mini-grants, resources, etc…) for participating teachers and community partners.
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