By Pam Murray
Along the Cowichan River, surrounded by the smell of cottonwood resin, an elementary school student discovers that dragonfly larvae look like aliens. In a quiet wetland, a middle school teacher marvels as a guest expert shows his class how to fold cat-tails into duck shaped toys and send them downstream with wishes. In [...]

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Continue reading " Community-Based Education – The Colquitz Watershed Stewardship Education Project "

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 started.
Children and teachers are being pulled in many directions. Children want to “learn by doing/’ but because of societal fears for children’s [...]

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Continue reading " K-12 Activities: Monitoring Biological Diversity "

by Sandy Frost and Ben Swecker
For many people, a trip to Alaska is the dream of a lifetime. Yet cost and logistics keep many people away. In 2002, a group of dedicated educators joined forces to make such a visit— if only a ‘virtual’ visit—a reality for thousands of children across the Western Hemisphere. Blending [...]

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Continue reading " Winging Northward—A Shorebird’s Journey "

A Teacher’s Guide to Using the Schoolgrounds for Environmental Studies
Review courtesy of Fletcher Brown, University of Montana
Author unknown
Environmental education for children growing up in urban areas is often limited to a single trip to a forest preserve or state park.  The hidden message behind such field trips is that the environment must be sought, and [...]

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Continue reading " Review: Ten-Minute Field Trips "

How rearing salmon in an elementary classroom can foster powerful teaching and learning in the content areas, environmental awareness, and good stewardship of the Earth
By Daniel S. King, PhD
My transition in January of last year to a new position teaching science, math, and technology to 5th graders at STARBASE ATLANTIS on Navy Base [...]

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Continue reading " Connecting students and salmon in their watershed "

Humane education examines the challenges facing our planet, from human oppression and animal exploitation to materialism and ecological degradation.  It explores how we might live with compassion and respect for everyone.
by Zoe Weil
In 1987, I offered several courses in a summer program for middle school students at the University of Pennsylvania.  The courses met from [...]

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Continue reading " Humane Education for a Humane World "

Couple some basic curriculum organizers with focused questioning strategies to make your restoration projects coherent and effective environmental education experiences.
by Jim Martin
Environmental education should be a journey, one which captures our interest and imagination and leaves us with the tools to become effective stewards of the place where we live and work. Does it? Perhaps. [...]

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Continue reading " Restoration Planting: What’s the Rush? "

By Mike Weilbacher
The following paper was presented as the keynote address at the 2005 conference of the Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA) at the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, Michigan, August 2005.  Mike is a former PAEE president, newsletter editor and Outstanding Environmental Educator (1991), and directs the Lower Merion Conservancy.
Global surface temperatures [...]

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Continue reading " The Green Tsunami: Environmental Education in the 21 st Century "

Many people think only of allergies when they hear the word pollen. But pollination — the transfer of pollen grains to fertilize the seed-producing ovaries of flowers — is an essential part of a [...]

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Continue reading " Why Care About Pollinators? "

by Rex Ettlin
Education Program Coordinator
Oregon Zoo
First I have to tip my hat in apology to aquariums, wildlife parks and educational farms. Since I work in a zoo that’s what I can talk about. But the idea of a zoo as an effective educational tool applies equally well to all non-formal educational settings, such as art [...]

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Continue reading " A Zoo is a Great Educational Tool "