Saturday February 23, 2013

Middlesex Fells Reservation  Botume House, Stoneham, Mass. 

9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

If you work with middle school audiences and are interested in helping students understand the importance of migratory birds and their conservation through classroom activities and school bird festivals then attending this workshop would be a feather in your cap.

Cynthia Menard, Editor

Fall is a time for reflecting, as the natural world starts to close down for the year and many of the familiar sights and sounds of nature leave us until the spring. We're taking this time to reflect on some of the tools we use as educators – both new ones and old. We hope you'll find something of use in these articles, and if you have a favorite tool and would like to share it with us, be sure to visit the Community Center where you can share your tools and successes with the MEES community.

The Museum Institute for Teaching Science (MITS) has announced a 2 day SeaPerch workshop for High School, Middle School and Informal educators.

Build and test your own ROV (with expert help!), receive the National  SeaPerch building and curriculum guide plus additional curriculum materials developed by MITS and MIT Sea Grant and other classroom resources.  Network with other educators.

Where: Springfield High School of Science and Technology

When: November 13th and 14th
Time: 8:30 am - 3:30 pm
Cost : $185.00 (incl. SeaPerch Kit)
Lunch will be provided both days.
Participants will receive PDPs.

Join environmental educators and other leaders from throughout New England in this day-long event, hosted by the Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA).  Share experiences, best practices, and visions for building and sustaining an environmentally literate citizenry in New England.

WHEN: Friday, October 26th, 2012. 9:30am-4:00pm

WHERE: University of New England, Biddeford, Maine

 For more details and registration, please visit the New England Evironmental Education Alliance's website http://www.neeea.org/

The Can Manufacturers Institute is awarding $1,000 to the school in each state and the District of Columbia recycling the most aluminum cans per student and an additional $5,000 to the champion per capita recycling school nationwide that is on top of value of the aluminum cans.

http://www.cancentral.com/roundup/

The vision of environmental literacy in New England is about to get a major boost. With a $150,000 grant from the U.S. EPA, the New England Environmental Education Alliance (NEEEA) is soliciting proposals from non-profits, schools, and local or state agencies for sub-grants of up to $5,000. These grants will support projects that strengthen environmental education through capacity building on a state-wide level or that advance educational achievement by implementing the goals of state Environmental Literacy Plans. Acknowledging the importance of an environmentally literate citizenry, the EPA states, “environmental challenges require a population that is diverse, informed, and environmentally literate, willing and able to translate their knowledge and skills into decisions and actions that protect the environment in their communities.”

NEEEA, in close partnership with MEES and the other five professional environmental education associations that comprise NEEEA, will award at least 19 grants of up to $5,000 (three in each state) to projects that implement regional priorities such as:

• Implementing one or more objectives of a state’s Environmental Literacy Plan

• Designing, implementing, and linking environmental education programs and leadership across a state or states to promote long-term sustainability of the programs

• Developing replicable and sustainable professional development programs for teachers and trainers

In Massachusetts, examples of strategic EE objectives that can be realized within the scope of this sub-grant program include:

- Designing and conducting environmental literacy professional development programs for teachers
and non-formal educators.

- Creating and implementing a research tool that measures environmental literacy among students in
our state.

- Incorporating environmental education into the school day through innovative collaborations.

- Implementing a program to align school buildings, grounds, and gardens with curriculum.

With a total project budget of $232,000 (with matching funds) for the region, this sub-grant

program dramatically increases MEES's capacity, enabling diverse organizations to support environmental literacy efforts, while fostering a more cohesive and collaborative EE community within Massachusetts.

Download the Request-for-Proposals and application package at www.neeea.org. Proposal

deadline is August 31, 2012.

Alex Dunn, Editor

Summer can easily be called “the season of environmental education.” Summer offers both intentional learning via camps and summer programs and unintentional learning via out of school time spent at the beach, in the garden, camping, and hiking. For environmental educators summer is a busy season spent connecting youth to nature through camps but also a time for personal reflection and, hopefully, time spent away from work in the very places that fuel our personal passions. This issue of the Observer focuses on summer and strives to share inspiration through a mix of things to do, reasons we love it, and a look at the history and current realities of summer vacation—enjoy and have a wonderful summer in this season of EE!