Moving On

Greetings Environmental Educators,

After two and half wonderful years of working with Environmental Educators across Utah, on December 4, I am stepping down as Executive Director of the Utah Society for Environmental Education. The USEE board has appointed Andree' Walker, current Associate Director of USEE, as interim Executive Director and will hold a nation-wide search early next year. My plans are to travel in South America and the Pacific Northwest for the first half of 2010 before returning to Washington DC.

As I amble away from this great state I'd like to extend a call to action for all of you who care about Environmental Education. While the popular interest in green careers, buildings, and lifestyles present a great opportunity for the environmental movement, we want to make sure that the high-quality, evidence-based Environmental Education materials and programs are part of this movement. Over the coming year you will hear a lot about 'Environmental Literacy Plans' and 'No Child Left Inside' legislation. These are platforms that will build upon decades of EE work; my challenge is to put your collective voices behind these efforts. Only by convincing decision makers that Environmental Literacy is a critical aspect of education for our families and communities will we be successful.

I have greatly enjoyed my time working with USEE's members, staff, board and volunteers. Thank you all for this wonderful experience!

Best Wishes,

Jason Taylor

How do you fight Nature Deficit?

I've been following Nicholas Kristof's series of opinion pieces on nature deficit disorder at the New York Times.

His first article addresses the general problem of Nature Deficit Disorder in children. We've discussed this issue before on the blog but I do wonder if one of our great failings in the environmental education movement has been an inability to articulate the 'why' aspect of preservation.

One problem may be that the American environmental movement has focused so much on preserving nature that it has neglected to do enough to preserve a constituency for nature. It’s important not only to save forests, but also to promote camping, hiking, bouldering and white-water rafting so that people care about saving those forests.

His second article takes a deeper look at what we as adults can do to 'recharge' our soul through experiences with nature. To Mr. Kristof, this involves backpacking and he gives a 10 point how-to guide:

1. Follow Robert Frost and take the path less traveled by, for that makes all the difference. In the evening, camp where no one else is around. You don’t need a campground: just stop anywhere that is flat. Indeed, the ground in the woods and fields is much softer than the packed dirt of campgrounds. But when you leave in the morning, make sure that you leave no trace.


Backpacking is also my favorite outdoor activity; I just spent a week rafting the Green River and certainly have that 'soul' recharging feeling he is referring to. What types of outdoor activities do you participate in for a nature recharge?

I just finished reading Michael Chabon's essay, Manhood for Amateurs: The Wilderness of Childhood at the New York Review of Books. In the essay he dips into some of the issues related to Nature Deficit Disorder and explores the idea that childhood has historically been a branch of cartography focusing on unstructured play and imagination. As children we roamed the streets and woodlots mapping our own neighborhoods free from adult supervision. However all of that seems to be changing:

"We schedule their encounters for them, driving them to and from one another's houses so they never get a chance to discover the unexplored lands between. If they are lucky, we send them out to play in the backyard, where they can be safely fenced in and even, in extreme cases, monitored with security cameras."

What happens when children no longer have the freedom to explore without adult supervision?

"The sandlots and creek beds, the alleys and woodlands have been abandoned in favor of a system of reservations—Chuck E. Cheese, the Jungle, the Discovery Zone: jolly internment centers mapped and planned by adults with no blank spots aside from doors marked staff only. When children roller-skate or ride their bikes, they go forth armored as for battle, and their parents typically stand nearby."

Teaching Climate Change Law & Policy

A new blog has been launched, Teaching Climate Change Law & Policy, www.teachingclimatelaw.org.

The blog focuses on providing information on issues that may be important to those teaching climate change law and policy courses, including pedagogy, review of new textbooks, suggested readings for students, and focused resources, such as new climate change negotiation simulations.

This looks to be a great resource for teachers who want an easy way to stay connected. For instance, one post links to an article that summarizes the scientific research on climate change in 2008.

Become a Citizen Scientist

From counting toads, to observing plants bud, to reporting bird sightings, citizen science is taking off across the country (there was even a recent story about it on CNN) .

In a nutshell, citizen science is the process of using individual volunteers to collect scientific data on specific species and issues. These programs offer great opportunities for teachers and parents to directly involve children in learning about the process of science and data collection. Most citizen science projects also offer great background resources and suggestions to help get started.

Here's a list of Projects to get you started:

Project Budburst (my favorite)

Join thousands of others in gathering valuable environmental and climate change information from across the country. Project BudBurst engages the public in making careful observations of the phenophases such as first leafing, first flower, and first fruit ripening of a diversity of trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses in their local area

eBird

A real-time, online checklist program, eBird has revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird provides rich data sources for basic information on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

Monarch Watch

Note: Monarch Watch only deals with butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains. See The Monarch Program below for details.

Monarch Watch is an educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas that engages citizen scientists in large-scale research projects. This program produces real data that relate to a serious conservation issue. Monarch Watch gets children of all ages involved in science.

The Monarch Program

The Monarch Program deals with butterflies in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Regions of the United States. Their program is very similar to Monarch Watch, however they serve everything West of the Rocky Mountains while Monarch Watch deals with butterflies that are east of the Rocky Mountains. Thanks teacher and reader RH for the tip!

Teaching Green Building

The US EPA for region 8 has released an 'e-packet' that focuses on education opportunities for the Green Building movement. USEE staff and volunteers are exploring ways to implement a green schools program in Utah. Any Suggestions?

From the EPA Website:

The buildings in which we live, work, and play protect us from Nature's extremes, yet they also affect our health and environment in countless ways. The design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal of buildings takes enormous amounts of energy, water, and materials, and generates large quantities of waste, air and water pollution, as well as creating stormwater runoff and heat islands. Buildings also develop their own indoor environments, which present an array of health challenges. Where and how they are built affects wildlife habitat and corridors and the hydrologic cycle, while influencing the overall quality of human life.

As the environmental impact of buildings becomes more apparent, a field called green building is gaining momentum. Green or sustainable building is the practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance, and demolition. Research and experience increasingly demonstrate that when buildings are designed and operated with their lifecycle impacts in mind, they can provide great environmental, economic, and social benefits. Elements of green building include:

• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Water Stewardship
• Environmentally Preferable Building Materials and Specifications
• Waste Reduction
• Toxics
• Indoor Environment
• Smart Growth and Sustainable Development

Celebrate EE Week

Don't forget that this years Environmental Education week is focusing on water. Here's a Water Tip of the Day from the National Environmental Education Foundation

Pick up litter in your neighborhood and on your school grounds - everything eventually ends up in a water body.
Source: The Groundwater Foundation

For a list of water facts in English and Spanish, visit our Be Water Wise! Facts page.

Study Finds Environmental Education Programs Lead to Cleaner Air

As part of Environmental Education Week, the US Environmental Protection Agency released this interesting study:

A first of its kind study funded by EPA shows that environmental education programs are an effective tool in helping to improve air quality in North America. "This study shows a valuable connection between better environmental education and cleaner air in our communities," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "With the right information, people can make a real difference in the places where they live, work, play and learn." Nearly half of the surveyed institutions hosting education programs reported an improvement in air quality at their facilities due to actions taken by students, including doing service-learning projects and fostering community partnerships. Examples include decreased levels of carbon monoxide and mold, and enactment of a policy that decreased car or bus idling. An additional 43 percent of the surveyed programs reported some kind of action was taken to improve the environment. Some examples include: · East Valley Middle School (Wash.) where students monitored school indoor air quality and worked with school administrators to implement structural cha nges resulting in improved carbon dioxide, air flow, particulate levels, odors and mold. · Exeter High School (N.H.) where students studied air quality issues and monitored car pooling and bus idling in the school drop-off area, leading to a no-idling policy and installation of no-idling signs. · Greater Egleston Community High (Mass.) where student actions helped lead to the installation of a local air quality monitoring station, a change in fuels by city buses, and city-wide bus idling restrictions. EPA worked with the National Park Service Conservation Study Institute, Shelburne Farms, and a group of environmental researchers, educators and psychologists to complete the study. Information on the study: http://www.epa.gov/education/ R082

USEE has received funding from the USEPA to conduct the Utah Project for Excellence in Environmental Education 

Al Gore Visits LDS Church Leaders

The Salt Lake Tribune reported today that Al Gore visited with LDS church leaders for 30 minutes on Thursday to discus climate change and answer questions.  

Byron Daynes, a political scientist at church-owned Brigham Young University, called it "a good sign." A scholar of the American presidency and the environment, he said it is valuable for leaders to discuss "a major problem we all have."

"It's a good time for any[one] to be hearing this message --- and certainly those in charge of 13 million people," Daynes added.

He had no comment on the likelihood that Gore's visit would shift the church's stance on climate change.

But he concluded, "We'll hear about it in [LDS General] Conference, if it makes any difference or not." 

Project Budburst

Boxelder (Acer negundo) Steve Baskauf, Vanderbilt University, bioimages.vanderbilt.edu

Join thousands of others in gathering valuable environmental and climate change information from across the country. Project BudBurst engages students, teachers and the public in making careful observations of the phenophases such as first leafing, first flower, and first fruit ripening of a diversity of trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses in their local area. 

The new BudBurst website has been launched today at www.budburst.org! It is time to choose a species (or several) to monitor from the Budburst list in your region and head outdoors to document the progress of spring.  The website has lots of information, complete with photos, to help you identify Budburst species and enter your observations.  And don't forget to post photos of your BudBurst plants on their Facebook site too.

ebird

For all of those folks out there who like to count and identify birds in your neighborhood and yard, ebird might be for you.

Bird sightings from your own yard can now be added to the database created by a global community of educators, land managers, ornithologists, and conservation biologists. These combined data are creating the foundation for a better understanding of bird distribution across the Western Hemisphere and beyond.

Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology: Volume 6

The 6th Volume of the Ecolgoical Society of America's Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology (TIEE) is now available. This is a great resource for undergraduate educators but can also be modified for high-school teachers. Here's the table of contents:

EDITORIAL

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Ecology

• Charlene D'Avanzo

RESEARCH

Enhancing science teachers’ understanding of ecosystem interactions with qualitative conceptual models

• Marion Dresner and Monica Elser

Assessment of the teaching of evolution by natural selection through a hands-on simulation

• Lori H. Spindler and Jennifer H. Doherty

Evaluating a Multi-Component Assessment Framework for Biodiversity Education

• Hagenbuch, Brian E., Nora Bynum, Eleanor Sterling, Anne H. Bower, John A. Cigliano, Barbara J. Abraham, Christine Engels, John F. Mull, John D. Pierce, Michelle L. Zjhra, Jennifer M. Rhode, Stuart R. Ketcham, and Margaret-Ann Mayer

Practitioner Research Improved My Students’ Understanding of Evolution by Natural Selection in an Introductory Biology Course • Bruce W. Grant

PRACTICE

Experiments

Rapid Adaptation of Bean Beetles to a Novel Host

• Christopher W. Beck and Lawrence S. Blumer

Decomposition and Soil CO2 Emission

• Jeffrey A. Simmons

Marine Reserve Design: Simulating stakeholder options

• Bonnie J. Becker and Peter A. Selkin

Biodiversity Responses across a Gradient of Human Influence

• Christopher A. Lepczyk

An Assessment of Assemblage Nestedness in Habitat Fragments

• Roarke Donnelly

Figure Sets

What does agriculture have to do with climate change?

• Brook J. Wilke and Justin Kunkle

Of wolves, elk and willows: how predation structures ecosystems

• Cynthia Dott

When Biocontrol Isn’t Effective: Making Predictions and Understanding Consequences

• Michele R. Schutzenhofer and Tiffany M. Knight

REVIEWS

The 2008 AIBS/AAAS Biology Education Summit

• Susan Musante

What's Cooking?

I read a fascinating article on economist.com this morning about some research presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting on the evolutionary role of cookery.  Dr. Richard Wrangham from Harvard University argues that the act of cooking food is a human universal, which greatly helps in the digestive process:

Cooking alters food in three important ways. It breaks starch molecules into more digestible fragments. It “denatures” protein molecules, so that their amino-acid chains unfold and digestive enzymes can attack them more easily. And heat physically softens food. That makes it easier to digest, so even though the stuff is no more calorific, the body uses fewer calories dealing with it.

He argues that this ability to better digest food is directly related to the human evolution of a smaller gut, which was able to support a larger brain.  If this topic interests you, I also found an interview with Dr. Wrangham about how he came up with his theory at Scientific America.

Education in a Green Economy

I just came across a great letter from a number of environmental education leaders to Arne Duncan, the new US Education Secretary, about the importance of education in carrying out President Obama's environmental agenda.  

The authors make a case that it is imperative to incorporate education deep within the new  'green economy' and that if this endeavor is to succeed, the US needs an environmentally literate population of both workers and consumers.

"President-elect Obama has astutely perceived the linkages between climate change, economic stimulus, energy security, and job training by declaring that the transition to a green economy is his "top priority." The missing link in this system is the critical role that education can play in quickly making the green economy a reality. By working with him to include a major role for education in his green economy plans, you'll help advance his agenda - and yours."

There are also a number of concrete suggestions such as:

"The President should announce a sweeping initiative to support education as a cornerstone of our new clean energy future. This initiative should be part of an economic stimulus package with a focus on green jobs and green education to help Americans of all ages, all backgrounds, and all walks of life transition to the green economy."

If you care about how environmental education can be a part of the new 'green economy' then I recommend you read the whole  letter here.

White House Farmer

There's always been a White House Chef, now it's time for a White House Farmer! Inspired by Michael Polin's call for a farmer in cheif, WhiteHouseFarmer.com was conceived by the Brockmans, a farm family in central Illinois. They have gathered over 100 nominations across the country and the voting is open until January 31.

Utah has its own nominee, Jim Kennard, who has dedicated a portion of his life and resources to promoting the Mittleider Method of gardening through the Food For Everyone Foundation. "The Foundation’s purposes include encouraging and fostering the development, understanding, and distribution of the most efficient scientific non-polluting and ecologically sensitive food production procedures, by sponsoring and supporting the research, development, and dissemination of the best possible gardening methods and techniques, and the most effective information delivery systems and teaching methods throughout the world, with primary emphasis on the developing countries."

You can vote for Jim here.

This idea ties in perfectly with USEE's Community Discussion group Menu for the Future, a six-session course exploring the connection between food and sustainability for the workplace, community center or home. Contact Jason if you're interested in starting a course.

Questions regarding Environmental Education to the Obama Science Team

On December 19^th, Andrew Revkin wrote a blog called "Questions for Obama's Science Team" on the New York Times website and invited readers to submit their own questions, promising to send the 10 questions with the most votes to the new Administration and press them for answers.  

 

The Campaign for Environmental Literacy submitted a question (scroll down to question 31) about whether the Science Team supported Environmental Education, including green education, green jobs and green schools in the stimulus package. 

What questions would you ask?

Adopt the Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental Education

Adopt the Guidelines

How can your organization promote quality environmental education? The answer is: Adopt the Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental Education!   By adopting the Guidelines, your organization will help to develop awareness of the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education, improve the quality of environmental education practice, and build credibility for the field. 

USEE provides workshops for stakeholder groups to adopt the Guidelines and apply them to their work.  In fact, Utah developed its own modification of the Guidelines in 1999 when more than 60 environmental education interests gathered for meetings of the Utah Environmental Education Council (later to be renamed the Utah Society for Environmental Education Program Advisory Committee or USEE PAC).

For more information USEE's Utah Guidelines for Environmental Education Providers visit our website.

For more information on the National Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental Education and a partial list of the organizations that have Adopted the Guidelines visit the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)

Big Birds, Little Birds and Owls

While hiking in Zion National Park last weekend with my wife Maggie, I rounded a corner and came face-to-beak with North America's largest land bird, a California Condor. Now normally I'm not all that interested in birds but I was excited that #75 clearly fit into my complicated bird classification system: big birds, little birds and owls. With a wing span up to 9ft. and a weighing in at 20 pounds, I'll easily place #75 as a big bird. After a little bit of research it looks like #75 is a male condor hatched in 2002. I knew about the Condor rehabilitiation program at the San Diego Zoo but had no idea just how rare these birds are; as of November 2008, there were 328 California condors in the world, over half of which lived in the wild. These 328 came from 22 birds captured in 1987.  

More information on these incredible birds can be found at California Condors Conservation and wikipedia

Energy and the Environment in the next Administration

The Ecological Society of America posts a bi weekly Policy News Update related to ecology and the environment. They've just posted a special edition on what the next administration might mean for energy and the environment. Topics include:

+ THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION: WHAT OBAMA’S WIN MEANS FOR ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

+ THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION: WHERE OBAMA STANDS ON ESA PRIORITIES

+ REGULATIONS: ECONOMIC CRISIS SPURS INCREASED REGULATION WHILE UNDERMINING GOVERNMENT’S ABILITY TO FINANCE ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL REFORMS

+ THE ECONOMY: WILL ECONOMIC CRISIS DIVERT ATTENTION, FUNDING FROM CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVES?

+ CONGRESS: SENATE DEMOCRATS NOW HOLD 57 SEATS, 3 RACES TOO CLOSE TO CALL

Upcoming USEE events

Green Bag Lecture Series ~ Falcons and Talons
Tuesday November 11 ~ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
The USEE Office, 466 E 500 S in Salt Lake City
Come learn about birds with Kathy Donnell, the Park Naturalist at Jordanelle State Park.  This will be an informative event filled with bird facts, curriculum ideas and even a live bird.  Don't miss out!  RSVP to andree@usee.org by Monday November 10 to reserve your spot.  The cost is $5 for members, $10 for non-members and includes a light dinner. 

USEE's 12th Annual Benefit Bash
November 14th ~ 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Caputo's Market and Deli, Salt Lake City
Join us for a fun evening filled with socializing, great food, drinks and music, a silent auction and prize drawing to celebrate environmental education.
Click here to purchase a ticket online or get more information.  You may purchase tickets at the door, but MUST RSVP by November 10th to andree@usee.org.

Project Learning Tree Workshop
December 8th ~ 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Stokes Nature Center in Logan Utah
Come participate in a Project Learning Tree workshop at the beautiful Stokes Nature Center in Logan Canyon!  This workshop is geared toward non-formal and pre K-8 educators interested in incorporating more forestry and environment related activities into their programs and classrooms.  You will learn interactive activities that meet core requirements; reading strategies with connections to relevant fiction and non-fiction books are spread throughout the activities; technology connections expose students to software applications, imaging tools, and Internet resources; differentiated instruction helps you reach students with varying needs and talents; improved and expanded assessment opportunities are closely aligned with clear objectives.
The cost is free!  You actually make money!  Each participant will receive a $25 stipend.  The catch?  One person from each organization or school will be asked to attend a further training (and make another $50) to become a PLT facilitator and get paid to teach future workshops for others (only one workshop a year required).  Email andree@usee.org or call (801)328-1549 to register.  Space is limited so please register by December 1.