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Teacher Spotlight
 Conrad Benedicto is a social studies teacher and executive director of the Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative (WALC), a small learning community that operates within two high schools in San Francisco: Balboa High School and Downtown High School. For more than 10 years, WALC has worked with diverse, urban students in a junior-senior academic pathway that incorporates outdoor experiences to bolster academic achievement. WALC seeks to nurture within students an awareness of and connection to the different histories and heritage of their communities, as well as the ecological processes that underlie all existence.
WALC uses environmental education and ecological concepts that are taught with the use of place-based experiential lessons as analytical frameworks to integrate three different classes: social studies, language arts and science. The public lands that serve as the locations for field lessons and habitat restoration activities form the foundation of WALC's curricula.
Read more about Conrad and WALC
To see what other innovate teachers are doing for environmental education, be sure to visit Classroom Earth's SUCCESS STORIES page. |
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Field Trip Resources
Find a Nature Center Near You
Looking for a field trip destination? The Environmental Education Week Nature
Center Map includes over 2,000 nature and environmental education centers nationwide. Centers are searchable by location and include
contact information.
Data Supporting Field Trips
Contact with the natural environment is shown to be beneficial to the health and well-being of youth. The children's health and nature fact sheet from the National Environmental Education Foundation's Health and Environment program outlines the evidence.
Enrich Your Field Trip through Nature Journaling
Sketching, discovering, reflecting...nature journals offer a
great way for students to interact with nature while improving their
observation, recording, and language and visual arts skills. Learn how to create nature journals with the
tips and examples found on National Environmental Education Week's Nature Journaling Weblog.
Views of the National Parks  Views takes you on virtual field trips when financial or other restrictions prohibit
traditional outings. Views offers
spectacular presentations of the national parks, allowing students to
interactively explore the natural world.
For more resources, be sure to visit the RESOURCES page
on the Classroom Earth Website! |
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Professional Development
NAAEE Conference
Deadline: 08/15/2009
North American Association for Environmental Education's annual conference will take place in Portland, Oregon from October 7 - 10, 2009. The theme is: The Power of Partnerships: Creative Leadership in Environmental Education. Early bird deadline in August 15, 2009.
Seminars on Science
Deadlines: 8/24/2009 and 10/5/2009
The
American Museum of Natural History's Seminars on Science connects
teachers to cutting-edge research and provides them with powerful
classroom resources. These online courses can also be taken for
graduate credit.
National Environmental Public Health Conference
Deadline: 10/26/2009
The conference facilitates the exchange of scientific
information and promotes strategies for addressing environmental health
challenges. The theme for the 2009
conference is Healthy People in a Healthy Environment. Conference takes place in Atlanta,
Ga. from October 26-28, 2009.
Wetland Education in the Classroom
Environmental Concern's team of highly qualified educators teach teachers how to bring wetlands alive and into their classrooms. Their workshops feature hands-on, inquiry-based, cross-curricular activities for the classroom. These trainings are ongoing in different states throughout the year.
For more professional development opportunities, be sure to visit the PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT page on the Classroom Earth Website!
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Funding Opportunities
NEA Foundation Learning and Leadership Grant
Deadline: 10/15/2009
The NEA Foundation will fund your professional development activities. Awards of $2,000 are given to individuals and
$5,000 to groups engaged in collegial study.
Lowe's Toolbox for Education Program
Deadline: 10/16/2009
Grants of up to $5,000 are available for school improvement
projects.
Field Trip Grants
Deadline: 11/3/2009
You can fund your field trip with a grant from Target. There are 5,000 grants of up to $800 each available.
For more grants and awards, be sure to visit the GRANTS page on the Classrocom Earth Website!
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