NCTC Division of Education and Outreach
  January 2016
Blaine Eckberg, Editor

Greetings and Happy New Year!

 

As we begin the new year, take a look at some exciting new training, grants, events, and activities available for your use. In the "Find Out More" section on the left are links to NCTC websites that can help you connect youth with nature and recognize the great work of your coworkers.     

 

                                                                              Have a great winter,
                                                                                      Blaine Eckberg
In This Issue







 
 
Find Out More
 
 
 
 
 
 

 


 

Quotes to Remember

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
Anne Bradstreet
 
 
Good habits formed at youth make all of the difference.
Aristotle
 
 

 
 
VOICES is a service for FWS employees. You must use your fws.gov email address to subscribe.
   
Active links in blue
  
Connecting People With NatureConnecting
The USFWS recognizes the following fee-free days for 2016:  January 18 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day); February 13-15 (President's Day weekend); September 24 (National Public Lands Day);October 9 (First Sunday of National Wildlife Refuge Week); and November 11-13 (Veterans Day weekend).

Every year each region can nominate one person for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Sense of Wonder recognition program, which acknowledges outstanding achievement in the fields of interpretation and environmental education. This 2-part series will highlight the inspiring projects and career accomplishments of the 2015 Regional Sense of Wonder Award recipients. Learn about the exciting work they've been recognized for around the country and discover how you might integrate some of these program elements to advance your own visitor services program.  There are presentations on Jan. 6th and Jan. 7th but you must signup.
 

Check your air quality before you go hiking, bike ride or working outside, and know when to take action to protect your health.

The StoryCorps app and StoryCorps.me were created as a global platform for listening, connecting, and sharing stories of the human experience. The free StoryCorps app walks users through an interview by providing all the necessary tools. Users receive help preparing questions, finding the right environment for your conversation, recording a high-quality interview on your mobile device, and more. The website is a home for the recordings and also provides interviewing and editing resources. Browse the archive for interesting interviews.

This toolkit includes tools for citizen science program planning, case studies of successful federal citizen science programs, and other resources.

Learn about the findings and key recommendations from this study that gathered demographic information and responses to statements about potential barriers to Latino community participation in informal science education at natural areas.

Explore.org from Annenberg Media offers a portal to a myriad of live nature cams. The cameras take visitors to remote places around the globe, from Hawai'i to the riverbanks of Katmai, Alaska. Check out the five live web cameras from OrcaLab, watch honeybees, and much more. The website also offers off hour highlights and more.

Nature Soundmap
The Nature Soundmap provides snippets of sounds and video from the natural world. The website hosts an interactive map of the world, complete with markers which include information about the animal or setting profiled, along with a link to more information.  There are over 400 recordings from 81 countries and 93 contributors.

Youth in the Great OutdoorsYouth 
This research project examines the best approaches to engaging Millennials, and is the most comprehensive and trusted study on the Millennial generation (born 1980-2000) and their involvement with causes. 

Read about the Esau Sinnok, Arctic Youth Ambassador, and his Iï¿œupiaq community as they face the loss of their homes and lands due to climate change.   

Learn more about the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Arctic Youth Ambassor program.

Check out the Student Conservation Association's online community!
 
FWS Professional DevelopmentFWS
Write authentically, in a voice that is genuinely you, and that will resonate with your audience.
The class meets for 8 weeks once a week for 90 minutes online in a webinar format with each session focused on one aspect of the writing process. These lessons will be reinforced with weekly exercises completed in a collaborative forum where students can comment on each other's work and receive feedback from the instructor and other students. Online January 7- February 25, 2016. 

This online course goes beyond the nuts and bolts of recruiting and managing volunteers. It's focus is on leadership and the effective communication skills necessary to build management support, strategies to justify costs for a volunteer program, methods of involving refuge staff in utilizing volunteer skills, and creating a positive and supportive environment for volunteers. Online, eleven classes that are held on Tuesday and Thursday from 2-4 PM (EST) for six weeks from January 19 - February 23, 2016.  

Friends organizations are important partners and community resources for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service field stations. Like all non-profit organizations, they have periods of growth and of decline. They can flourish and they can stagnate. This online course will enable FWS staff and Friends board members to assess the "health" of their Friends organization and develop strategies to sustain and/or strengthen these unique partnerships. Online March 8 - April 19, 2016.

The course goal is to help participants learn to communicate more effectively about science with people outside their field, including the general public, policy makers, the media, or funders and prospective collaborators in other disciplines. Through discussion and practice, the course will first focus on fundamental skills - knowing your audience, connecting with your audience, and speaking clearly and conversationally about your work and why it matters. Then students will work on applying these skills productively in challenging settings. Offered at NCTC February 1-5, 2016.

The Congressional Operations Seminar in Washington DC provides a tremendous opportunity to observe live House and Senate floor action, to attend Congressional hearings, to meet with Congressional members and their staff, and to gain a better understanding of the FWS authorization, appropriation, and budget processes. Offered in DC March 14-17, 2016. 

This course will enable participants to design visually appealing signs, write dynamic interpretive messages, select appropriate fabrication materials, identify considerations for sign placement, and estimate project costs. Prior to the on line sessions participants are required to take and complete the Eppley Institute online "Interpretive Media" class which will be followed by eight FWS specific online sessions that will be focused on interpretive FWS media topics, such as working with a designer and fabricator, and how to make the most of signage at your site. Online March 15-31, 2016.
Expand and enhance your visitor service programs through archery. In this course, participants will learn how to facilitate archery programs, as well as introduce their audiences to bowhunting which can lead to other wildlife dependent activities such as wildlife viewing and photography. Participants that complete this course will be certified as a Basic Archery Instructor Trainer through the National Archery in the Schools Program, providing participants the knowledge to train others as Archery instructors and implement their own archery program at their site. 
Offered at NCTC April 18-21, 2016.
  
This course provides participants with skills and tools that actively engage youth in the outdoors. Through a variety of instructor certification modules and interactive classroom and field based sessions, participants will be prepared to develop new or enhance existing wild-life dependent recreation programs. Offered at NCTC May 2-6, 2016.

This online, self-paced course is designed to help those who want to start and manage a Facebook page for your FWS field station, refuge, or program. This course covers best practices you should use when managing and posting to your FWS Facebook page and will show you how to leverage Facebook to empower our public. 

Other Professional DevelopmentOther
Interpreters use media from Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to printed brochures and exhibits to tell their stories. Social Interpretation focuses on using basic principles of interpretation as a guide to creating effective non-personal media. Offered by NAI April 18 -19, 2016 in Charlotte, NC
This free edX course from the University of British Columbia will provide an introductory level course on climate science to help participants better understand the news, evaluate scientific evidence, and explain global warming to anyone. The seven-week online course begins January 11, 2016.

Georgia Shorebirds Conservation Teacher Workshop
The Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve is hosting this teacher workshop February 12-14, 2016 on Sapelo Island, Georgia. The workshop is open to formal and informal educators of all grade levels. Participants will receive curriculum and resource materials. The deadline for registration is January 12, 2016.

This online self-paced, free MOOC from the University of Queensland will teach students how to make sense of the science of climate change, and to respond to climate change denial.

Seminars on Science
Registration is open for the online Seminars on Science from the American Museum of Natural History. Courses are co-taught by an experienced classroom teacher and a research scientist. Upcoming courses include Climate Change, Earth: Inside and Out, The Ocean System, and more. Spring Session 1 runs January 25-March 6, 2016, with a deadline for registration of January 11, 2016; Spring Session 2 runs March 14-April 24, 2016 with a deadline for registration of February 29, 2016. A stipend may be available for those completing the climate change course. See the website for complete details.

Offered throughout the year at various locations throughout the country.

Explore many ways in which Citizen Science can be incorporated into your classroom or institution. Developed and facilitated by leaders in Citizen Science, these Professional Development courses also provide opportunities to earn optional continuing education credits.
  
Educational ResourcesEducational
The winter 2015 issue of the International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education (IJECEE) is now online. IJECEE is a free online peer-reviewed journal designed to promote thoughtful sharing of information to support effective practice, research, and policy around the world.

The Natural Inquirer is a middle school science education journal supported by USDA.  All of the research in this journal is concerned with nature, trees, wildlife, insects, outdoor activities and water.  

Written by more than 50 environmental educators, the book advances our understanding of settings, audiences, teaching approaches and goals of urban environmental education and can be useful for in-service and in-training educators who are interested in urban environmental education.  

Graphic Representation of Human- vs. Natural-Caused Climate Change
Check out this graphic presentation from Bloomberg.com that compares the contribution of natural and anthropocentric causes of climate change, based on data from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

This is a coloring book produced by the Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association (CFAIA) in partnership with the Forest Service. The coloring pages feature the Natural Inquirer bee engaging in different types of science. This coloring book is a great, basic introduction to different types of scientists for kindergarten to second graders. A free copy is available.

Confessions of a Marine Biologist
The YouTube series "Confessions of a Marine Biologist" uses humor and storytelling of real, sometimes ridiculous, events from the field, meant to humanize science and show a diverse audience that science is vital, enthralling, and accessible to all.

This free service, Google Analytics, offers ways to evaluate a website's performance and boost its reach. Anyone with a Google account can access and use Google Analytics to track multiple sites, monitor social networks, and measure video.

In this Webquest activity from the Marian Koshland Science Museum, students assume a role of scientist, business leader, or policy maker. The students then collaborate as part of a climate action team and learn how society and the environment might be impacted by global warming. They explore the decision making process regarding issues of climate change, energy use, and available policy options.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare's Animal Action Education program, Keep Wild Animals Wild, is tailored to three instructional levels and meets learning objectives in language arts, geography, economics, and life science. The lessons, videos, and activities explore what makes wild animals wild; why wildlife trade threatens animals, ecosystems, and people; and how to keep wild animals wild.

This website is for kids, to get elementary and middle school students talking about global warming and climate change, and what they can do about it. Topics include What Do Kids know; What Can Kids Do; Resources & Games; and more.

Ocean conservation photos from the Marine Photobank can be in the palm of your hand through Instagram. All images featured on the Instagram feed are available for free download and use for non-commercial, educational purposes.

These interactive classroom lessons are designed to engage high school students on the importance of biodiversity on our planet. Each standards-aligned lesson features video clips from the film, Racing Extinction, along with an Educator Guide and other resources. Be sure to check out the virtual field trip archive.

This website of science-related blogs covers a myriad list of blogs and archives; covers topics from the environment, education, technology; and much more. Contributing bloggers are culled from different scientific disciplines and write about a range of topics that they find most interesting. Spend some time with the topics and the links to different blogs (through the drop-down Go to function).

Edited by Martha C. Monroe and Marianne E. Krasny. The second edition of Across the Spectrum: Resources for Environmental Educators has been released with 10 chapters and is now available to download. Environmental educators work in a variety of places to design, deliver, and evaluate programs that inform, motivate, and empower learners of all ages. This collection of resources, perspectives, and examples will help nonformal environmental educators learn more about the field of EE, access resources and gain skills to improve their practice, and over time, build a community of practitioners to advance the field.

Events, Conferences and WorkshopsEvents  

February is Black History Month!

Don't miss this opportunity to attend the National Association for Interpretation Regional Interpreters Workshop being held at Stone Mountain, GA February 3 - 6, 2016. The theme is Interpreting Nature and History in an Urban Environment. Questions? Contact workshop coordinator Naomi Thompson.

Citizen Science Association; Raleigh, NC; February 23-25, 2017
Citizen Science 2017 is the inaugural conference of the Citizen Science Association (CSA), two days of building connections and exchanging ideas across a wide spectrum of disciplines and experiences. 
  
The year 2016 marks the centennial of the Convention between the United States and Great Britain (for Canada) for the Protection of Migratory Birds (also called the Migratory Bird Treaty). The Service and our partners are celebrating by bringing together those who have contributed to its success and to galvanize efforts to protect migratory birds for generations to come. Goals of the Centennial celebration are to create awareness, promote key actions, increase support, and expand opportunities for engagement in the conservation of migratory birds. Visit our website and check out the Nestbox, an online toolkit containing products and resources related to the Centennial.  

Professional Trail Builders Association annual Sustainable Trails Conference in Knoxville, TN on March 11 -15, 2016 is the only national conference dedicated exclusively to trail design, construction, and maintenance. The Sustainable Trails Conference unites land managers, trail workers, and trail contractors nationwide for three days of informative sessions and a Trailbuilders Trade Show.
The Partners for Public Lands Convention and Trade Show March 6-10, 2016 in Spokane, WA is the annual gathering of nonprofit organizations and land management agencies who work together to protect, conserve and enhance visitors' experiences on public lands.

International Conference on Interpretation
The theme of the 10th annual international conference to be held in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, April 3-7 2016, is Tihei Mauri Ora (the story begins)

NSTA Conferences on Science Education - Various
National Science Teachers Association conferences offer science content, teaching strategy, and more. Each year NSTA hosts a national conference on science education, a STEM Forum & Expo, and three area conferences. Upcoming conferences with open submission deadlines are:
  • 5th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, July 27-29, 2016
  • Minneapolis Area Conference, October 27-29, 2016
  • Portland Area Conference, November 10-12, 2016
  • Columbus Area Conference, December 1-3, 2016
  • Los Angeles National Conference, March 30-April 2, 2017
See the website for submission deadlines and new proposal guidelines. Free registration is required.

Grants, Awards, and ContestsGrants 
The USFWS through the Monarch Joint Venture is awarding $1,000 grants to FFA chapters that install a monarch and pollinator garden at their school or agricultural area. Applications are due by January 15, 2016.

This annual award from the Garden Club of America (GCA) provides a one-year, $5,000 scholarship for graduate studies in coastal wetlands and support of field-based research. GCA promotes wetlands conservation by supporting young scientists in their fieldwork and research. Deadline January 15, 2016.

Congressional App Challenge
This challenge encourages teens to submit their original apps about the ocean or any topic they choose. The challenge is intended to highlight the value of computer science and STEM education and encourage students to engage in these fields. See the website for complete details. Deadline is January 15, 2016.

The Captain Planet Foundation provides grants between $500 and $2,500 to school and community groups to support hands-on environmental projects. Deadline is January 31, 2016.

NFWF has announced the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Program. This grant program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships focused on improving water quality, watersheds and the species and habitats they support. These grants can support existing or new Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnerships. Deadline is February 3, 2016.

PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators
The 2016 PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators Program is a yearlong, free professional development program designed to foster and grow a community of highly engaged, tech-savvy K-12 educators who are effectively integrating digital media and technology to inspire learning. The deadline for application is February 8, 2016.

Lowe's Toolbox for Education Grants
The Lowe's Toolbox for Education offers grants to schools and parent/teacher groups. School projects should encourage parent involvement and build stronger community ties; this grant cycle will focus on basic necessities. Deadline is February 12, 2016.

The Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program is a paid summer internship and mentoring program for high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing the disciplines of fisheries science, marine biology, and STEM related fields, and is sponsored by the American Fisheries Society (AFS). Deadline is February 27, 2016.

Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest
Students in grades K-12 are encouraged to participate in the Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest. The deadline for submission is March 1, 2016.

The North American Native Fishes Association's (NANFA) Gerald C. Corcoran Education Grant funds projects to educate the general public about native North American fishes and their environments. Grant amounts range up to $1,000. Applicants must be members of NANFA, but non-members may submit their annual dues with their proposals. Deadline is March 31, 2016

Every Day Capacity Building Grants provide up to 25 Friends Groups with grant funds of up to $5,000 to help build their capacity to serve public lands. Proposals for the summer cycle are due April 30, 2015.

Patagonia support small, grassroots, activist organizations with provocative direct-action agendas, working on multi-pronged campaigns to preserve and protect our environment. One priority area for Patagonia grants is protecting and restoring native fish populations and the habitat on which they depend. Deadlines are April 30 and August 31, 2016.

World of 7 Billion Video Contest
The World of 7 Billion student video contest can help bring technology and creativity into middle and high school classes. The contest challenges students to create a short (60 seconds or less) video illustrating the connection between world population growth and one of three global challenges dealing with deforestation, public health, or water scarcity. Students can win up to $1,000 and their teachers will receive free curriculum resources. Deadline is February 25, 2016.
  
The mission of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is to work with purpose and passion on behalf of wildlife and habitats worldwide. It supports projects in the following categories: species research, habitat protection, animal rescue and rehabilitation, and conservation education.  The conservation education priority area includes nature deficit disorder and leadership development.  Grants range from $5,000 to $25,000. Deadlines are April 30 and November 30, 2016.
  
Awesome Foundation Grants
The Awesome Foundation awards micro-grants every month for awesome ideas. Projects funded in the past have ranged from mobile applications to scientific experiments. Come up with something brilliant.

 

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