What Grows On in Rhode Island News

Annual RI Envirothon Competition ~ May 18, 2012

2012 Annual Rhode Island Envirothon Competition at Goddard Memorial State Park in Warwick, RI; U.S. Senator Sheldon WhitehouseWill Present at Awards Ceremony

Rhode Island Envirothon, Inc. will hold its annual competition on Friday, May 18, 2012 beginning at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 1:30 p.m. at Goddard Memorial State Park in Warwick, RI. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will speak and present the awards at the awards ceremony.

The one-day event marks the culmination of a year of dedicated, hard work for high school students from around the State who will compete in teams of five to address environmental issues in four subject areas which include aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and soils and land use, plus one special environmental issue which changes annually.

For 2012, the environmental issue is the “Low impact development and non-point source pollution”. Schools participating in this year’s event include The Blackstone Academy, Coventry High School, The Greene School, Narragansett High School, Scituate High School, and The Wheeler School. The winning team has the opportunity to represent Rhode Island in the Canon North American Envirothon which will take place in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania July 22-27, 2012.

Envirothon is an environmental education program available to high school students where they take classes and participate in workshops on subjects including aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and soils and land use. The mission of RI Envirothon, Inc. is to cultivate a desire in students to learn more about our natural environment, develop a greater appreciation of our dependence on the environment, and promote a sense of personal stewardship of natural resources to enhance the quality of life for all in Rhode Island.

RI ENVIROTHON ANNUAL COMPETITION
Friday, May 18, 2012 8:30-1:00
Goddard Memorial State Park, Warwick, RI

Schedule of Events

8:30-8:45 Registration - Pavilion
8:45-9:00 Welcome/Orientation - Pavilion
9:00-9:25

• Written Test – Low Impact Development - Pavilion
• Judges Meeting - Carousel
• Advisor Workshop on Rangeland – Boat House

9:30 Advisor Share Out - Pavilion
9:30-9:55 1st Test Station
10:00-10:25 2nd Test Station
10:30-10:55 3rd Test Station
11:00-11:25 4th Test Station
11:30-11:55 5th Test Station
12:00-12:30 Lunch - Pavilion
12:30-1:00 Awards Ceremony – Pavilion, Presented by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

ROTATION: Soils → Aquatics → Wildlife → Forestry → Orals

Environmental Symposium for High School Students ~ May 18, 2011

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 ~ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
612 Academy Avenue, Providence, RI 02908

 

The Environmental Club of LaSalle Academy would like to cordially invite you and your students and/or colleagues to participate in a state wide student run environmental symposium. This two hour session will give students from environmental clubs and classes throughout the state a chance to come together and discuss issues and concerns they may have about RI and the environment. This will also be a time for students to present ideas and issues being discussed or worked on at their schools.

If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this event, please forward the following information to Jessica DiGiulio:

Name
School or Organization
Whether or not you or one of your students would be interested in presenting
Approximately how many guests will join you or your team at the event. 

For more information contact: 

Jessica DiGiulio, Biology and Environmental Science, [email protected]

Moving Forward in Urban Education Policy Reform ~ May 19, 2011

Urban Education Policy (UEP) Program Annual Conference • May 19th, 2011 • 8am - 5pm
Brown University Faculty Club
One Magee Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02912
 
Please mark your calendars to attend this year’s Urban Education Policy (UEP) Annual Conference hosted by the Education Department at Brown University.  The conference theme is “Moving Forward in Urban Education Policy Reform”.   As the current administration looks to usher in education reform and new policy, practitioners are engaging in discussion that informs the improvement of both policy and practice.
 
This year’s UEP conference will also engage and inform invited guest as current urban education policy graduate students give presentations and lead discussion on their internship experiences with education policy agencies, organizations, school districts and schools.  Please plan to attend the conference and engage in rich and thought provoking discourse with our students, as well as, many invited professionals working in a myriad of education environments.


Use the following link to pre-register for the conference by May 10th:
https://sites.google.com/a/brown.edu/uep/
 
This year's conference agenda will be posted in the upcoming days.
 
Please send any questions that you may have about the conference to: [email protected].

Webinar for Teachers: Developing Artistic Approaches to Environmental Education ~ April 7, 2011

We’re pleased to announce new one-hour webinars this Spring for formal and non-formal youth educators. For details of these and the previously-announced webinars, visit the Green Teachers website.

A reminder: these webinars are free of charge. We hope you’ll take advantage of the opportunity to explore these current popular topics in environmental and outdoor learning with us.
 
We’ll be announcing more webinars soon, so please check our website frequently – OR visit http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/gt-news and join our listserv to receive email notices of upcoming webinars.

REGISTER for these free webinars at http://greenteacher.com/webinars.html

Thursday April 7, 2011, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EST
Webinar topic:  "Shades of Green: Developing Artistic Approaches to Environmental Education"
Presenter:  Hilary Inwood
 
This webinar explores the emerging field of eco-art education, an integration of art education and environmental education, as a means of helping to develop environmental literacy in students and teachers. Hilary will introduce artwork and artists focusing on environmental issues in Canada and beyond, as well as some of the eco-art work that has been created in Toronto schools in recent years. Participants will be invited to share their own ideas and projects for creative approaches to EE.

Age appropriateness:  K-12

UPCOMING WEBINARS:

Tuesday April 12, 2011, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EST
Webinar topic:  "Innovative Curriculum Design for Sustainability"
Presenter:  Jaimie Cloud

Thursday April 28, 2011, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EST
Webinar topic:  "School Grounds for Healthy Play and Learning – Research and Case Studies of Good Design and Teaching Excellence on School Grounds"
Presenter:  Cam Collyer

Monday May 2, 2011, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EST
Webinar topic:  "Using the Environment as a Context for Learning in Standards-Based Education Systems"
Presenter:  Gerry Lieberman

Tuesday May 10, 2011, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EST
Webinar topic:  "FROG SONGS: Poetry and Essays, Field Ecology and Entomology" 
Presenter:  Brian Fox Ellis

Wednesday May 25, 2011, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EST
Webinar topic:  "Green Craft-Making" 
Presenter:  Zabe MacEachren

National Audubon Educator's Summer Workshop ~ July 14-19, 2011

The Audubon Camp in Maine, on 330 acre spruce-covered Hog Island, will be the site of Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week, during July14-19, and there are still some openings for teachers, educators, and youth leaders interested in living and learning at a historic and beautiful camp that has been home to Roger Tory Peterson, Rachel Carson, and other great naturalists.

See the Camp website for full information, including photos, videos, cost, staff bios, etc.

A number of participants are receiving partial or full scholarships from National Audubon Society chapters, schools, as well as birding clubs and gardening associations, so if the cost is a challenge, see if you can find a sponsor. This 5 ½ day session will be exciting, fun, and productive. Puffin-viewing, field biology adventures, workshops, art and journaling, music, skits, great food, and great networking.

Staff members include special guest Lynn Cherry, the talented illustrator and author of such books as The River Runs Wild, Flute’s Journey, and The Great Kapok Tree, as well as Jennifer Fee of Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology citizen science programs, famed naturalist Ted Gilman of Audubon Greenwich, Craig Newberger, head of elementary school science at the Germantown Academy, etc. etc. etc.

Join us for an inspiring week, fulfilling, fun, and memorable week on a Maine island! CEU’s available.

Contact Person:

Pete Salmansohn
Education Coordinator
Seabird Restoration Program
National Audubon Society
And Director of Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week
[email protected]

Kristen Swanberg
Senior Director of Education
Audubon Society of Rhode Island
1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI 02809
Tel: 401-245-7500 ext. 3111
[email protected]

New Green Course for Teachers and Educators ~ January 25 - May 3, 2011

Registration Deadline is Jan. 21!  The Teaching and Practice of Environmental Sustainability for K-12 Educators Course at RI College will begin on 1/25.

Taught by Dr. Mark DeMoranville, Apeiron's Director of Sustainable Business Training & Education, this course will:

• explore a selection of the classics of environmental literature,
• discuss and debate the concept, in theory and practice, of sustainable living from a range of perspectives,
• examine arguments pro and con for moving towards more sustainable patterns of economy and socio-cultural values,
• demonstrate examples of effective lesson plans and activities on sustainability

The course will be held Tuesdays from 4:00-7:00 pm at RIC starting January 25 and running through May 3.

Teachers will be challenged to draw from their own expertise, using their content knowledge and classroom experience to design innovative units that integrate the lessons of sustain-ability in ways that will inspire students. Further, they will be asked to consider ways they can advocate, in their schools and districts, and among colleagues, students and the larger school community, for moving towards a greater emphasis on sustainability as a teaching and learning priority.

For workshop information please contact Mark DeMoranville at [email protected].

Watershed Science for Educators Course ~ Registration Deadline is January 21, 2011

Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association (WPWA) and Narrow River Preservation Association (NRPA) are offering a 3-Credit, Graduate Level Course to teachers
 
NRS 591 WATERSHED SCIENCE FOR EDUCATORS
Instructor:  Denise J. Poyer, WPWA Program Director
 
Formal and informal educators of all levels are invited to learn about your local environment in this lively course - Watershed Science for Educators.  The course will cover topics ranging from early geological processes to recent and predicted global change, based on the best available scientific resources.  Each participant will receive an Active Watershed Education (AWESome!) curriculum guide, GIS watershed maps, and other resources, along with many interactive classroom lessons.  Materials have been designed for use by grades 4th through 8th, but educators of all grades are encouraged to participate and adapt materials to suit their needs.  And you don’t have to be a science teacher to take this course!  Emphasis is placed on understanding the natural processes of a watershed and the results of human interaction with these processes through many “hands-on” activities. The study of watersheds can include disciplines from earth science to social science; history to current events; biology to language arts.
 
The course will take place on Wednesdays during the 2011 spring semester, beginning January 26 and ending April 27 (not including school vacations).  Educators will attend ten weekly three-hour classes and two Saturday field trips.  Times will likely be from 4:30 to 7:30 pm at the URI Bay Campus.  Course work requirements consist of a number of readings, one research project and class presentation on a watershed issue, and a final paper on an extension to current classroom curricula based on the Watershed Science course information.  Regular attendance and participation in class is also important.
 
All costs for the course, including materials and handouts, are covered by WPWA and NRPA.  Teachers may elect to receive three graduate level credits for this course through the URI’s Feinstein College of Continuing Education by paying a credit fee registration of $190.  This is a great opportunity to earn credits, beef up your science content, and gain valuable resources for your classroom.  For more information or to register contact the instructor at 401-539-9017 or send an email to [email protected] with your name, mailing address, daytime and evening phone numbers, school or organization, grade(s) taught, preferred email address for correspondence and whether or not you wish to receive credit.  Registration deadline is January 21, 2011 or until the course is full.   Enrollment will be limited to twenty-five participants and will be first come first served.
 
Funding for this program is provided through a grant from the Rhode Island Rivers Council.

Save the Bay Seal Watch Tours & Exploration Center Hours ~ January 2011

What Grows On in Rhode Island lists all kinds of events, including Save the Bay's Seal Watch Cruises and the hours of their Exploration Center and Aquarium in Newport. January's theme is Planet Plankton. Check out the Calendar today!

Loraine Tisdale Environmental Education Awards ~ Due November 19, 2010

Attention RI Middle School and High School Science Teachers, Science Club Supervisors, and environmental organizations working in schools:

The Environment Council of Rhode Island Education Fund (ECRI Ed Fund) is pleased to announce that we are opening the application process for the Fifth Annual Loraine Tisdale Environmental Education Fund awards.

The Loraine Tisdale Fund honors a woman whose energy for a just and healthy environment are legendary. Mrs. Tisdale held an undergraduate degree in chemistry and a degree in nursing. For many years she led an organization that addressed safety and health issues concerning pesticides.

We are pleased to offer 3 grants of up to $250 to teachers or environmental organizations for support of school based projects that

1. Have student participation
2. Lead to measurable improvement in an environmental condition
3. Involve the community beyond a school in some way

Where Do the Children Play?

 KINGSTON, RI  - A provocative documentary film, “Where Do the Children Play?,” will be shown at a free public screening on Tuesday, October 12 from 7:00 - 9:00 PM at the University of Rhode Island’s new Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (Flagg Road, Kingston, RI 02881).  The film examines an issue of growing concern among pediatricians, mental health experts, educators and environmentalists: more and more children are growing up today with few opportunities for unstructured play, especially outdoors. 

An audience discussion about the ideas explored in the film will follow, led by Providence Children’s Museum director Janice O’Donnell; Meadowbrook Waldorf School faculty chair Su Rubinoff; RI Families in Nature founder and director Jeanine Silversmith; and URI Child Development Center director Sue Warford.