The NAAEE Awards Committee announces the Call for Nominations for the 2008 NAAEE Awards. NAAEE members can recognize individuals and organizations that excel in EE through our annual awards program. Nominations must be received by April 18, 2008. (Please note that you or your co-nominator must be a member of NAAEE in order to nominate an individual or organization for an award.)

The Awards will be presented on October 18, 2008, at the 2008 NAAEE annual conference in Wichita, Kansas.

Please see the Web site for directions and access to online nomination forms.

Pictured here: 2007 Jeske Award Winner Joe Baust (left) and his nominator, 2006 Jeske Winner Terry Wilson.

The Albert I. Pierce Foundation and NAAEE announce the opening of the 2008:

Experience one of Kansas’ greatest treasures, tucked away on 65 acres just south of I-70, six miles west of the intersection of I-70 and I-135. Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure provides two unique experiences: a world-class zoo with more than 100 species of animals, many of which are rare or endangered in the wild, and a Wildlife Museum – one of the world’s premier collections of full mount animals, displayed in naturalistic dioramas. The museum also boasts an exhibit gallery, children’s exploration room, the ADM Mediaglobe Theater, and conference center. The zoo offers tram rides, a picnic area and the Overlook Restaurant within the park. Open daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., just 85 miles north of Wichita.

"As to scenery (giving my own thought and feeling), while I know the standard claim is that Yosemite, Niagara Falls, the Upper Yellowstone, and the like afford the greatest natural shows, I am not so sure but the prairies and plains, while less stunning at first sight, last longer, fill the esthetic sense fuller, precede all the rest, and make North America's characteristic landscape."
- Walt Whitman, Specimen Days, 1879

Learn more about the NAAEE Conference in Wichita, Kansas, on October 15-18

The NAAEE International Commission has arranged these two amazing opportunities for NAAEE:

· The Virtual Australian Tour
July 2008
Includes participation in the 2008 Australian Association for Environmental Education (AAEE) conference on July 9-12, 2007 ~ Darwin, Northern Territory

· Cuban Environment & Sustainability: Education Study Tour and Exchange
November 29 - December 8, 2008
10-day Professional Development Delegation to Cuba

Among the countless activities planned for the conference, there are walking tours nearby. Take the Arkansas River Hike that extends along both sides of the river. See the iconic Keeper of the Plains Statue. Check out the bronze sculptures along Douglas Avenue.
Learn more:

Nomination Deadline: April 30, 2008
The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes seeks nominations for its 2008 awards. The Barron Prize honors young people (ages 8-18) who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet. Each year, 10 national winners each receive $2,000 to support their service work or higher education. Half of each year's winners are chosen for their work to protect the environment.

July 7 - August 21, 2008
The EPA Student Environmental Development Program (SEDP) is seeking teachers, students, and partners for this community-based environmental leadership development program which uses a holistic approach to teach inner-city students (ages 12-14) about environmental and health related issues, such as lead poisoning, air pollution, water quality, radon, and pesticides that are prevalent in their communities. This is the 15th year of the program and we will host students from all racial, economic, and cultural backgrounds in Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, PA; Wheeling, WV; and in Wilmington, DE.

Addresses the social and cultural aspects of community-based environmental protection. The guide offers a process and set of tools for defining and understanding the human dimension of an environmental issue. It gives leaders in government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and tribes technical tools for more effectively working with the public on environmental protection efforts. The guide is based on the elements of social science theory and methodology (e.g. anthropology, cultural geography, political science, and sociology) that are most relevant to defining and understanding community life as it relates to environmental issues.
View Online >>

April 11-24, 2008 ~ Online
Join academics and activists, scientists and social critics, researchers, journalists, and concerned citizens from around the world in this EcoRes online forum as we examine the roots of environmental and climate injustice and search for ways to right these indefensible wrongs.

April 10-13, 2008 ~ Alberta, Canada
The annual conference of the GEOEC (Global, Environmental and Outdoor Education Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association) will be held at the Goldeye Centre, Nordegg, Alberta, from April 10-13, 2008. This annual conference is always an uplifting and inspiring affair, and an important professional development experience for teachers in both formal and nonformal settings. Keynote speakers include Karsten Heuer, Dr. Ellis Jones, and the Dandylionesses.

Visit Web site for more information and registration details:

April 18, 2008 ~ Stevens Point, Wisconsin
EarthWonders® is partnering with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point School of Health Promotion and Human Development to offer the first Certificate Program in the Nation on Nature-Based Health Promotion and Wellness. Environmental educators and interpreters along with university students and professionals in many fields will benefit as we lay the foundation for connecting more people to nature for its healthful benefits. The Level 2 and Level 3 Certificates will be available soon to provide ecopreneurial opportunities that build on Level 1. Undergraduate and graduate credit is available through UWSP. Register by April 11th

This Spring, National Geographic Explorer Will Steger and a team of young adventurers from Norway, Great Britain, Canada, and the U.S. will bring their High Arctic dogsled expedition to educators and learners through multimedia dispatches.

Endorsed by the National Education Association (NEA), this adventure learning project includes standards-linked multidisciplinary lesson plans appropriate for middle school and older students that explore how climate shapes the past, present, and future for members of the High Arctic community. In addition to the free lesson plans, the site includes discussion starters that challenge students to think critically and form well-supported opinions.

Sign up now to participate in National Environmental Education Week, April 13-19, 2008!

www.eeweek.org

National Environmental Education Week, made possible by Canon USA, promotes understanding and protection of the natural world by actively engaging K-12th grade students and educators of all subjects in an inspired week of environmental learning and service before Earth Day. To date over 900 schools, nature centers, zoos, museums, and aquariums from around the country have pledged to implement EE Week activities, and you can join them!

EE Week 2008 will focus on a special Carbon Footprints theme. Participants will have access to a wide variety of FREE environmental education resources, including:

Application Deadline: April 30, 2008
August 2-3, 2008 ~ San Francisco, California
Population Connection's Education Program is hosting this leadership training workshop designed to prepare educators to facilitate population education workshops using Population Connection’s hands-on curricula. This institute is open to teacher educators from colleges and universities around the state, K-12 teachers, and nonformal educators who work with teachers at science museums and nature centers. Lodging and a travel reimbursement will be available for those traveling to the Bay Area from other parts of the state.
Contact: PopEd@popconnect.org or call 800-767-1956

June 23-28, 2008
Educators, both from North Carolina and other states, as well as international teachers from China, Brazil, and Finland will experience this transformative week in the North Carolina mountains! This workshop immerses teachers in the mountain environment through research presentations and outdoor activities motivating educators to develop hands-on, inquiry-based activities to take back to their own classrooms and non-formal centers. Workshop will include presentations about different countries, scientists and experts on air, water quality, wildlife, and natural history of the area.

April 25-27, 2008 ~ Winter Park, Colorado
Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE) premiere professional development event "Teaching OUTSIDE the Box," an action-packed workshop that brings together the best in environmental education for a weekend of engaging presentations, networking, resource sharing, and more... all at the spectacular YMCA of the Rockies - Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park.

The University of Wisconsin – River Falls is offering an online graduate certificate program that will provide the skills necessary to effectively preserve the natural resources, while enhancing economic opportunity and the quality of life, in the participant’s community. Knowledge gained may be immediately applied to a real community or resource site through the development of a comprehensive site management plan. Contact: Steve Sandstrom, WRNT Program Coordinator, at ssandstrom@centurytel.net

Intentions to Submit Deadline: April 4, 2008
The All Our Futures: Education Waking to Threat conference will to explore how to shape and deliver an education for sustainable futures that brings hope, possibility, and transformation. Keynote speakers include David Orr, author and Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College, Ohio, Mark Lynas, one of the leading climate change voices in the UK, and Hunter Lovins co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute. Conference will take place September 9–11, 2008, at the University of Plymouth, United Kingdom.

Accompany Publishing, an emerging leader in K-12 curriculum publishing, is currently expanding its product catalog and seeks proposals from teachers, teaching-artists, and other practitioners. We are looking for unique and successful activities that teach core curriculum in an active and innovative way. Our goal is to bring classroom curriculum to life through fun and engaging activities. Specifically, we are looking for concepts that make learning experiential, creative and engaging for an entire classroom. Prior publication credits are not necessary.

Interested educators should send a proposal of no more than 300 words describing their work and specific activity/program/book ideas to:

Joey Madia, Director of Acquisitions and Development
Accompany Publishing
1170 15th Avenue SE STE 305
Minneapolis, MN 55414-2595

Please include your email address.

Apply to become a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Earth, the wiki-style electronic reference about the Earth, with a searchable database of articles written by experts. To qualify, contributors must 1) be a recognized expert in a subject area of the Encyclopedia, 2) be willing to work in a very dynamic, highly collaborative authoring and editorial environment, and 3) embrace the Encyclopedia's commitment to fairness, objectivity, and quality.

HippoWorks.com has just produced a new 12-part cartoon series "One by One, Ton by Ton, Let's Stop Global Warming!" to help teach kids about this important environmental issue and what they can do to stop it. A new episode will air every week.

As an educational tool for teachers, each episode concludes with questions and a glossary for a follow-up classroom discussion. Previous cartoons from Hippo Works have promoted energy conservation, awareness about animal extinction, and green living. The weekly cartoonlets are a free offering, for subscribers or for your Web site!

Invest in energy-efficient products! Representative Brian Baird (WA-03), recently introduced resolution, H.Res.987, encouraging Americans to use their economic stimulus checks to invest in renewable energy and energy-efficient products to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also urges retailers to offer promotions to encourage the purchase of these products and services. With over 30 bipartisan co-sponsors working to build a large coalition in Congress, energy efficiency and environmental groups, and retailers, the hope is to raise the importance of investing in these products.

New online journal, Lessons in Conservation (LinC), provides educators and students with the most up-to-date resources and thinking in biodiversity conservation. Published semi-annually, the official publication of the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP) is a collaborative project to develop capacity aimed at sustaining Earth's biological and cultural diversity. The teaching modules presented include documents summarizing a wide range of topics, field or laboratory exercises, and relevant short case studies with teaching notes to help educators tailor their lessons to local issues or questions. All modules include current, peer-reviewed content and are designed to facilitate active approaches to teaching and learning.

With recent concerns about youth detachment from outdoor activities, lack of physical exercise, and increased health risks, the California Roundtable on Recreation, Parks, and Tourism adopted the California Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights for the purpose of recommending a fundamental list of experiences that every child in California would benefit from experiencing before entering high school. See the list and learn more:

This new book Feet Wet, Hands Dirty: Environmental Projects in Maryland Public Schools, highlights 15 different elementary school student-developed environmental projects. Maryland's EE program provides students with the opportunity to investigate environmental issues and take action to preserve or restore the environment.

Exploratorium site links to real-time NOAA imagery and graphs on atmosphere, hydrosphere, global effects, etc. Students can explore scientific data relating to the atmosphere, the oceans, areas covered by ice and snow, and the living organisms in all these domains.

When the weather changes daily, how do we really know that Earth’s climate is changing? A new book from Lynne Cherry and co-author Gary Braasch, written especially for middle schoolers, How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming (Dawn Publications, March 2008) presents the evidence behind the headlines—gathered by scientists from all over the world, sometimes with the assistance of young "citizen scientists" and told in an age-appropriate manner with clarity and hope.
Lynne Cherry is keynote speaker for the AEOE Spring conference April 25-27 at Camp Hess Kramer in California.

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This email bulletin is provided by NAAEE , with funding from the Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP). Read the latest EETAP Bulletin >> . EETAP is funded by U.S. EPA's Office of Environmental Education. The NAAEE promotes excellence in EE and serves environmental educators for the purpose of achieving environmental literacy in order for present and future generations to benefit from a safe and healthy environment and a better quality of life. Read the latest EETAP Bulletin >>

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