One of my favorite things in my life is when my entire family makes it back home from work. Stories, smiles, laughter, and the occasional wrestle by the five and six-year-old boys. I admire their attitude over the last two years; going with the flow and finding joy in the little things. Tonight, I stopped to say, “you are the reason.”
Community Circle: Coupeville School Farm
What is the best way to integrate education, food, economics, outdoor learning, and school-wide enthusiasm? The Coupeville (Washington) School District may have the answer with its school farm; a logical outgrowth of the elementary school learning gardens and focus on healthy food in the school. The unexpected side benefits are curious learners and the creation of fearless eaters.
Re-Centering Care in Our Work
Lately, I have been very inspired by trees and mushrooms. In old growth forests, mushrooms maintain relationships with each other and many other species growing in the forest. These relationships are centered around care. The fungi you see on a hike are connected to each other and the species around them through networks called mycorrhizae. These connections are the information sharing system that the forest uses to thrive. When I envision the work of E3 Washington, I like to think of a network quite the same.
The Little Garden That Keeps Giving
Bumblebee Haven Garden is situated on Okanogan School District property in rural, North Central Washington. It was started a few years ago by a now retired teacher, indigenous tribe members, and the local Conservation District. The garden provides K-12 students access to learn about vermiculture (growing soil from compost from worms), tending to land, and growing food alongside native plants on indigenous land.
Community Science Programs in Washington
Zoom Boom to Zoom Bust
Who were you before the COVID-19 pandemic forced you onto a screen?
Post-COVID life will not be easy; there will be a few awkward stares with a mask off, along with admitting you and others are socially awkward in person (maybe even before COVID). Our spider webs and dust will fall to the side as the light at the end of the tunnel reveals itself: “WE ARE BACK!”
Some kids have been learning outdoors for months in Whatcom County, but not in Seattle
The risk of catching the coronavirus is lower outside than inside, and for that reason, a lot of people were hoping that public schools could mitigate risk by shifting instruction to the great outdoors.
In Seattle, despite a push in the summer to make that happen, pilot programs are still not up and running. But in Whatcom County, dozens of kids in three school districts have been learning outside for months.
On an unusually sunny December day, kids soaked up the rays and played on the playground at Kendall Elementary School, nestled in the foothills of Mount Baker.
Climate, COVID-19, and Education: Building a Nation of Problem Solvers
In this month's essay in the National Council for Science and the Environment, Judy Braus, Executive Director, North American Association for Environmental Education, explores the parallels and intersections of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change and highlights the importance of environmental education in addressing both challenges.
Judy Braus writes, “Environmental education teaches us about earth systems, about human engagement with our environment, about the use and equitable allocation of natural resources, about civic engagement and critical thinking, and about social justice. At its core, environmental education is about creating a nation of problem solvers for the future. As a society, we need to ensure that we’re regenerating and reimagining the expertise we’ll need in the future. Environmental education also restores hope and provides uplifting experiences in nature, in classrooms, and in communities that help heal our hearts and heads and inspire us to tackle tough challenges.” She goes on to talk more about the need to come together around Climate Change work, as we continue to battle our current COVID-19 pandemic. Read more on the National Council for Science and the Environment website.
New Guide Aims to Help Advocates Make the Case for Outdoor Learning
To help educators make the case for using outdoor classrooms and spaces in COVID-19-era reopening plans, NAAEE has teamed up with the National Wildlife Federation to compile helpful source information and policy advocacy tips that can be used by parents, teachers, civic organizations, and others. The purpose of this guide is to help energize a large-scale nationwide force of advocates to encourage school officials and educators to apply some portion of their current and future Federal reopening funds and other public funding resources being made available to the effective use of outdoor classrooms.
To read more click here…
Port Townsend School Implementing Outdoor Classroom
Think of what you see and hear in the woods. Bird song. Spiderwebs. Branches framing the sky.
This particular forest is in Port Townsend. It’s an old-growth plot called the Quimper Lost Wilderness. Many of the trees here are more than 170 years old.
It’s also the site of a local private school’s new outdoor classroom. No desks, no smartboards. Instead, the school will bring in local botanists, poets and historians to teach students about the land’s first people and its role as a habitat for plants and animals. Says Emily Gohn, the school’s head: Class is in session, rain or shine.
To read more click here…