MELAB Meeting Thursday May 5, 2016

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Location: Runge Nature Center, Jefferson City

Map it: Runge Nature Center

Time: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

• Meeting Objectives
• Meeting Schedule
• Attendees
• Notes from this Meeting
  

Meeting Objectives

1. Increase participants’ awareness and knowledge of what others are doing in Missouri
2. Increase the number of acquaintances or contacts each person has
3. Work on common goals and objectives identified at previous meetings: environmental behavior survey, formative assessment questions, green schools website, career pipeline, inspiring stewardship through recycling

Meeting Schedule

• 10:00 to 10:20 Welcome, review past work, review agenda, review work group goals, measureable objectives, housekeeping
• 10:20 to 11:40 Presentations (five 10 minute slots, 7 minutes for presentations, 3 for questions and change over, powerpoints must be emailed the day before)
  1. Southern Boone Learning Garden - Jennifer Grabner
  2. Forest Schools in Missouri - Brandi Cartwright
  3. National Prairie Day - Carol Davit
  4. Missouri Green & Healthy Schools: Connecting the Dots - Jan Weaver
  5. Whip-round - Introductions, Event or Program Pitch (1-2 minutes per person)
• 11:40 to 2:30 Work Groups Meet (starting with lunch)
  1. Inspiring Stewardship
  2. Evironmental Leadership and Career Exploration
  3. Green Schools
• 2:30 to 3:00 Report out and next steps for work groups

Attendees (expected)

1. D. Jensen Adams - KC Public Schools Operations
2. Andrea Balkenbush - Department of Natural Resources
3. Melissa Bedford - MDC Outreach and Education
4. Brandi Cartwright - Raintree School
5. James Cole - Columbia Public Works
6. Theresa Davidson - US Forest Service
7. Carol Davit - Missouri Prairie Foundation
8. JoAnn Dennings - MO Recycling Association
9. Jennifer Grabner - Southern Boone Learning Garden
10. Eric Hempel - City of Columbia
11. Kevin Lohraff - Missouri Department of Conservation
12. Jen Sampsell - Department of Natural Resources
13. Kristen Schulte - Missouri River Relief
14. Raghavan Srinivasan - Sustainability Office, MU
15. Kerry Stevison - STEaM Content, St. Louis Science Center
16. Jan Weaver - Missouri Environmental Education Association

Can't attend

1. Barbara Buffaloe - Columbia Sustainability Office
2. Deborah Champagne
3. Rob Didriksen - Missouri State Recycling Program
4. Amber Edwards - Prairie Fork
5. Frieda Eivazi - Lincoln University
6. Susan Flowers - Washington University
7. Janice Greene - Missouri State University
8. Hope Gribble - US Green Building Council
9. Ronna Haxby - Ozarks Water Watch
10. Rob Hunt
11. Jim Jordan - Aim High St. Louis
12. Anne Marie Lodhz
13. Barbara Lucks - City of Springfield
14. Heather Navarro - Mo Coalition for the Environment
15. Jamie Paige
16. Joe Pitts
17. Matt Riggs - Mid America Regional Council
18. Katy Mike Smaistrla - UMSL
19. Kendra Swee - State Parks
20. Jean Turney - Forest Park Forever
21. Amanda Walker - Mark Twain National Forest
22. Shannon White - Geographic Alliance
23. Daniel Zozaya - MU Peace Corps

 

 

Notes from May 5, 2016 Meeting Presentations, Work

Presentations

1. Southern Boone Learning Garden - Jennifer Grabner - The Southern Boone Learning Garden provides multiple programs for the students of the Southern Boone County School District. In addition to programs directed towards students, the Southern Boone Learning Garden is involved in multiple efforts to increase healthy lifestyle options and the overall health of the community of Southern Boone County. Check out the lesson plans for K through 5 grades.
2. Rain Tree School - a Missouri Forest School - Brandi Cartwright - Brandi shared green features of the school: solar power, green kitchen, responsible cuisine, acre of food food garden, wild landscape, nature playscape, native plants and cage free animals. The education program is place-based, expriential, and child initiated and directed. Coming up: Vaskebjorn: 1st Annual Forest School Summit of the Midwest, October 15, featuring a sneak peek at "Forest Hymn for Little Girls". Girls are featured because most folks are ok with little boys getting down and dirty in the outdoors, not so much little girls.
3. National Prairie Day - Carol Davit - The Missouri Prairie Foundation’s mission is to protect and restore remaining prairie and other native grassland communities through acquisition, management, education, and research. In its 50th Anniversary year, the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) has established National Prairie Day—Saturday, June 4, 2016. Also, newsletter and website feature Education on the Prairie with lessons by Jeff Cantrell
4. Missouri Green & Healthy Schools: Connecting the Dots - Jan Weaver - The MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is planning on signing up for the Federal Green Ribbon Schools (GRS) program this summer. MEEA would like to have a Missouri Green and Healthy Schools program up and running for schools to use that aligns with GRS and takes advantage of exisiting programs. The sample GRS application for states has about 50 items organized in 3 pillars - environmental footprint, health and education. She asked for MELAB's help with 1) identifying resources to help schools, identifying the easiest things for schools to do, and 3) listing what schools value to help with marketing the program.
5. Whip-round - Introductions, Event or Program Pitch (1-2 minutes per person)
   1. Missouri Department of Natural Resources - Andrea Balkenbush - has a new education page on its website Youth Education and Interpretation: It's in our Nature. Includes resources and expertise to help schools become greener, the MODNR Green Schools Initiative. Check out the links to water conservation, drinking water, healthy air, hazardous waste, environmental emergency respons, consumption and waste and energy conservation.
   2. St. Louis Science Center - Kerry Stevison - New Grow: Explore the Journey of Food opening June 18 2016. The permanent exhibit will feature water and weather, how plants work, farming today, fermentation station, DIY farming, agriculture and a greenhouse.
   3. Missouri River Relief - Kristen Schulte - Teacher workshop "Catalyst for Learning" coming up in June and student workshop "Missouri River Academy" coming up in July. Looking for attendees!
   4. Conservation Federation of Missouri - Jen Sampsel - Jen was just hired to handle CFM's outreach and education initiatives.

Work - Jan asked meeting participants to split into three groups to review the three pillars of the Federal Green Ribbon Schools sample application to identify resources, identify the easiest steps and to suggest ideas for reaching schools. Download a spreadsheet with notes for each of the three pillars. Not that easy to read, but it has everything in one place.

Feedback questions and things to think about.

• will MO GHS operate independently from Fed GRS
• what incentives will a school have for continuing
• can it involve a public info officer to help find resourses and keep it in front of the public
• target public info person - national days
• school pride, chamber of commerce
• tool kit for school promotion
• not so many resources for sustainability
• single site with all the info
• message - messengers

 

 

 

Jensen, Kristen, Eric and Carol agreed to assist with next steps.