Missouri Environmental Education News: September 2022
Welcome to the lastest edition of MEEA's Newsletter
Table of Contents
- Feature Article
- Lesson Resources
- Save the Date: Annual Conference
- Vista Positions Available
- Featured Events, Grants, & Workshops
- JEDIA: Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
- Green Schools Corner
- Missouri Nature Phenomena This Month
- News from the Field
Wow, thank you to everyone who has renewed their membership in the last month! Please welcome Organizational Members: City of Springfield Environmental Services Department, Fat Daddy’s Farm Foundation, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Prairie Foundation, Missouri River Bird Observatory, St. Louis Zoo, U.S. Green Building Council – Missouri Gateway Chapter, Washington University Tyson Research Center, and the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks.
The support that Membership provides for MEEA is quite tangible:
1. It helps cover compensation for our new staff member, Jamin Bray. Jamin is already increasing our reach across the state and especially into rural Missouri, a goal dear to her heart. She’s been making connections, sharing resources, and providing support to several rural schools already…not to mention creating this newsletter every month!
2. Simply put, the number of Official Members can help MEEA demonstrate to our funders the need for MEEA resources.
We know that a MEEA Membership will benefit our members in many ways as well. Thinking about going to the conference? Members get discounts! Want to apply for a MEEA mini-grant? Members can do that! Want to be recognized for your EE work? Members are eligible for MEEA awards! Want to earn EE Certification? Members are eligible to go on that journey! Our Board of Directors is currently engaged in strategic planning, and Member Services has already been identified as a top priority for 2023-2025. As a member, you have the opportunity to tell us how we can better serve you so we can tailor our goals to match your needs.
If you haven’t joined or renewed already, please help us today by clicking the button below, and help us bring environmental education the attention it deserves.
With sincere thanks,
Lesli Moylan, Executive Director
Feature Article: Adventures in the Woods
I have made memories with my grandchildren by having “Camp Nana” every summer. We gather in one location (PA or VA) and do crafts, bake cookies and have tea parties. This summer I wanted to do something a little different. I created a fantasy story and my grandchildren were the characters in my story. We went to a local park that had a Nature Trail. I was an Enchantress whose pet dragon was kidnapped by an evil wizard. My granddaughters volunteered to be my warriors to help me get my dragon back. We walked along the Nature Trail and collected clues concerning the whereabouts of my kidnapped dragon. While we walked the trail and collected clues, I identified birds by their songs and shared them with the kids. I showed them pictures of what the birds looked like when we couldn’t see them. We heard tree frogs, owls, cicadas, and the sound of a brook. We watched minnows and little crawdads in the water, worms crawling on the bank, and tiny frogs hopping about.
We didn’t find my pet dragon that day (we had many other places to search for it!) but the day in the forest was the kids’ favorite place during the week of “Camp Nana.” Check out Nature Trails in your area. A simple walk is enough to get children looking for birds, trees and wildlife. But you could also make up a story to create more fun. Use your imagination! For nature trails, caves and hiking in Missouri and near where you live, visit the following websites:
See Missouri
Missouri State Parks
And have FUN!!!
FEATURE ARTICLE and PHOTO SUBMITTED BY:
Joan Ruppert, RN, MSN, EdD
MEEA Board Member and retired as faculty from University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Nursing.
Lesson Resources: Fantasy, Stories and Dramatic Play Out in Nature
If you’re not aware of the genious document/curriculum “Growing Up Wild,” I highly recommend it, especially if you want to share the outdoors and nature experiences with very young children such as Joan’s grandkids. Every single lesson includes background facts relative to the lesson theme, vocabulary, and detailed preparation and prodecures. They all also include fantastic extension ideas, such as imaginative Take Me Outside and healthy activities, fine arts connections (such as drama, art, and music), community service ideas, crafts, and even snacks!
Growing Up WILD: Ages 3-7: Exploring Nature with Young Children, Council for Environmental Education (CEE), 4th Edition, 2011. ISBN 0615459250, 9780615459257
Adventures in Nature Resources
- Here is a link to a classic lesson from the “Growing Up Wild” curriculum, entitled Fishing Fun. Check it out! https://www.fishwildlife.org/application/files/1816/5954/0058/Fishing_Fun_SAMPLE_Activity_2022.pdf
- I’ve also included a US Forest Service site that has multiple links to great lesson sources, and one of the best videos I’ve seen about the need for children to connect with nature. Be ready, it’s so well done and inspiring, it might just give you goosebumps! https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r6/learning/parents-teachers
Save the Date for the Annual MEEA Conference!
Optional Field Trips on Nov. 6, too!
We are encouraging Youth to attend and/or present at this event. For more information on this special Youth Engagement opportunity, contact Lesli Moylan: moylan@meea.org
**Register Now:
https://www.kacee.org/event-details/2022-conference
Vista Positions Available
Current Open VISTA Positions
Interested?
Click the links below to find out more!
- Two School Support positions: Provide one-on-one support for under-resourced Missouri schools, assist with action planning, progress tracking, and outreach to expand the program. MGS School Support VISTA
- One Partner Network Coordinator position: Manage the development of a statewide network of organizations that desire to help schools lower their environmental impact, improve health, and shift to a culture of sustainability. MGS Partner Network Coordinator VISTA
- One Communications/Marketing position: Raise awareness, participation and support of the Missouri Green Schools program throughout the state, and develop skills in website and social media management. (This position has been filled)
Featured…
Events
Association of Missouri Interpreters Conference, Sept 20-22, St. Joseph, MO
Grants
MEEA Environmental Educator Mini-Grants (eight available); Proposal due Sept 15.
Workshops
Teacher Workshops for MDC Discover Nature Schools
JEDIA: Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility
The Acronym “JEDIA” is a mouthful and can be confusing.
This month let’s explore the I and the A!
If we want to understand JEDIA and how important it is in Environmental Education, we need to start at the beginning.
This first video is a brief explanation from NAAEE, and the second goes into more detail about experiencing inequity, and how a disconnect from nature can affect human health. Take a look!
Green Schools Corner
That’s wonderful, and we’re here to help whenever we can! In the mean time, there are some things a teacher can do to make your school (or at least your classroom!) “Green.” Here are some tips we found from weareteachers.com (kudos to them for making “sustainability” a priority!). Our favorites are #27 (sustainability!), and #42 (Team up with organizations-hey-that could be us!!):
https://www.weareteachers.com/green-school-tips/
No matter what, the best tip we at MEEA can give is simply: get outside with your kids as much as possible, no matter what subject you teach! It will be good for them AND you!
Nature Phenomena This Month
Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation. Learn more at https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide
News from the Field
News About Federal Legislation
K12 Education and Climate Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
The education sector plays an important yet often overlooked role in addressing climate change. Across the country, nearly 100,000 public schools, each with a substantial carbon footprint, make up one the largest consumers of energy in the public sector. Additionally, with 480,000 school buses, our schools operate the largest mass transit fleet in the country. Efforts to decarbonize our schools also create opportunities for the 50 million students enrolled in schools to engage with climate solutions first-hand, helping to build our societal capacity to address climate change now and into the future.
During Summer 2022, in the wake of unprecedented heat waves and deadly floods, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). With $369 billion in climate and energy provisions, the bill signifies the largest climate investment in US history and has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 40 percent by 2030, promote environmental justice objectives in communities most impacted by climate change, and create highpaying clean energy jobs. The Inflation Reduction Act can help unlock the education sector’s ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change and provides critical funding to support schools in creating healthy, sustainable learning environments.
To read the entire publication:
K12-InflationReductionAct-Final-Screen.pdf
This publication compiled by:
Natalia Akopian, Michelle Faggert, and Laura Schifter. (2022). “K12 Education and Climate Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act” The Aspen Institute: Washington, DC. https://www.thisisplaneted.org/blog/school-climate-provisions-in-the-inflation-reduction-act.
For all inquiries, please contact:
K12climateaction@aspeninstitute.org
Call-to-Action! Contact Our Missouri Senators
A message from "Green Schoolyards America"
Dear Friends,
The Living Schoolyards Act was reintroduced to Congress in May 2023 by Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). Now, we need you help to build support for the passage of this groundbreaking legislation by asking other senators to co-sponsor the bill!
There are two ways you can do this - you can call your representative and speak to their staffers or you can send them a letter. There are resources below to help you - both options should only take a few minutes of your day! Thank you for helping to support this historic legislation!
To learn more about the Act and how to support it: greenschoolyards