Go FishIN |
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Workshop Updates
On November 17, we
held our final Crew Captain workshop for the year. It was a cold, windy day,
but we still went outside to cast for Backyard Bass and caught a few sunfish at
Delaware Lake. The hot and humid State Fair seems so long ago! If you missed your chance to attend a workshop
this year, we will be resuming Crew Captain workshops on March 15. I plan to provide at least one workshop in
each corner of the state, so please let me know by email at gofishin@dnr.in.gov if you are interested
in hosting and/or attending.
The Family Learn to
Fish workshops at the NREC this year were very popular and will continue next
year. To help us spread the family
fishing workshops across the entire state we will be providing a new workshop
called How to Get Families Fishing. The
workshop will be offered two times during April or May (before Free Fishing
Weekend) and registration is open to anyone who is interested.
Other
Projects
Go FishIN is helping
the DNR’s Fisheries section to develop a plan that will better recruit and
retain anglers. I am researching other
state’s urban fishing programs in hopes to spawn an urban fishing program in
Indiana. This winter, I hope to update a
couple activities from the Crew Captain manual and help at a couple ice fishing
events. If you are a Crew Captain that
would like to borrow ice fishing gear, please let me know.
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Hoosier Riverwatch |
Project Preparation this Winter
As the cold approaches, many of you
will be hanging up your nets and waders for a few months. Now is a great
time to evaluate your supplies and replenish so you are set when spring
arrives. Further, this indoor time gives us an opportunity to enter our
monitoring data from this past year. Visit, www.hoosierriverwatch.com and
you are on your way. If you did not monitor this year, but have in the
past, this time is also an opportunity to check out the new database
site. We have also added a DataWatch section, which allows you to view
sites and data collected graphically. You can view and download our new
database guide at: http://www.in.gov/dnr/nrec/3013.htm. Go
ahead and check out your data and your site. If you do not have a latitude
or longitude, you can use the site locator on the “Register Site” tab to figure
it out. Instead of submitting a new site, copy and paste the lat and long
into an e-mail to riverwatch@dnr.in.gov
and I will update your site for you. Same is true for incorrect data,
just send me an e-mail with what needs to be corrected and I will do that for
you.
Project Learning Tree |
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Focus
on Forests is Re-released
The newly redesigned secondary module Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Forests has been
released. This module combines the best
of two previous modules, Focus on Forests
and Forest Ecology into one book for
teaching upper middle and high school students about the importance of
forests. Activities in the guide: Monitoring Forest Health; Story of
Succession; Who Owns America’s Forests?; Tough Choices; The Nature of Fire;
Forest to Faucet; Forest Invaders; Climate Change and Forests; and Words to
Live By. As always background
information is provided. An Indiana
specific supplement to the new Focus on
Forests will be developed in 2012.
Look for workshops on this module to start in Spring 2012.
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Project WET |
Curriculum and Activity Guide 2.0
2012 will see the Indiana debut of the Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide 2.0. Addressing both the
most pressing contemporary water issues—such as water-related disasters, water
footprinting and water conservation—and classic water science topics like
watersheds and the chemistry of water, Guide 2.0 offers fun, interactive,
science-based activities for students of all ages. For those of you who have
been through a Project WET workshop in the past, you’ll be invited to attend a
short session that will introduce you to the new guide (it’s beautiful!) and
let you participate in a few of the new activities. Look for these sessions to be announced in
January!
Project WILD |
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Christmas Bird Count
Even though our formal programming is over for the year, there is a
terrific December tradition worth considering – especially for the beginning
birder. The Christmas Bird Count
(CBC), sponsored by the National Audubon Society, is an annual period of
intense bird counting by local citizens. The Northeast Indy CBC will be held December
17, 2011 from 8 AM – Noon. The event is
$5 for participants over 19, and a pitch in follows the count. For more information, contact John Schaust at 317-208-4021 or schaust@gmail.com by December 14. CBCs are held throughout the state, so
let us know if you need help finding your local CBC.
Beyond the Projects & Programs
AFWA Conservation Education Toolkit Available
Over the last several years, some of the staff of the NREC
has been assisting the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies to develop a
Conservation Education Tool Kit. It is
nearly complete and the majority of it is now available to download on their
website http://www.fishwildlife.org.
From the home page go to “focus areas”
then to “conservation education” and finally open the “toolkit”. The toolkit focuses on wildlife and wildlife
conservation, but is applicable to all areas of environmental education.
Content of the toolkit includes:
- Core
concepts of wildlife conservation
- K –
12 scope and sequence correlating the concepts to content standards and
performance expectations in science, social studies, health and fitness
- Designing
and conducting field investigations using inquiry
- Fostering
observation skills
- Schoolyard
biodiversity investigations
- Landscape
investigations guidelines
- Applying
systems thinking to environmental education
- Outdoor
skills education handbook
- Benchmarks
for conservation literacy
- Stewardship
education best practices
Green
School Webinar
This past October, the National Environmental Education
Foundation ( www.neefusa.org)
in partnership with the National Education Association Foundation ( www.neafoundation.org)
and Green Schools National Conference ( www.greenschoolsnationalconference.org)
launched the first of a series of three webinars to help educators around the
country learn from experts and peers how to green their schools and curriculum.
Webinar participants will interact live with national experts and teachers who
are transforming their schools for the 21st Century.
Registration is free! All educators are invited to
join the webinar.
Greening the School Yard: Gardens and Habitats -
Wednesday, December 07 at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Eliza Russell, Director of Education, National Wildlife
Federation (http://www.nwf.org/)
will share strategies for first steps in Greening the School by creating
schoolyard habitats and highlight the educational advantages.
- John Schmied, 7th grade science teacher, Bothell, Wash.,
2011 Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award Winner (http://neefusa.org/bartlettaward/past_winners/ba2011_winner.htm) will
share how to utilize schoolyard gardens/habitats as an integrated teaching
tool.
- Karen Kelly-Mullin, Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Schoolyard Habitat Program (http://www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/schoolyd.htm)
will share how improved schoolyard habitats can serve as a resource for
native wildlife, interdisciplinary teaching and learning,
students’ social development, and the cultivation of
environmental stewardship.
Learn more and get access to the archive of our first Green
Schools webinar, School Buildings as Green Teaching Tools, at
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