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Spring is FINALLY here in Michigan! Birds are chirping each morning, daylight falls upon us earlier and leaves us later each day, and school buses are “field tripping” to nature destinations. Summer will be here for most of us before we know it, although some schools’ “snow day” schedule may force them into July! This issue of the Essential Educator will share recent success stories and preview coming attractions.
May 1 deadline approaches: Call for proposals 2019 fall state EE conference
If you have a workshop, breakout session or field trip you would like to lead at the annual Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education conference at the Kettunen Center Sept. 27-29, 2019, be sure to submit a proposal to the MAEOE. “In recent years, MAEOE has had many new program ideas submitted which has really improved the variety of conference sessions,” MAEOE President, Brittany Burgess noted. Applications are available for teaching a session or leading a field trip. For more information go to maeoe.com
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Spend the summer teaching in nature!
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources hires seasonal State Park Explorer Guides to work in over 40 state parks and recreation areas across the state. You can lead hikes, create age-appropriate activities and present fun programs that feature each park’s unique resources. Program Coordinator Karen Gourlay added “You’ll have the best office views around! We provide training in hands-on environmental activities, marketing and presentation skills.” Program supplies for the summer are provided. Housing is NOT provided, and you should be willing to work a varied shift that may include weekends, evenings and holidays. Work begins with training in mid-May and continues through the summer. For more information, visit michigan.gov/NaturePrograms and click on ‘Join the Team’, or email DNR-ExplorersProgram@michigan.gov.
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May 4 - Project WILD Workshop in Detroit: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 4 at the Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit. The class is $35 and you will learn hands-on activities tied to life science, wildlife and habitat that will engage your students and improve your programming. To registeror for more information-email Natalie Cypher at cyphern@michigan.gov
May 14-16 - Project WILD/Project Learning Tree Facilitator Workshop: Already been to a WILD or PLT workshop? Are you ready for the next step? This workshop, only held every two years, trains certified WILD/PLT educators to train others and conduct workshops of their own. The $50 fee covers meals and lodging! Location: Camp Hawthorn Hollow in Columbus Michigan. Send your name, previous WILD/PLT experience and job title to miprojectwild@gmail.com.
June 17-21 – Understanding Sustainable Forestry: Hosted by the Michigan Forest Association, this five-day workshop links the basics of forest biology and ecology with management in Michigan forests. Held at the DNR RAM Center on Higgins Lake. Fee only $150. Email lisa.parker@michiganforests.org for more information
June 24-27, 2019 – Great Lakes Watershed Field Course. A handful of slots remain for this four-day field course with Inland Seas in Suttons Bay near Traverse City. Collect water and data onboard the ISEA schooner while networking with other Great Lakes educators. Email srustem@schoolship.org
July, Three sessions available - Moosewatch for Educators at Isle Royale: three unique field experiences held for one week blocks this July. There are still a handful of openings for this rare experience to support the ecological study of wolves on Isle Royale National Park. There are 45 SCECHs available for this program. For more information contact Ken Vrana at kjvrana@mtu.edu.
August 4- 9 - ANR North: Michigan DNR’s UP Teacher Academy: An extension of the DNR’s Academy of Natural Resources, ANR North offers a broader scope of field, and Lake Superior, experiences in August. Exploring a bat hibernaculum, visiting North America’s largest predator/prey study, boarding a DNR fisheries research vessel for a day on Lake Superior and more. Only a few openings remain. Go to michigan.gov/anr or email Fraileyk@michigam.gov for more information.
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Salmon Summit a success!
Michigan’s Salmon in the Classroom Program celebrated more than two decades of longevity with a weekend workshop Jan. 11-13. Forty educators, and many guest speakers, converged at the DNR’s RAM Center to learn about Great Lakes issues, fisheries management, and innovative research and technology. “From just a handful of schools in the late 1990’s to 270 today, Salmon in the Classroom has become a premiere Michigan education program” said DNR Aquatic Education Coordinator Tracy Page. “It was great to get so many SIC practitioners together again to network and share experiences.” Page intends to hold another Salmon Summit in the summer of 2020.
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MAEOE Wildlife Weekend creates a buzz!
Most educators have visited the DNR’s RAM Center in the summer months, either at the long-lived, but now extirpated, Teachers Environmental School or today’s Academy of Natural Resources. Yet, the winter months bring incredible beauty to the Higgins Lake area. On Feb. 1-3, the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education offered its first Wildlife Weekend: presenting two natural history courses to 26 eager participants. Holt High School teacher and Mammal Mania instructor Bill Hodges is excited for future events like this one. “I think this will be a great step for MAEOE and their contributions to statewide environmental education. Winter at the RAM is incredibly beautiful." Stay tuned for next year’s program.
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Nature Center Summit lures 100!
Many Michigan nature centers, zoos and conservation districts offer environmental education programming in nonformal settings statewide. Yet their staff seldom have opportunities to learn the latest science behind resource management. Jon Spieles, DNR Field Manager for Education Programming was eager to change this dynamic. “We had 100 participants, many of whom drove through poor weather, willing to learn from our state’s professional managers and most knowledgeable scientists," he said. Topics included wildlife disease, invasive carp, forest health, predator management and others. The summit was a collaboration of nonformal environmental education organizations. A Nature Center Summit 2020 may well be on its way next winter!
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MSTA a huge success
Environmental and outdoor education was front and center at this year’s Michigan Science Teachers Association annual conference in Grand Rapids March 1-2. Theme rooms hosted by both DNR and MAEOE brought hundreds of educators through the doors wanting to learn new information about programs or gain new methods and activities to use in the classroom. Mark your calendar now for next year’s conference in Lansing, March 6-7.
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