2011 NAAEE Award Nominations Due May 1st!

April 25th, 2011 by Sarah

The 2010 NAAEE award winners were honored at the 39th annual conference in Buffalo, New York. Photo Courtesy of NAAEE.

The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) seeks to recognize individuals and organizations that excel at Environmental Education. Award recipients will be honored with a recycled glass trophy during the 2011 Annual Conference in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, at the NAAEE Awards Luncheon on Saturday, October 15, 2011. Awards will be presented in the following categories:

  • The Walter E. Jeske Award: This award is given to recognize service to NAAEE and leadership within the field of environmental education.
  • The Rosa Parks and Grace Lee Boggs Outstanding Service Award: This award is presented annually to an individual in recognition of their leadership to educate about and promote action that addresses environmental justice concerns at the local, regional, or global levels.
  • Outstanding Service to Environmental Education by an Individual: This award is given to individuals to recognize their efforts in promoting and providing EE leadership at the local, regional, and global level.
  • Outstanding Service to Environmental Education by an Organization: This award is presented to organizations to recognize their efforts in promoting and providing EE leadership at the local, regional, and global levels.
  • Outstanding Contributions to Research in Environmental Education Award:  This award is given each year to an individual who has exhibited a commitment to EE research through activities
  • Outstanding NAAEE Affiliate Organization Award: This award is presented annually to recognize the importance, vitality, and accomplishments of EE associations affiliated with NAAEE

To learn more about the award categories, visit the NAAEE Awards Page. You or the nominee must be a member of NAAEE. Hurry and submit your nominations, the deadline is May 1st!

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Sarah Brzezinski works for the Chesapeake Research Consortium as the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship and Education Workgroup Team Staffer. She also serves as the content manager of Bay Backpack.

Why Teach about Terrapins?

April 18th, 2011 by Sarah

Diamondback terrapins are a medium-sized turtle with a broad gray, black, or light brown top shell, also known as a carapace, that is patterned with diamond-shaped concentric circles. Photo courtesy of Willem M. Roosenburg, Ph.D., Ohio University via the Maryland State Archives.

The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is a symbol of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and has been Maryland’s official state reptile since 1994.  The diamondback terrapin is also the mascot of the University of Maryland. This predator is the only North American species of turtle that lives exclusively in brackish water (water that is less salty then sea water, but more salty then fresh water).

Why Should YOU Teach about Terrapins?

In your classroom, you can use terrapins to teach students about a wide variety of topics.  Terrapins can be used to teach about life cycles, ecosystems, predator-prey relationships, and animal adaptations.  Teaching about how humans impact diamondback terrapin populations can also help teachers introduce topics such as pollution, development, global climate change, sea level rise, and more!

In the early 1900s, diamondback terrapin were considered a popular gourmet food and unregulated harvesting resulted in a population decline.  In Maryland, taking or possessing terrapins for commercial purposes became illegal in 2007. However, diamondback terrapins can still be harmed by human recreation activities; turtles can become entangled in abandoned fishing nets or hit by motor boats. Talking about terrapins in the classroom can help teach students to be responsible stewards of the environment.

How Can YOU Teach about Terrapins?

There is no lack of resources that can help you incorporate terrapins into your classroom lessons. Here are some to help you get started:

Lessons and Programs:

Diamondback Terrapin Resources:

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Sarah Brzezinski works for the Chesapeake Research Consortium as the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship and Education Workgroup Team Staffer. She also serves as the content manager of Bay Backpack.

Reading the Environment

April 11th, 2011 by Megan

You can engage your students in learning about the environment by reading to them! Photo courtesy of the San Jose Library via Creative Commons.

Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species — man — acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world.

There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond to the mysterious forces that create the tide.”

With these words Rachel Carson initiated a tide change of her own.  Silent Spring, published in 1962, sparked the environmental movement by alerting Americans to ecological dangers associated with widespread application of unexamined pesticides such as DDT.  A wealth of environmental literature, fiction and non-fiction, is available for readers of all ages.  Why not celebrate Environmental Education Week or Earth Day with a book?

Beginning Reader Recommendations

The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss’ Lorax speaks for the trees in a story that warns children of the ecological dangers of smogulous smog and teaches the hope that comes with planting seeds.

A Day in the Salt March, by Kevin Kurtz, illustrations by Consie Powell

This book describes with rhyming verse and bright illustrations all of the bustling activity that takes place in a marsh in one day.

Animal Poems of the Iguazu, by Francisco X. Alarcon, illustrations by Maya Christina Gonzalez

Children can use this book’s colorful illustrations and poems describing creatures found in the Iguazu National Park to appreciate the differences between wildlife in the Bay watershed and around the globe.

Advanced Reader Recommendations

Walden, by Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau describes a two year period he spent living on Walden Pond. This book outlines the author’s thoughts on an individual’s independence and society’s interactions with the natural world.

A Sand County Almanac, by Leopold Aldo

This collection of essays by Wisconsin ecologist Leopold Aldo offer ideas on environmental ethics and dilemmas surrounding the real world application of conservation practices.

Ishmael: An Adventure of Mind and Spirit, by Daniel Quinn

This novel, which earned the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award, is a classic story of man and telepathic ape. The author explores philosophies behind sustainable living and leaves readers to answer the question “With man gone will there be hope for gorilla?”

For additional resources please visit the Environmental Literacy Council, or your local library.

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Megan Hession is the Chesapeake Bay Program's Habitat Team Staffer.

Celebrate Earth Day All Month Long

April 4th, 2011 by Sarah

Earth Day is a great opportunity to engage children in learning about their environment. Photo courtesy of US FWS via Creative Commons, photographer Rick L. Hansen.

Earth Day was founded by Unites States Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin as a “national teach-in on the environment,” and was first held on April 22, 1970. It became a global event in 1990 with environmentally focused events taking place in 141 countries.  This April, don’t just celebrate Earth Day on the 22nd, make it a month long celebration!  Here are some resources and events to help you get started:

National Environmental Education Week: In 2011, National Environmental Education Week (EE Week), the nation’s largest environmental event, will be held from April 10-16.  Here in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed we will be celebrating the 2011 EE Weeks’s focus on Ocean Connections in the nation’s largest estuary!

National Park Week: Celebrate National Parks Week from April 16-24, 2011 in one of our 364 national parks! This year’s focus, Healthy Parks, Healthy People, highlights the connection between human and environmental health and the vital role America’s national parks play in both.

International Year of the Forest: The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. Learn more on their website!

US EPA Earth Day Website: This website contains information on how to find and get involved in local Earth Day Activities. It also provides teachers with links to EPA environmentally focused lesson plans

Tools to Reduce Waste in Schools: Use this resource to help your school and school district reduce the amount of waste you generate. This detailed resource will guide you through how to conduct a waste assessment and tell you how to start a waste reduction program or expand an existing one.

The Quest for Less: Activities and Resources for Teaching K-8: The Quest for Less is designed for teachers to use as one of the many tools in the development of lesson plans. The activities and concepts in this resource can be used to commemorate Earth Day through their focus on Natural Resources, Products, Waste, Source Reduction, Recycling, Composting, Landfills and Combustion, and Putting it all Together.

Bay Backpack Teacher Resources: Use our Teacher Resources section to find an activity or lesson plan related to the Chesapeake Bay for your Earth Day event!

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Sarah Brzezinski works for the Chesapeake Research Consortium as the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship and Education Workgroup Team Staffer. She also serves as the content manager of Bay Backpack.