Connecting Through Conferences

October 1st, 2012 by Sarah

Bay Backpack table at the 2012 MAEOE Conference.

Environmental education and conservation themed conferences offer a great opportunity for professional development.  They can help connect formal and informal educators with new teaching resources, funding opportunities, technology, and the most up-to-date research on the topics you teach and the pedagogy that informs your methods of instruction.

In the mid-Atlantic region, we are lucky to have many opportunities to engage in and learn about the outdoors and environmental education.  Check out some of the upcoming conferences in our area:

2012 Natural Areas Conference
Join conservation professionals from around the country in Norfolk, Virginia for the 2012 Natural Areas Conference, hosted by the Natural Areas Association (NAA) with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils (NAEPPC). This year’s conference will address keeping natural areas programs relevant in today’s world and natural areas resilient in the face of change. Don’t miss the chance to connect with and learn from others working in fields related to natural areas conservation.

  • When: October 9-12
  • Where: Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Norfolk, Virginia

2012 MAMEA Conference: Aquatic Conservation Science through Research and Education
Join educators from the Mid-Atlantic region to celebrate marine education Chesapeake Bay style. The 2012 MAMEA (Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Association) conference will be held on the campus of the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Horn Point Lab on the shores of the Choptank River in Cambridge, MD.  Participants will have the opportunity to learn about all things aquatic during presentations by invited speakers, concurrent sessions and field trips.  Saturday’s schedule will also allow time for conference participants to tour the Horn Point Lab facilities during their open house.

  • When: October 12-14, 2012
  • Where: University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Horn Point Lab in Cambridge, MD

Virginia Naturally’s 2012 Environmental Education Conference
This conference, running from October 25-26, 2012, will bring together education and natural resource personnel to celebrate this year’s theme of “Enhancing Environmental Through Heritage and Biodiversity.”  Conference strands will provide opportunities for participants to learn about Virginia’s plant and wildlife diversity, geological history, energy resources, and the cultural significance of the Crooked Road.  Environmental policy and laws, and best practices in environmental education will also be covered.

  • When: October 25-26, 2012
  • Where: Hungry Mother State Park in Marion, Virginia.

MAEOE 2013 Annual Conference
The annual MAEOE (Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education) conference is a venue where environmental education professionals come to share their strategies, methods, and best practices with their colleagues.  This year, conference strands will focus on Natural History and Natural Sciences, Hot Button Topics, Technology and Environmental Education, Leave No Child Inside, Capacity Building & Outreach, Greening Maryland’s Schools, and Healthy Foods, Healthy People.  Be a part of the excitement by improving Environmental Education in Maryland!

  • When: February 7-10, 2013
  • Where: Princess Royale in Ocean City, Maryland.

PAEE Conference 2013
This year, the PAEE (Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators) Conference will focus on “Peak Experiences: Climbing the Summit of Environmental Education.” Conference strands will address early childhood education, K-12 classroom education, non-formal education (for teaching anywhere from aquariums to zoos!), college environmental science and studies, and science and nature.  The conference will also feature Bill B!, the Natural Science Song and Dance Man, and field trips to Pocono sites!

  • When: March 15-16, 2013
  • Where: Bushkill Inn and Conference Center in Bushkill, PA
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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.

NAAEE Call for Presentations

April 2nd, 2012 by Sarah

Share your knowledge at the NAAEE Conference by presenting!

Are you thinking about attending the North American Association for Environmental Education’s annual conference this year?  If so, you should consider sharing your knowledge and experience with other educators. A great way to do this would be to by presenting at either the conference itself or at the research symposium.

The 2012 North American Association for Environmental Education Annual Conference will be held from October 10-13, 2012 in Oakland, California, and the related Research Symposium will take place from October 9-10, 2012.  This year’s conference theme is Gaining Perspective: Seeing EE Through Different Lenses.

The Call for Presentations submission deadline is April 25, 2012! If you are interested in presenting at the conference or research symposium, please visit: http://www.naaee.net/conference/call-for-presentations

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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.

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.

The 2011 MAEOE Conference: Educating for Sustainability

February 21st, 2011 by Sarah

Participants in the “Building Oyster Reef Balls as Habitat in the Chesapeake Bay” session at MAEOE's 2011 Conference actually built an Oyster Reef Ball! Photo courtesy of Sandy August.

This past weekend, I attended the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) Conference to promote Bay Backpack.  The conference was not only a great chance to encourage teachers to use the Bay Backpack website, but a great learning opportunity for me.

Conferences that bring environmental educators together are a great opportunity to learn something new.  With Friday sessions describing how to build and teach about Oyster Reef Balls, Schoolyard Habitats, Rain Gardens, and more, it was impossible not to come away excited about all of the ways to incorporate environmental education into a classroom setting.  Saturday sessions truly had something for everyone.  They addressed everything from Natural Play Spaces and Things that Go “Ribbit” in the Night (Amphibian Call Identification) to Your School and the Chesapeake Bay Executive Order and the Maryland No Child Left Inside and Children in Nature movements.

MAEOE will be posting many of the power points that were presented on their website, so if you would like to learn more about one of the topics that was discussed at the conference, but were unable to attend, be sure to keep checking their website for more information.

Networking is also a key aspect of this type of conference.  I know I met a lot of very nice people who are implementing some very innovative programs in their classrooms.  Making connections, sharing ideas, and learning new things are all an important part of the conference experience.

Next year’s MAEOE Conference will be held February 9 -12, 2012 at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau in Ocean City, Maryland.  I hope to see you there, and in between you may want to check out some of these conferences for some great environmental education networking:

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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.

Going “Guerilla” for Environmental Ed

October 18th, 2010 by Kristin

Presenting about the Chesapeake Bay and Bay Backpack at the NAAEE conference in Buffalo. Photo source: Kristin Foringer

I had the amazing opportunity a few weeks ago to take Bay Backpack to Buffalo, N.Y., for the North American Association for Environmental Educators (NAAEE) conference. I was so excited to be going to spread the word about the Chesapeake Bay and Bay Backpack that I began planning months in advance. I made about 70 fliers and bookmarks and brought sticky notes, pencils and Black-eyed Susan seeds, all with the Bay Backpack logo on them, to pass out to teachers and environmental educators.

Once I arrived in Buffalo, I realized that it may be a little more difficult to pass out these favors than I thought, since I had no table or booth. Did I let that stop me? Oh, no. I took to what my travel companion called “Guerilla Marketing.”

Wherever you went, you saw a Bay Backpack flier. They were in bathrooms, taped to trash cans, and doors, you couldn’t get away from it. If someone was thinking about picking up a brochure about places to eat in Buffalo, they wouldn’t miss my display of bookmarks and pencils laying out for the taking. I was determined to get the word out about Bay Backpack because I truly believe it is a great resource for teachers in and outside of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The best part of this type of approach was that I actually was able to meet people and network. What better way to start a conversation with someone than asking, “Did you see that Bay Backpack flier on the bathroom mirror?”

In all seriousness, I have been to five different conferences since I started at the Chesapeake Bay Program, and this conference was by far the most useful and educational for me. Everyone came from different backgrounds and incorporated environmental education into their professional lives in different ways. Teachers and educators were able to learn about new techniques and ideas to adapt for their own educational purposes. In just three different sessions, I found three guest bloggers to write for Bay Backpack, met new contacts, and came back with a few new lesson plans to share with you (check out some simple ones below)!

I would encourage all Bay Backpack readers to attend an NAAEE conference, or other environmental education conference in your area. You can find great resources and learn new techniques for incorporating environmental ed into your classroom.

Next year’s NAAEE conference is in Raleigh, N.C. Something similar, but more regional, is the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) conference in Hyattsville, Md. in February. Hopefully we will see you there!!

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Lesson Plans From: Nature Explore (Early Education and Elementary School)

An example of a shoe flower pot. Photo source: Instructables

Shoe Pot
What You Will Need: Ask each student to bring in an old shoe that doesn’t fit anymore into school.
What To Do: Have each student plant a small plant in this shoe and sit them all along the window.
What Will this Lesson Do: This instills a sense of responsibility and pride in each student since they are responsible for taking care of their own plant or “shoe”.

Environmental Photography
What You Will Need: A different picture of a leaf or plant for each student, that resembles a distinct shape (hearts and stars are pretty common).
What To Do: Ask the students to look at their picture they are given and make the shape that they see in the picture with their body. Everyone’s pose should be a little different. You may want to ask a few students to come up and share their picture and show how they made the shape. Ask questions like, “How many leaves can you see in the picture?” “What colors are in the picture?”
What Will this Lesson Do: Allow the students to appreciate the details of nature.

Creating Art With Nature
What You Will Need: Pizza box, quick dry cement, plastic wrap, and pieces of nature to use as imprints.
What To Do: Take the pizza boxes and line them with plastic wrap. Pour in enough cement to reach the top and flatten it out. Quickly, have the students press leaves, sticks, rocks…etc into the cement and pull them out, leaving only their imprints behind.
What Will this Lesson Do: Create a fun and easy way to incorporate the environment into art classes.

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Kristin Foringer is the Communications and Development Associate at the Chesapeake Bay Trust. She can be reached at 410-974-2941, ext. 113 or at kforinger@cbtrust.org. Kristin is also a former Environmental Management Staffer at the Chesapeake Bay Program.