(Excerpt from EPA website) The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is proud to announce the 2011-2012 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators. As discussed in the “America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations” report, in order to make environmental stewardship and conservation relevant to young Americans, environmental and place-based, experiential learning must be integrated into school curricula and school facility management across the country. This program recognizes outstanding K-12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education and use the environment as a context for learning for their students. Two teachers from each EPA Region will be selected to receive this award.

To be linked to the site, click here

Since you’re reading this, you probably already take your students outside to learn; you likely understand the benefits of getting kids outside and know how to structure your outdoor lessons to avoid chaos.

Usually, outdoor lessons are planned and tightly structured; students are directed to learn about nature with lessons about ecology, natural history, art, science.

This week, with the unusually warm weather we are experiencing in Wisconsin, why not be a bit less structured and take the kids out to learn in the outdoors? Instead of teaching them about nature, simply conduct a lesson or part of a lesson outside; whether on the playground, in the school forest, or on a patch of grass right outside the door.

So, if you’re not teaching about nature, what can you do outside? Well, you can simply do some of the typical indoor activities outdoors.

Start by asking yourself:

• Will my students be reading as a class?
• Will the kids be reading together or alone?
• Will they be writing in a journal?
• Will your class engage in a group discussion?
• Will they have some time to begin their homework?
• Will your they be working in groups or with a partner?
  

Any of these activities can be successful outside.

Next, make sure your students understand your expectations and the outdoor classroom’s boundaries. This will be especially important if you aren't typically doing these common classroom activities outside.

You can even give your outdoor classroom more order by assigning a job to students who need more structure, just as you might do inside. Giving a student a responsibility, such as note taker or discussion facilitator will help keep the entire class engaged and on task.

I hope you’ll take advantage of the beautiful weather with a change of pace and give your students a new perspective.

The 2011 State Conservation and Speaking Contest date is November 5, 2011, in Waupaca. For more information about the contest, please visit their website

Hello LEAF Moodle Network. We are really excited to announce that the iTunes App Store has approved the new app "Key to Woody Plants of Wisconsin Forests"! It is now available for public distribution as a free educational app, and can be found on the iStore. Click here to be linked directly.

For those without an iPhone or iTouch, the key itself is available as a printable paper key too:Click here for the printable version.

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you know who might find the key a useful tool for their tree identification needs!