KAEE Member Feature: Lisa Deavers

This month we feature an environmental educator and the owner and founder of Wild About Simpson County, Lisa Deavers. Lisa has a passion for increasing participation in local environmental education efforts and has developed some great programs for her community. We had a chance to catch up with her recently. KAEE: Can you tell us a little more about your work in the field of EE and what particularly inspires you? Lisa: Whether it’s in your backyard or a local park, Wild About Simpson County encourages folks to learn and discover their “wild side” and aims to raise awareness of the natural resources available within our small community. Wild also provides information on how communities can work to protect these resources for future generations. As a retired ‘accidental’ park naturalist, I enjoy engaging people in activities such as creek cleanups, happy hour paddles on Drakes Creek, and Earth Day activities. Five years ago, a pair of eagles built a nest two miles from our farm. I’ve been monitoring them and using this as an opportunity to educate our community about eagles as well as the importance of the water quality of Drakes Creek. KAEE: What goals do you have for your organization or programs within the EE field?

Lisa: I hope to establish mini day camps that focus on fun environmental activities. A huge goal would be to have a camera on the eagle nest so we could provide a feed to our school students.

KAEE: What is an area you feel you could use support in from this network of fellow educators? Lisa: Resources. Since it's been a few years since I've actively worked in the field, with the public, with KAEE, I’m working to develop those connections for resources for programs to incorporate into programming that would best serve my community. KAEE: What is something you feel could be beneficial to share with this network? Lisa: You are never too old to start something new (or return to doing something you love), and you can always learn something from everyone you encounter. KAEE: Share a fun fact or random tidbit about yourself with the group. Lisa: The Wild About Simpson County logo contains several Kentucky state species except the state bird. I chose the blue jay because my dad always called me “jaybird."

Join Us at the SEEA Conference this Fall!

Join us in Georgia this fall for the 10th Annual SEEA Conference and Research Symposium! The event will be held in conjunction with the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia's 30th Anniversary Conference and will take place from Sept. 28 - Oct. 1 at Unicoi State Park.

Here is the general run of show:

Sept. 29: Research Symposium / Field Trips / Conference (2 meals provided - dinner on your own)

Sept. 30: Conference Sessions (3 meals provided)

Oct. 1: Conference Sessions end at noon (breakfast provided); post-conference workshops (additional fee / includes lunch)

Early Bird registration is open through July 15 at the non-member rate of $230. That rate will increase to $280 on July 16. A Student / Senior / Hardship rate of $175 is also available for those in need. Learn more and register here.

40 Educators Gather for KAEE's Annual Outdoor Learning Symposium

On Thursday, June 2, 40 educators gathered at East Jessamine Middle School in Nicholasville for a day of learning, connections, and fun. The event was Kentucky Association for Environmental Education’s annual Outdoor Learning Symposium, which inspires and activates K-12 educators and administrators to integrate outdoor learning and environmental education into their existing curriculum and school day routines.

“It was so refreshing to gather again in person for this annual event full of collaboration and learning,” said KAEE outreach director Katherine Bullock. “It’s always a delight to meet the ‘boots on the ground’ teachers and administrators who care deeply about connecting their students to the outdoors and finding new ways to integrate environmental education into the lives of their students.”

The event has two separate strands, one designed for classroom teachers, and one for administrators, such as principals, assistant and associate principals, department team leaders, professional development directors, school district leaders.

This year, the teacher strand included sessions about the many ways environmental education can support three-dimensional learning and the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science; how to manage place, time, materials, and behavior expectations when teaching outdoors; active water projects taking place in Kentucky and how local river basin coordinators can support (and visit) teachers’ classrooms; and how to simplify the gardening experience by using seed mats, which make it possible for students to participate in both the planning and planting process.

Teachers spent much of their time in the outdoors, getting first-hand hands-on experience with environmental education lessons. Activities included modeling of outdoor classroom management skills, demonstrations of interdisciplinary uses of the school grounds, practical turn-key lessons that can be adapted to any age group, and ways to effectively pitch the idea of outdoor learning to school administrators.

As part of the administrator strand, attendees learned about the research-based benefits of outdoor learning and EE at school; how to identify and fund outdoor learning opportunities for their schools (including how to write grants, crowdfund, and seek community sponsorships); administrator perspectives on the benefits of using the outdoors as a classroom; and how experiences in the outdoors can help facilitate the instructional practices and emphasize the three-dimensional thinking needed to demonstrate understanding of the science KY Academic Standards.

Delivering the keynote was Rae McEntyre, K-12 Science consultant at the Kentucky Department of Education. Rae been at the Department of Education for the past 13 years, after spending 20 years teaching high school biology and earth science. Rae is a member of the KAEE Board of Directors and a certified professional environmental educator. Rae discussed the ways outdoor learning and environmental education are distinct but intertwined and how hands-on, interdisciplinary learning is crucial to both. The final session of the day was “Community Partner Speed Networking,” where attendees had the opportunity to meet with representatives from EE organizations around the state. Those who were present to share information about their work and how they can help teachers and administrators incorporate EE into their schools were Bluegrass Greensource, EcoGro, the Kentucky Department of Education, the Kentucky Division of Air Quality, the Kentucky Environmental Education Council, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, Lexington Parks and Recreation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Kentucky is so lucky to have such wonderful resources to enhance outdoor learning and EE in the classroom,” Katherine said. “We so much appreciate all of the volunteers from our various community partners who came to share ways they can support classroom teachers and school districts.” The Outdoor Learning Symposium was funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under §319(h) of the Clean Water Act and in partnership with the Kentucky Division of Water as the state host for the Project WET program. A special thanks to our site hosts, East Jessamine Middle School and Emily Sorrell (sixth-grade science teacher at East Jessamine Middle).