Jefferson County Public School Teachers and Students Enjoy Immersive EE Experiences

Thanks to funding from the Norton Foundation and through special partnerships with Kentucky Waterways Alliance and Jefferson County Public Schools, KAEE recently facilitated four in-depth outdoor experiences for teachers and students at the Louisville Nature Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

“We were so pleased to be able to collaborate on this project that provided environmental education professional learning sessions for more than a dozen educators and a memorable field trip for 120 eighth-grade students from Farnsley Middle School,” said Katherine Bullock, outreach director at KAEE. “Bringing both educators and students out to a local park and highlighting Beargrass Creek through such an immersive experience was truly special for all involved.”

As part of the program, students and teachers had the opportunity to search for macroinvertebrates in Beargrass Creek, experience a riparian zone with multiple senses, play aquatic wildlife games, hike through the woods, and more.

Katherine was joined by Olivia Kaiser, Education Programs Manager at Louisville Nature Center, to co-facilitate the professional development sessions, and the two were joined by Louisville Nature Center staff and executive director Rebecca Minnick to lead the field trip events. All programs included Project WET and Aquatic WILD activities around and in Beargrass Creek in Louisville. The experience, in addition to some pre- and post-work, certified the 13 participating teachers in Project WET and Project Aquatic WILD curriculum programs, which offer more than 100 activities with correlations to the three-dimensions of science and the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science.

Because of the funding from the Norton Foundation, there was no cost for educators to participate in the experience. Transportation for the students was also covered, which helped make it possible for the students to have such an immersive, engaging experience.

"It was wonderful to see and hear students laughing and calling out with excitement as they found their first crawdad in the creek,” Katherine said. “Learning about macroinvertebrates by turning over rocks and fishing critters out with a net versus seeing them on a worksheet or Chromebook was incredibly special. Many students said it was their first time exploring a creek ever, and some did not want to leave. These are the kinds of days students will remember for a long time.”

The program and curriculum, one teacher said, were “very engaging, very accessible, and extremely interesting. I can't wait to take some of what I learned back into the classroom!”

The students and fellow teachers agreed that the program was invaluable. “Environmental stewardship and proactive change start with getting people to care about the environment,” Katherine said. “And I believe the experiences the teachers and students recently had in Beargrass Creek planted many seeds of curiosity and care in the hearts of participants.”

Kentucky Educators Are Invited to Go Outside for 5

National campaign calls upon teachers to support student wellness by learning outside

The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Affiliate Network, including KAEE, has launched a pledge campaign called Outside for 5 encouraging teachers and educators across the country to engage in outdoor learning for at least five minutes a day, five days a week, or any meaningful amount of time.

The Outside for 5 campaign was developed in response to the pandemic-related decline in youth mental health and the associated impact on classroom educators who have faced increased levels of burnout. With many Kentucky students and teachers returning to school after a chaotic two years, the campaign is focused on engaging school communities in outdoor learning as a way to provide a more enriching and healthy learning environment.

“Our goal with this campaign is to inspire educators to think outside the box when it comes to enhancing the social-emotional wellness of their students, each other, and their entire school community,” said Sarah Bodor, NAAEE’s Director of Policy & Affiliate Relations. “We want kids to get outside and experience the benefits of nature’s classroom.”

There is a large and growing body of evidence-based research that demonstrates the benefits of outdoor learning for mental health and well-being, stress reduction, physical health, student engagement, and academic success. Outdoor educational experiences also offer schools and districts an opportunity to ignite learning which addresses both socio and emotional well-being as well as learning loss.

KAEE invites educators of all grade levels to sign the Outside for 5 pledge online at outsidefor5.com and commit to spending at least 5 minutes a day outside with their students. Whether that means teaching a classroom lesson outside, studying the local ecosystem, or taking a short walk across the school campus, everyone can benefit from going Outside for 5.

About the NAAEE Affiliate Network

The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Affiliate Network supports the many types of educators who teach concepts we all need to understand: how natural systems work, what we must do to interact responsibly with the environment, and how we can protect natural resources for future generations. We are the largest network of environmental educators in North America. Collectively, we inspire educators, schools, and communities to impact conservation, education, social justice, health and wellness, and positive youth development. Find your Affiliate: https://naaee.org/our-partners/affiliates.

KAEE Member Feature: Emily Hogue

This month we feature a long-time KAEE member and environmental educator with a passion for expanding the reach of EE in Kentucky. Emily serves as an Assistant Director in the Information and Education Division at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Read on to learn a bit more about her work!

KAEE: Can you tell us a little more about your work in the field of EE and what particularly inspires you?

Emily: I’m currently working to enhance the capacity of our conservation camps to offer additional outdoor experiences outside of our traditional summer camp season. The ultimate outcome would model other states that require high school graduates to have an outdoor experience as part of their required curriculum before graduation. How amazing would it be for every child to graduate having had a positive, meaningful experience in nature?

KAEE: What goals do you have for your organization or programs within the EE field?

Emily: One of the major goals is to share the resources that the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has to offer K-12 educators. We have conservation educators who cover every county across the state and present conservation education programs to students in grades four through six. We also offer a week-long conservation camp to students in the fourth through sixth grades. We have three camps across the state, on Kentucky Lake (in Marshall County), Lake Cumberland (in Wayne County), and Grayson Lake (in Carter County). We work closely with a nonprofit, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to offer scholarships. So, if you have a student who is limited by financial resources, we will find a way to get them to camp!

In addition to our conservation education in the schools and conservation camp program, we offer a Teacher’s Tacklebox and National Archery in the Schools program. If anyone is interested in more information, please let me know.

KAEE: What is an area you feel you could use support in from this network of fellow educators?

Emily: I believe one of the biggest areas would be working collaboratively and creating new partnerships that would effectively expand our ability to deliver programs and services to broader groups. We can better achieve the goal of providing outdoor recreation opportunities to broader, nontraditional audiences if we have partners with expertise and trust in their communities of work.

KAEE: Share a fun fact or random tidbit about yourself with the group!

Emily: Many moons ago, I was a horse-mounted Park Ranger in Tennessee.