The Kentucky Association for Environmental Education (KAEE) hosted the 7th annual Outdoor Learning Symposium on May 30th at Northside Elementary School in Midway, Kentucky. Sixty-three educators and administrators from across the state participated in interactive sessions focusing on outdoor learning and environmental education.
Outdoor Learning Sessions
The day started with the Keynote address “Education for Homecoming,” given by Dr. Leah Baynes, director of The Farm and Forest Institute, one of four branches of The Berry Center that grew naturally from the work of Kentucky writer, farmer, and teacher Wendell Berry. Dr. Bayens invited everyone to reflect on how outdoor education plays a critical (and creaturely) role in an imperative lesson: how to make ourselves at home–that is, how to live well with and from a place.
The topics covered during the symposium included teaching and managing students outdoors, engaging students in the Kentucky Green Schools program, connecting curriculum and standards to place, and how connection with nature can build resilience in students. Sessions also included real-life examples from participants of the Kentucky Green Schools program and teachers from Northside Elementary and how they incorporated environmental education into their curriculum at nearby Walter Bradley Park through a partnership with Bluegrass Greensource.
The KY Department of Agriculture set up its Mobile Science Activity Center for demonstrations. A session hosted by KAEE discussed data collected from schools across the Southeast region of the United States and sought the input of teachers and administrations in the session regarding how KAEE can support schools in building more outdoor spaces and environmental education into their curriculum.
Before the event came to a close, Woodford County Judge Executive James Kay said a few words to encourage the educators of Woodford County and Kentucky and to remind them how important environmental education is for our students and our world.
“It was refreshing to see that you can implement quality education outdoors without an expensive outdoor classroom and a boatload of materials. You can accomplish this with little to no materials as long as you know what you are doing and why you are going outdoors.” -OLS Educator
Kentucky Green Schools Recognition
KAEE announced the winner of the Kentucky Green Schools School of the Year award, Community Montessori School, in Lexington, KY. Lead teacher, Erin Rush, and her Green Team students were invited to attend and receive their award.
Tichenor Middle School teacher Steven McNabb and his Green Team were also honored at the Outdoor Learning Symposium for reaching the Silver Level of recognition during the last school year.
Community Partner Networking
Educators ended the day with a Community Partner Networking Session where they connected with local partners who support outdoor learning for students. The community partners represented included:
Bluegrass Greensource | The Creative School | Free Forest School | Friends of Walter Bradley Park |
Huntertown Community Interpretive Park | KY Association of Conservation Districts | KY Environmental Education Council | KY Division of Forestry |
KY Division of Water | KY Farm to School Network | KY Water Research Institute | Life Adventure Center |
Locust Trace Agriscience Center—The Kentucky Castle Partnership | Rail Explorers | Raven Run Nature Sanctuary | Redwood Cooperative School |
Seedleaf | Woodford Co. Cooperative Extension 4-H | Woodford Co. Free Forest School | Woods & Waters Land Trust |
“Getting kids outside in any capacity helps all of us in so many ways.” -OLS Educator
KAEE would like to thank each of the speakers of the event:
Dr. Leah Baynes, The Berry Center Farm and Forest Institute
Ashley Hoffman, KAEE
Brittany Wray, KAEE
Kalee Gregg, KY Department of Agriculture
Kristen Taylor, Northside Elementary
Kyle Yarrow, Life Adventure Center
Perry Thomas, KAEE
Rachel Patton, Bluegrass Greensource
Vivian Bowles, Retired Teacher, Madison County Schools
They’d also like to extend a special thanks to Northside Elementary School and Principal Scott Hundley for hosting and to Woodford County Schools for including the symposium in their Best Practices Academy and opening up this professional development opportunity to all of their teachers.
This year’s symposium had numerous sponsors who helped make it happen, including Kentucky Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s Implementation Committee, Woodford County Conservation District, Central Equipment Company, and Wallace Station who donated the dessert for lunch.
KAEE’s Outdoor Learning Symposium Action Team is Responsible for planning the OLS each year. Thank you to this year’s action team members:
Perry Thomas Kentucky Association for Environmental Education co-chair | Vivian Ross Woodford County Conservation District co-chair |
Ryan Asher Woodford County Board of Education | Jennifer Huefner Woodford County Conservation District |
Scott Hundley Northside Elementary | Susan Tracy Woodford County Board of Education |
Kyle Yarrow Life Adventure Center |
The Outdoor Learning Symposium is an annual event held in a different location in Kentucky. This event is designed to meet the needs of PreK-12 administrators and teachers interested in exploring ways to engage students in environmental education (EE) experiences and cross-curricular outdoor learning. You can learn more about the Outdoor Learning Symposium on our website.
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