News
Please support IdEEA during this year’s Earth Gives fundraiser! Participating in this nationwide drive to fund environmental organizations will help support our EE mission here in Idaho. Donations open on September 6 and culminate in the Earth Gives day on October 1. Please visit https://www.earthgives.org/organization/IdEEA and give what you can!
Applications are open for Treasure Valley students to join the Placer Institute project this fall. IdEEA is proud to be a sponsor of this youth-led climate action project funded by the City of Boise and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The ideas posed at the Placer Institute are central to understanding a world of unstable climate. Throughout five weekend sessions held at the Foothills Learning Center this fall, students will work toward answering (1) What does it mean to inhabit a place well?, (2) What does it mean to develop with the land?, and (3) What is the value of crafting pedagogy from a particular place and climate? Apply HERE by September 18.
Announcing the inaugural George Masa Youth Conservation Photography Prize. This competition is designed to inspire middle and high school students to connect with and protect the natural world through the art of photography. Open to participants aged 11-18, the contest invites young photographers to explore and capture the beauty and challenges of our environment across five categories: Wildlife, Landscape, Water, Climate Change, and Sustainable Practices. There are cash prizes up for grabs, and the winners' work will be showcased on their website and social media platforms. The contest ends on October 31st. Full details on how to participate are at: https://georgemasafoundation.org/youth-conservation-photography-prize
Take Me Outside Day is October 23! We invite you to participate in this annual event to take learning outdoors. Visit https://takemeoutside.ca/tmoday/ to register and join 100+ partners in encouraging folks to head beyond the four walls of a classroom. There is something for all ages, grades, and subjects under the three central themes of Indigenous Perspectives & Knowledge, Health & Wellbeing, and Climate Change & Environmental Education.
Professional Workshops
Two book groups this month! Reading Wildly will be discussing Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet on September 8 (free but registration is required). The IdEEA-sponsored book study of “What an Owl Knows” will be September 9 (details and registration info HERE).
Two Project Learning Tree workshops this fall, idahoforests.org/plt.
September 17, 4:00 – 5:00 PST / 5:00 – 6:00 MST: Supporting Students Social Emotional Learning (SEL) through Nature-based Activities. Explore Project Learning Tree’s Connecting for Health and Planet, a theme-based series for third through eighth-grade educators that invites learners to investigate how being outside—and among trees, specifically—provides people with many different physical, emotional, social, and learning benefits. The first 5 attendees of this FREE 1-hour webinar will get a free digital copy!
October 29, November 19, and December 3. 7-8:30 pm (MT)/6-7:30 pm (PT): Idaho Ecosystems with WILD, WET & PLT. In this interactive virtual class, receive training and award-winning materials from Project WILD, Project WET, and Project Learning Tree, with which you will engage upper elementary students in learning about Idaho ecosystems. The class includes three synchronous Zoom sessions, with most coursework done separately on your own. For part of the class, you will choose one of the curricula (WILD, WET, or PLT) to explore in more depth and will receive that program’s comprehensive activity guide(s). You will leave the course with plans to use materials from the course with students, both indoors and out. Fee $45;1 PD credit for an additional $60.
Fall workshops from the Outdoor Learning Store are now open for registration. There are some great sessions planned so be sure to register now at https://outdoorlearningstore.com/workshops/.
Two EE conference opportunities in Washington state:
October 12: Both formal and non-formal educators are invited to the Washington Science Teachers Association (WSTA) conference (in person in Spokane with a virtual option), with keynote speaker Hazen Audel.
November 15-17: Outdoor, environmental, and sustainability educators are invited to the Growing Together conference at the Cispus Learning Center in Randle, WA in mid November.
Resources & Grants
Introducing Walking Softer, a free, hands-on and solutions-oriented sustainability program for high school students. This education program is designed to be used in the classroom or in club/after-school settings, and includes NGSS-aligned learning activities, as well as resources and funding for student-led community projects. Teachers can learn more about the program, view the learning materials, see scholarship opportunities for juniors and seniors, and register for a $1000 teacher stipend and up to $2000 of funding to support student projects on their website: https://www.walkingsofter.org/learning-materials.
Employment/Student/Volunteer Opportunities
Upcoming Events
September 6: Earth Gives fundraising begins - thank you for your support!
September 8: Reading Wildly Book Club
September 9: What an Owl Knows book study (online)
September 13: NAAEE 2024 early bird registration deadline
September 17: FREE Supporting Students Social Emotional Learning (SEL) through Nature-based Activities
September 18: Placer Institute application deadline
October 2: Idaho Women’s Charitable Foundation (IWCF) 2024 - Our Shared Environment: LEAD! (Learn - Engage - Adapt - Discuss) in Boise. Featuring Dr. Jonathon Foley from Project Drawdown and Dana Gunders of ReFED.
October 21-25: Take Me Outside week
October 29: Idaho Ecosystems with WILD, WET & PLT
November 7-9: NAAEE 2024: Building Bridges in Pittsburgh, PA
November 12-15: Idaho Earth to Sky in Grand Teton National Park, WY
November 15-17: Washington’s Growing Together conference for outdoor, environmental, and sustainability educators
IdEEA Updates
Climate curriculum available! We have units for grades 5-12 based on the Idaho Climate-Economy Impacts Assessment and tied to the Idaho Science Standards for a place-based discussion of climate variability relevant to Idaho’s students. See the full list of lessons at https://www.idahoee.org/climate-curriculum.
Support EE in Idaho by becoming an IdEEA member today! Stay current with all our updates: subscribe to this newsletter and follow our blog at idahoee.org. If you have an interest in supporting our mission more fully but don’t have the capacity to be on the board, join one of our committees. Any active members are eligible to meet with a committee to help with specific events and projects. Let us know you’re interested by emailing communications@idahoee.org under the subject “Committees” and we’ll connect you to the correct Committee Chair.
About this newsletter - We bring you the latest Environmental Education resources, events, and opportunities from around Idaho, now once per month. You can be a part of this process by sharing resources, events, jobs, etc. with communications@idahoee.org under the subject “Newsletter.” Grow our reach by sharing this message with your contacts and having them subscribe to our mailing list at http://idahoee.org. If this message has reached you in error and you’d like to be removed, you can unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this message.
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