Proposed Presentation Title: Gardening with children Abstract: Gardening lessons and activities with elementary school students Brochure Description: This workshop will cover information on creating a gardening program in which students design, prepare, plant, maintain and harvest from the garden. Primary Presenter: Christine McHenry-Glenn
Christine McHenry-Glenn teaches Sustainable Landscape Design courses in the Parks and Recreation Department at Slippery Rock University.
Proposed Presentation Title: Sustainable Agriculture and the Classroom Abstract: Connecting educators with the concepts of sustainable agriculture Brochure Description: Claire and Rusty Orner will connect educators with the concepts of sustainable agriculture and to provide educational resources and networking opportunities within the commonwealth’s sustainable agricultural community. Primary Presenter: Claire Orner
Claire and Rusty Orner are stewards of the non-profit educational facility, Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living, which is a 30-acre sustainable farm located in Brookville, Pennsylvania.
Proposed Presentation Title: The Healthy Earth, Healthy Children Equation Brochure Description: What can connect people more to the earth than an understanding that their health and life come from it? Find out how children in the Kindergarten Initiative are making this connection. Primary Presenter: Bonnie Hallam
Bonnie Hallam is the Associate Director of Early Childhood Initiatives for The Food Trust. Bonnie both develops programs and trains staff to implement early childhood and parent nutrition and agriculture education, including the Kindergarten Initiative, now a statewide funded program under the Healthy Farms, Healthy Schools Act.
Proposed Presentation Title: Cooking For Real with Denise and Yvonne Brochure Description: In this seminar, Denise and Yvonne will provide an educators overview on integrating cooking, health and nutrition, sustainable living and agriculture practices in direct relation to PA standards and teaching modalities. Our presentation will include a practical demonstration as well as support and materials to inspire and assist teachers with hands-on classroom applications. Primary Presenter: Denise Sheehan, Yvonne Post
Denise has combined her love of fresh, whole food cooking with her background in children's nutrition. She has designed and developed a family centered approach to nutrition and fitness through summer camps and afterschool programs.
Yvonne has been an educator and curriculum developer as well as school librarian and Director of Early Education in Bergen County, NJ for the past 15 years.
Proposed Presentation Title: Beyond the Interpretive Hike: Stewardship thru Outdoor Recreation Brochure Description: Many struggle with the question: how can we reconnect people to nature - and encourage stewardship - in this age of computers and video games? Outdoor recreation! We’ll explore DCNR’s “Get Outdoors PA” initiative; head outside for an example program, and brainstorm outdoor recreation ideas for your site. Primary Presenter: Christopher Kemmerer, Natural Resource Specialist - DCNR, Bureau of State Parks Outdoor Recreation Pgm Section.
Proposed Presentation Title: The Best Kept Secret Around! Brochure Description: Seeking an antidote to nature deficit disorder? Try the magic key to connect students to nature! Journaling is the ‘best kept secret’ that seems to do just that. Learn techniques that empower the learner while raising their comfort level. This hands-on, outdoor experience will provide you with a journal, materials and techniques to transfer directly to your site. Primary Presenter: Heidi Mullendore, Environmental Education Specialist - Canoe Creek State Park
Proposed Presentation Title: Connecting Kids With Nature: The Early Years Brochure Description: Early childhood is a window of opportunity to connect kids with nature. Learn how to make daily connections, creating joy and appreciation for nature that will continue into adulthood. This hands-on, outdoors workshop demonstrates how to incorporate daily activities into habits that last. Handouts provided. Primary Presenter: Roy Boyle, Assistant Professor of Education - St. Francis University
Proposed Presentation Title: Classroom Water Festivals Brochure Description: Immerse yourself in hands-on learning, the way Blair County students do during Water Festivals. Plunge from the sublime Gyotaku and Haiku (Japanese fish printing and poetry) to the ridiculous Fish Gut Dance. Catch and release live stream macroinvertebrates and even rain on a polluted model watershed. "How to" handouts provided. Primary Presenter: Jody Wallace, The Creature Teacher - Blair County Conservation District
Proposed Presentation Title: School Recycling Programs (from Waste Audits to Making Crafts out of the Stuff You Find!) Brochure Description: This workshop will give teachers and other education professionals the tools they need to establish or enhance a recycling and waste reduction program in their own schools. We’ll also create some craft items from our finds in the waste audit. Primary Presenter: Jan Arnold, Program Manager - Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP)
Proposed Presentation Title: Trout in the Classroom (TIC) Brochure Description: Pennsylvania TIC is a partnership between Pennsylvania Trout Unlimited and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Designed to incorporate environmental education into school curriculums, TIC is implemented during the school year, September to May. Throughout the school year, students; raise trout from eggs to fry, develop an understanding of connections between healthy watersheds, ecosystems, and communities, monitor aquarium water quality, engage in stream habitat studies, and begin to foster a conservation ethic. Primary Presenter: Staff from PA Trout Unlimited and PA Fish and Boat Commission will introduce the Pennsylvania Trout in the Classroom program including timeline, resources, and curriculums.
Proposed Presentation Title: Permaculture, Experiential Learning, and Nonviolent Communication Brochure Description: Ahimsa Village is an evolving permaculture demonstration site and community resource center located near State College, PA. We strive to create a deeper understanding and concern for the natural world through educational programs that stress enjoyable and active, hands-on learning. Primary Presenter: Bob Flatley and Kelle Kersten
Proposed Presentation Title: Charcoal Iron Making and its effects on the Environment Brochure Description: Deforestation, erosion, air, water, and soil pollution –environmental issues that are a hot topic today. They are also relevant to the past. Charcoal iron production stripped acres of trees, spewed ash into the air, and generated tons of cinder and slag, which was dumped everywhere. But were these effects on the environment truly bad? Join us for a fascinating look into the environmental effects of charcoal iron production, how citizens and government came together to reclaim denuded forest lands, and some of the surprising repercussions lingering today! Primary Presenter: Paul T. Fagley, Cultural Educator - Greenwood Furnace State Park
Proposed Presentation Title: Teaching the Greatest Challenge of Them All: Climate Change Brochure Description: A presentation/discussion of the latest climate change science is followed by hands-on activities for youth related to climate change science, energy conservation, renewable energy, and transportation alternatives. Primary Presenter: Tim Grant, Co-editor - Green Teacher
Proposed Presentation Title: Greening Middle School Brochure Description: Eight guiding principles for reforming education are introduced, along with learning activities that variously explore food systems, calculate ecological footprints, differentiate between needs and wants, and demonstrate interconnectedness. Primary Presenter: Tim Grant, Co-editor - Green Teacher
Proposed Presentation Title: Turning Learning Inside Out Brochure Description: In the summer of 2005, teachers at Park Forest Elementary School (PFE) participated in a PDS course that has ultimately resulted in an ongoing scientific, phenomenological study of our schoolyard since its inception over three years ago. Two teacher inquiries have been written and presented about the Schoolyard Project (SYP); with one addressing student interest and learning and the other identifying curriculum integration needs. To address the blending of the two inquiry outcomes, a survey of teachers was completed that underscored the need for professional development to address teacher concerns. A professional development plan was written and a grant proposal submitted and received to support the teachers in this curriculum integration. Our goals was to take the current curriculum and integrate it with the SYP to extend learning beyond the boundaries of the classroom to another alternative, inviting, and engaging environment. Primary Presenter: Donnan Stoicovy, Elementary Principal - Park Forest Elementary School
Proposed Presentation Title: Virtual Tools for Educators at PCEE.ORG Brochure Description: Don’t reinvent the wheel! PCEE offers a wealth of online tools and resources to help educators teach the Environment and Ecology Standards. We’ll present these tools, including “Critter Quest PA” – a new online, interactive website that helps users explore Pennsylvania’s critters and their habitats. Primary Presenter: Kathleen Paul, PCEE Director
Proposed Presentation Title: A Multi-disciplinary Approach to EE Using Simulations and Public Scholarship Brochure Description: Public Scholarship is a phrase used to describe such things as service learning and getting students engaged with various out-of-class communities. This session will focus on the integration of non-academic resources to teach environmental topics at various levels from high school through graduate school. In fact educators at any level can use this approach. Drs. Hamilton and Vahoviak have worked with people from various disciplines and backgrounds including business directors, food service executives, police officers, maintenance staff, local retirees, local school district members, county planning commissions, and the local YMCA employees have benefited from the Multidisciplinary Approach. Primary Presenter: Jim Hamilton and George Vahoviak
Jim Hamilton is an Assistant Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Science, Technology and Society at Penn State Mont Alto.
George Vahoviak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management at Penn State University Park and a Program Coordinator at Shavers Creek Environmental Center.
Proposed Presentation Title: Slow Food for your Fast Life Brochure Description: A history of the Slow Foods movement that started in Italy in 1986 and will discuss why it is important today, in spite of how busy we all are, to maintain the sanctity of the dinner table, filled with local, healthful foods. I will also do a short cooking demo of a seasonal recipe and serve samples of Tait Farm Raspberry shrub, one of our Slow Food Ark products.
Primary Presenter: Anne Quinn Corr Anne is an instructor in the department of nutritional sciences and teaches a senior level course on international foods for School of Hospitality Management at Penn State. Author of the cookbook/, Seasons of Central Pennsylvania,/ she has been writing for the Centre Daily Times since 1985 and is a bi-monthly columnist with State College Magazine. A caterer for 25 years, Corr champions local foods and the people that produce them in her print media and on her Centre Daily Times online blog, Eat Local! She has been the leader of the local Slow Foods Central PA chapter since she helped to inaugurate it in 2001.
