Got Nature? Blog

This summer the Nature of Teaching team partnered with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) to host teacher workshops at the Maine IFW headquarters in Gray and the Fields Audubon Center in Holden, ME. The team worked together to organize and facilitate these two two-day workshops to bring Nature of Teaching educational resources to 47 K-12 public and private school educators, administrators, and environmental center staff.

During these workshops, funded by an FNR small grant and an IBAT grant, the Purdue/Maine team, as well as guest speakers from Project Wild, took turns presenting information on wildlife, health and wellness, and food waste. After each presentation, teachers walked through corresponding lesson activities that they could use with their students. Then they were given the opportunity to collaborate with other educators in their grade levels. Workshop participants walked away with a binder of resources and were given the opportunity to pursue stipends by completing a post-workshop survey and submitting student pre/post assessment data.

The Purdue/Maine partnership has been beneficial in bringing the Nature of Teaching resources to Maine educators while incorporating local knowledge and expertise and increasing awareness of resources provided by the Maine IFW. The team is currently developing a Mammals of Maine publication to accompany the Mammals of Indiana publication on the Nature of Teaching website, and planning for at least one workshop in Maine next year.

To learn more about the Nature of Teaching, visit our website at www.purdue.edu/nature, connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NatureofTeaching/, or contact Rebecca Busse at busser@purdue.edu.

Resources:
Nature of Teaching Lesson Plan: Conservation Biology, Got Nature? Blog
The Nature of Teaching – Purdue Extension

Rebecca Busse, Nature of Teaching Program Coordinator
Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources