Earth Day and other Environmental Partnership Opportunities

Victoria Rydberg of DPI's Environmental Learning and Service Learning shared these opportunities with Anne Moser, Senior Librarian at the WI Water Library. This is a great way to connect with your school media partners to make sure they know about these great WI resources and events for WI teachers and students...and to suggest supporting a collaborative project with your school colleagues to support one of these efforts!

Opportunities from DPI: 

• Calling social studies educators! This year’s Wisconsin Council for Social Studies is themed around the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day and Gaylord Nelson's daughter, Tia Nelson, is the keynote. I would love to work with some social studies educators to put together a few sessions connecting social studies and environmental literacy and sustainability standards at K-2, 3-5, and 9-12 levels. Proposals are due November 1! Let me know if you are interested and we will investigate logistics to make it happen. Or, you can always submit a session on your own.

• Looking for teachers who plan to reflect on 50 years of Earth Day with their students! We have funding to develop a series of resources about Earth Day from a variety of perspectives and for K-2, 3-5, and 9-12 levels to share through WISELearn. If you have interest in this project, let me know! 

• WATER: A Statewide Inquiry Experience. Do your students engage in water-related community inquiry projects? Perhaps they are investigating water quality or discovering where their water comes from. Or maybe they are trying to take action to address global clean water access issues. Add your project to our growing statewide map of water projects. As we connect with educators, we will grow a list of resources and ideas to share! Learn more: https://dpi.wi.gov/inquiry

Opportunities from Partners: 

• Early Childhood Educators can learn about nature-based early childhood at a workshop in Baraboo on 10/26. Learn more

• 4th Grade Teachers: Did you know you get free seedlings for each of your students? You can place your orders with DNR after October 7: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/TreePlanting/arborForm.asp

• 6-12 Grade Educators: DNR is offering free groundwater sand tank models for educator teams who attend one of their free workshops on January 29 in Tomahawak or February 19 in Mount Horeb. Learn more

• The Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education has many workshops to get you and your students outside—from understanding how outdoor education can support health and wellness to mapping trees in your school and community to water to renewable energy.

• Scholarship are available to attend "Power of Place" with Green Schools National Network and Prairie Crossing Charter School (northern IL) on October 17-18. Apply for scholarship by 10/8.

• Does your school have an outdoor garden, aquaponics, or containers in the classroom? Add your school to the state-wide map of garden-based education programs. Wisconsin School Garden Network provides free curricular materials, technical assistance, and workshops to help educators take learning into the garden to increase student engagement, social and emotional health and well-being, and learning outcomes. Wondering how gardens grow learning? Watch this 4 minute video. 

• "Connect, Explore, Engage!" Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education Annual Conference will be November 15-16 in Madison. Early bird registration closes 10/1. DPI’s American Indian Studies consultant, David O’Connor is a featured speaker! Learn how to integrate environmental literacy and Act 31 at your school.

Funding Opportunities: 

• The Go Outside Fund provides grants up to $500 (supplies, subs, transportation, etc.) for projects that connect children with outdoor, nature-based learning experiences. Applications are reviewed quarterly and due September 30, December 30, March 30, and June 30. 

• Check out more grants on EEinWI. 

Mark Your Calendars: 

• Wisconsin Youth Summit (gr. 7-12) will be held April 16 at UW—Stevens Point.