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Living with a Volcano Summer Teacher Workshops
Summer Workshops for Middle School Teachers at Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park Education Program is offering two teacher workshops this summer. Free Washington State Clock Hours are available. There is also a credit option offered for a fee through The Heritage Institute. Advanced registration is required. Registration deadline is July 1, 2008. The workshop registration form and other information are available on the Park’s education website. For more information or questions, contact Anne Doherty, Education Program Manager, at (360) 569-6039 or via email at.
Listen to my Interview on KUOW Radio--Rain Gardens
 To celebrate Earth Day, KUOW public radio's Weekday program hosted a Greendays Gardening Panel focused on rain gardens. I was interviewed in order to talk about the rain garden that was installed in my front yard as part of the RainCatchers Program of Seattle Public Utilities.Check out this interesting segment and learn how you can build a rain garden in your own yard. Listen here. Scroll down to the second episode titled "Greendays Gardening Panel: Rain Gardens." I join the conversation at about 14:00 minutes.If you are interested in building a rain garden, check out this great new handbook produced by Washington State University.
Open House at the Cascades Volcano Observatory
U.S. Geological Survey--Cascades Volcano Observatory Open House Date: Saturday May 3, 2008, 10:30 to 5:00pm This open house, held semiannually, will be of interest to educators, students and other volcano enthusiasts who want to learn more about Cascade Range volcanoes. Location: Conveniently located on the east side of Vancouver, Washington. 1300 SE Cardinal Court Building 10, Suite 100 Vancouver, WA 98683 (360) 993-8973 What to Expect: --Hands on Demonstrations --Children's Activities --Meet and Talk to Scientists --Exhibits --Free Posters and literature. Driving Directions. Additional Information: Carolyn Driedger (360) 993-8907, driedger@usgs.gov.
Exploring Puget Sound Presentation--May 1st
The Crossing-Over Place: Environmentalism(s) and Seattle's Native Pasts
When: May 01, 2008 from 07:00 pm to 09:00 pm
Where: REI Flagship Store, 222 Yale Ave. N., Seattle
Contact Name: Kristina Hertz, khertz@pugetsound.org, (206) 382-7007.
An "Exploring Puget Sound" presentation by Coll Thrush, University of British Columbia
Although we tend to think of urban and Native American histories as somehow separate, in Seattle they have been inextricably linked, from first contact at the end of the 18th century to the environmental crises of the early 21st. As diverse peoples have learned to call this place home and to live with each other here, ideas about place, belonging, landscape, and nature have been central to this story. Scholar and author Coll Thrush discusses the many complicated and sometimes conflicted encounters among the peoples of this special place.Coll Thrush, a native of Auburn, Washington, is assistant professor of history at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where he teaches Indigenous, environmental, cultural, and world histories. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington and is the author of Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place. Admission for this event: $6 People For Puget Sound members; $8 Non-members. For more info, click here. From: People for Puget Sound
10th Annual Environmental Film Festival
Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival at the UW When: May 1-4, 2008
What: - 55 environmental films and shorts over 4 days
- more than a dozen visiting filmmakers
- speakers and panel discussions
- filmmaking workshops
Where: Johnson Hall, University of Washington, Seattle. Find out more here.
Survey of Environmental and Sustainability Education
K-12 Teachers: OSPI Needs Your Help! OSPI, in collaboration with the Environmental Education Association of Washington, is collecting data, via an online survey, on environmental and sustainability education (ESE) activities in Washington K-12 schools. The information provided by teachers will allow us to identify the status of ESE programs statewide, district and school needs, and opportunities for improvement. All Washington State teachers are encouraged to take the survey regardless of grade level or content area. It should take approximately 10 minutes to complete and will be open until May 30, 2008. To access the survey click on this link. From: Gilda Wheeler, OSPI EES Program
Dog Days
 My husband and I adopted a rescue dog two weeks ago. Now that I have Stanley, I go on a lot more walks every day. There is our first-thing-in-the-morning walk, our around-lunchtime-walk, our end-of-the-day walk, and sometimes, an extra late-night walk. If you have ever walked on the other side of a leash, you know that dogs are driven by their sense of smell, and for pups, a walk is an adventure in scents. So here is a challenge for all those dog owners out there. As you and your dog go for a leisurely walk, watch to see when your dog catches an interesting scent. And every time he does, look. Look deeply at your surroundings. Try to find one amazing thing that you would never had noticed if you hadn't taken the time to simply look. A purple stone. A bird's nest. A skeleton leaf. A feather. A paw print in the dirt. Treasure abound, even on a morning walk through the neighborhood.
A Shape Walk through the Garden
   Ah spring. My garden is popping with new blooms, fiddleheads, sprouts, and buds. It is a time ripe with possiblities.
Have you ever taken a Shape Walk through your own garden? Peer under leaves, step around blossoms, and search for all the shapes that appear throughout your garden. For a fun activity with kids, take a pile of index cards and either write the name of shapes or draw the shapes themselves. Kids will have a blast searching around your yard for circles, spirals, branches, squares, ovals, and hearts.
I hope you enjoy these shapes, which I found blooming in my front yard: swirls, hearts, and checkers.
Free Trip to the Galapagos for Teachers (G.6-12)
Administered by the Institute of International Education, the Toyota International Teacher Program offers study abroad opportunities for U.S. teachers. Now in its third year, the Toyota International Teacher Program to the Galapagos Islands will travel with thirty secondary school educators in late November 2008 to the Galapagos Islands in thePacific Ocean. Full-time teachers and teacher librarians in grades 6-12 from all fifty states and the District of Columbia are encouraged to apply for this fully funded international professional development opportunity. The 2008 program to the Galapagos Islands will take place November 22 - December 6, 2008. Direct costs of participation (transportation, lodging, meals and all program activities) will be paid by Toyota. While in the Galapagos, program participants will have the unique opportunity to work in groups with Galapagueno teachers on the design of interdisciplinary environmental lessons. These lessons will be shared with the wider education community. Visit the IIE Web site for complete program information and application procedures. For more information, click here.From: Toyota International Teacher Program.
Want to Host an Astronaut at your School?
You can! 100 schools are needed to host astronauts in September 2008.The Association of Space Explorers (ASE) is holding its annual congress in Seattle at the Museum of Flight, September 15-19. There will be about 100 flyers at the event. Wednesday September 15 will be community day when the group fans out to visit schools across the state. We are asking for your help in identifying 100 schools that would like to participate. The ASE does not have funds to support the visits so we are looking for schools that can provide transportation for the astro/cosmonauts to and from Seattle. This could be a car pickup, an airplane ticket to the eastside or another creative plan to get the visitors to and from the congress. The details will be coordinated by the ASE staff with help from the Museum of Flight. If you have questions, you can contact Dr. George "Pinky" Nelson at George.Nelson@wwu.edu or Bonnie at bdunbar@museumofflight.org. From: Dr. Nelson
Ocean Science Summer Teacher Workshop
Ocean Science: Professional Development Workshop for 4-5th Grade TeachersSeattle Aquarium, Summer 2008Not only is this workshop free, it comes with stipends and all kinds of amazing perks! This 4-day workshop explores the dynamic relationships in the marine environment from Puget Sound to the Olympic Coast to the deep ocean!Includes:- A stipend of $50 per day.
- Graduate credits or clock hours.
- Eligibility for free admission to Seattle Aquarium.
- Eligibility for a free field trip to a local beach including free transportation!
Sponsored by Seattle Aquarium, NOAA, and the National Marine Sanctuaries Olympic Coast. To learn more and to register, call Karen at 206.386.4303. From: Seattle Aquarium
From Reindeer to Rainier--Climate Change Talk 4/22/08
From Reindeer to RainierPeople and Climate Change from the Nordic Countries to the Pacific NorthwestTuesday, April 22; 7 p.m. at REI Seattle, FREEJoin photographer/writer team Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele for a multimedia presentation that explores how three Nordic communities are adjusting to climate change. Learn about volunteer glacier monitors in Iceland, Sami reindeer herdsmen from Norway and fishermen of the North Atlantic. Then, bring it all home in a discussion with local climate experts: Cliff Mass, a UW atmospheric scientist regularly heard on KUOW's Weekday and author of the forthcoming book The Weather of the Pacific Northwest, Nate Mantua, a research scientist with the UW's Climate Impacts Group, and Jessica Coven of Climate Solutions who works to ensure strong policies are passed and implemented. The evening's discussion will be moderated by Chip Jenkins, the superintendent for North Cascades National Park. Learn more about this event here.Learn more about Benj and Sara's work here.Co-sponsored by REI, Nordic Heritage Museum, Blue Earth Alliance and Glazer's Camera. From: The North Cascades Institute
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