Advice FROM Educators, FOR Educators

Here's some advice from educators, for educators interested in incorporating the environment in their teachings.

• Look for real-life connections that students can relate to.
• Don’t brainwash students, let them reach their own understanding based on facts.
• Get the whole school involved. A holistic approach that incorporates the environment in more than just science classes.
• As the teacher, you need to get out in the field. Try a summer project with the Nature Conservancy or a university professor.
• Talk about science careers.
• Connect with a local university so that you can bring a scientist into your classroom as a guest speaker.
• Show school administrators that you’ve done your homework and have a workable plan if you want to sell them on a class project that takes the kids outside the classroom.
• Learn how to write and apply for grants.
  
  *This list is part of the article "Teachers and schools embrace green curricula" by Harriet Blake for KABC TV - Los Angeles.

Earth Day - 40th Anniversary

8 Ways to Get Outside, Reduce Your Waste and Have Fun!

This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day (April 22nd). It’s a time to support the environment and this year’s theme of “a billion acts of green.” You don’t have to be an eco-guru to care about nature. Start with a few simple “green” activities, including spending more time outdoors to jump start your spring!

Get Outside

1. Help to get 100,000 kids outside – Join the Be Out There™ movement and sign the pledge to spend time outside with the kids in your life. Get started with the activities listed below and then find more at the Be Out There website.

2. Cultivate your child’s green thumb – Garden with your children and encourage them to lead upkeep of the plants.

3. Play good old-fashioned games – Get nostalgic with these 8 outdoor games you’ll love.

4. Watch for feathered friends in your yard – Then share your sightings and stories online.

Reduce Your Waste

5. Talk to your kids about climate change – Help your children understand global warming and build a foundation of skills that will allow them to appreciate nature. You can calculate your carbon footprint together.

6. Conserve energy at home – Turn off lights when you’re not using them, air dry your clothes, and use small appliances over larger ones.

7. Compost your kitchen scraps – It reduces waste and makes “liquid gold” nourishment for your garden or potted plants.

8. Walk, ride your bike or carpool to school or work – Consider alternative transportation to get where you need to go.

Calling all artists! HEEA needs a new logo... you could win $220!

Summary	HEEA logo
Deadline	04/28/2010
Pay	$220
Advertisement Type	Logo Design
Brand Name	Hawai'i Environmental Education Alliance
Industry	Environmental Education
What we do	The Hawai‘i Environmental Education Alliance strives to improve networking, communication and professionalism among environmental educators throughout Hawai'i.
Details	We seek a new logo for the reincarnation of the Hawai‘i Environmental Education Alliance (formerly known as Hawai‘i Environmental Education Association). The logo will be used on the internet, television, and printed materials. Because our name is long, a logo with just the initials HEEA may be used. But we would like to see various options. If the word Hawai‘i is spelled out, we need to include the diacritical mark (the thing that looks like a backwards apostrophe).
Technical Details	Logo in various formats: JPG, TIFF, GIF
Goal	By branding and, in turn, promoting the HEEA, we hope to augment our organization and meet our goal of increased collaboration and communication. Another goal is to heighten public awareness of the need for and value of environmental education in Hawai‘i.
Target Audience	environmental educators (in school and in other settings), policy makers, potential funders, general public (in that order)
Unique Selling Proposition	We're the only group in Hawai‘i doing this type of work, however we are part of a larger nation-wide network of environmental education groups.
Message to communicate	Sustainability, nature, Hawaiian culture, collaboration, communication, environmental literacy. HEEA supports quality environmental education so that Hawaii’s environment is protected, preserved, and utilized with sustainability in mind.
Feelings to communicate	It is imperative that the design is respectful of the indigenous culture of Hawai‘i and in harmony with nature. A connection to Hawaii’s native plants and animals is desired. Examples of native plants and wildlife important to the culture of Hawai‘i may be found at the following website: http://www.conservehi.org/ (look for posters button)
Customer motivation	Our customers are looking for opportunities for collaboration, communication, professional development and coordinated knowledge sharing (grants, education materials, etc) to maximize outcomes.
Colors I like	cool, inviting, natural
Likes	clean, evokes human-nature connection, easy to reproduce
Dislikes	too busy or cluttered, too colorful, too formal, coconut trees, surfboards or anything that evokes cliche Hawai‘i GOOD LUCK!!

Get 'em Outside video

The No Child Left Inside Coalition has put together a video about the importance of getting students outside to learn. The video is also about celebrating environmental education and its impact on children's learning, health and leadership.

Visit http://www.nclicoalition.org to increase environmental education opportunities at your school.

No Child Left Inside - Earth Day's 40th Anniversary

This Week in Nature - The 3rd week in April - 'Akala

What's Happening in Hawaii

During the 3rd Week in April:

'Ākala, a Hawaiian relative of the raspberry, (Rubus hawaiensis) is coming into fruit and may be found until July at elevations above 4000 feet. 'Ākala plants may have prickles but lack the sharp thorns that protect most mainland berries from their predators. Don't confuse it with the blackberry, a thorny foreign competitor that may also be found during summer months.

'Ākala bush

Photo by Forest and Kim Starr

 

Like other native plants and animals, 'ākala was linked by its name both with its own principal traits and with its uses. Thus 'ākala means "pink" and also signifies kapa (tapa) of this color and dye made from the juice of the berries.

'Ākala berries

Photo by Forest and Kim Starr

In addition, the name contains the verb kala, meaning "to free or loosen," and kahuna lā'au lapa'au, practitioners of herbal medicine, prescribed raspberries and two linguistically related plants - pua kala (the prickly poppy, Argemone glauca) and limu kala (a brown seaweed) -  to relieve pain, ceremonially drive away illness, or obtain forgiveness. 

Prickly poppy (pua kala)

Photo by Forest and Kim Starr

Text and image from "Hawaii: A Calendar of Natural Events"

published by Bishop Museum and Kamehameha Schools in 1989

The Fun Theory

What's the best way to change people's behavior? Make it fun!