Happy New Year from PA State Parks!

"Every moment is a fresh beginning."

Do you know someone between the ages of 18-25 who is interested in an outdoor career? Check out DCNR's PA Outdoor Corps! There are still openings for 9-month crew members - $13.70 to start. Crew members are provided career development and networking opportunities to support the advancement of their goals in a variety of careers.

DCNR is also now organizing a paid PA Outdoor Corps Cultural Resource Crew (CRC). The CRC is intended to provide aspiring archaeologists & preservationists with the professional skills to build successful careers in land & resource management. The CRC will complete preservation oriented projects throughout PA's extensive DCNR park and forest system. The CRC application deadline is February 1, 2022.

Strange Winter Nighttime Sounds Explained... Red & Grey Foxes

Increasing commercial and residential development affects more than the environmental health of a community. Integrated science lessons can contextualize student learning to understand the impacts of land use and development. This three-session series will model how teachers can work with their learners to identify local issues, implore inquiry learning principles, and activate learner voice in real world, authentic learning. Additional tips, tricks, and resources will be shared to help teachers manage field investigations and stewardship projects regardless of your setting! Participants should plan to attend all three online, synchronous sessions. Register NOW. This workshop is presented by professional educators from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and the Capitol Area IU. It is open to classroom teachers and non-formal educators. Questions, email Tarrea Potter, PA Education Outreach Coordinator for CBF at tpotter@cbf.org.

Participants are encouraged to complete NOAA’s MWEE 101 online course prior to the workshops. Three additional Act 48 hours beyond the workshop sessions are available for completion of the MWEE 101 online course: https://cbexapp.noaa.gov/course/view.php?id=5555

Smart-E Challenge: Solar ☀ Energy Challenge Workshop

In-person at Penn State University, 118 Chambers Building, University Park, PA

Learn how to coach a team of students in designing and building an efficient and cost effective solar ☀ power solution. In this workshop you will engage in hands-on activities that will introduce you to the science behind solar energy while putting easy-to-use tools in your hands. Hands-on activities include evaluating performance of solar devices under a variable solar resource and applications of solar energy. You will leave this workshop with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to introduce students to solar energy concepts. This workshop is offered by Penn State's Center for Science & the Schools (CSATS). Apply NOW. Questions? Contact ams5306@psu.edu. All COVID safety protocols will be followed.

Winter is a time when most people stay inside and remain sedentary. However, it is a great time to get outdoors and explore on snowshoes! Learn how you can motivate your students to get up and active during the winter❄ through an interdisciplinary set of lessons primarily for P.E. teachers and created by the PA Bureau of State Parks. Lessons focus on health, fitness and preparedness; snow, weather and climate as well as history. The lessons meet Physical Education & Health PA Academic Standards as well as standards for History and Science & Technology. Register with Patrick Adams, EES at paadams@pa.gov or 724-899-3611 by February 4. All COVID safety protocols will be followed.

Get Outdoors Ohiopyle - Winter❄Educator Workshop

In-person at Ohiopyle State Park, 124 Main St., Ohiopyle, PA 15470

Get Outdoors Ohiopyle is an educational, interdisciplinary, winter-based program for grades 4-12. It encourages the study of the winter❄environment, both inside and outside of the classroom. Participants will gain information on how NASA studies our planet's climate and the cryosphere. Teachers will be given the tools and training to facilitate a comprehensive study of ⛄winter in their classroom. This includes investigating snowflakes , thin sectioning ice, viewing ice crystals under polarizing sheets, determining snow density and temperature in the snow pack, the albedo effect, and investigating winter through the use of thermochrons. Attendees will also participate in a winter❄ecology snowshoe hike and spend time using snowshoes during a history activity. The majority of the lessons will be hands on both in the classroom and outside.

Participants in this program will spend a great deal of time outside. Educators should be prepared for the out of doors. Information regarding weather preparedness will be sent to participants prior to the workshop. Participants will be required to complete a homework assignment, a pre/post test, and a plan for using the curriculum in their classrooms. Register NOW. Questions? Contact Barb Wallace, EES at bawallace@pa.gov or 724-329-0986. All COVID safety protocols will be followed.

In-person at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, 400 Belfast Rd, Nazareth, PA 18064

Fee: $10.00, payable at the workshop with cash or check made payable to the "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania"

Educators attending this workshop will receive the chemistry portion of the Bureau of State Parks award-winning Watershed Education (WE) curriculum and their own water quality test kit. Registration is required. Register NOW via email to Lauren Forster, EES Supervisor at laforster@pa.gov. All COVID safety protocols will be followed.

In-person at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle State Park, 301 Peninsula Dr., Erie, PA 16505

Educators in traditional and non-traditional settings are invited to Go Get Outdoors with a winter-themed professional development training. A mix of indoor and outdoor activities will highlight snowshoeing and guide you in introducing this exciting pastime to your students. If conditions are favorable, outdoor snowshoe❄adventures will be included. PA Academic standards focus on physical education/health, history, and science. Online registration is required by February 12 at: http://events.dcnr.pa.gov/presque_isle_state_park or call 814-833-7424. All COVID safety protocols will be followed. Program may be modified or cancelled at discretion of park staff. 

Virtual via MS Teams from Presque Isle State Park, 301 Peninsula Dr., Erie, PA 16505

Presque Isle State Park is offering a free virtual professional development opportunity for formal and non-formal educators of students in preschool - 3^rd grade. Growing Up WILD (GUW) is an award-winning early childhood education program that builds on children’s sense of wonder about nature and invites them to explore wildlife and the world around them. Educators will receive training on the Growing Up WILD: Exploring Nature with Young Children ages 3-7 curriculum.

The GUW guide will be sent to participants. Register by contacting Ray Bierbower, EES at edbierbowe@pa.gov or 814-833-7424.

In-person at the Elk Country Visitor Center (ECVC), 950 Winslow Hill Rd, Benezette, PA 15821 (use for navigation)

Join PA Game Commission, PA State Park, and Keystone Elk Country Alliance Educators at the Elk Country Visitor Center to learn all about Eastern Wild Turkeys🦃. This workshop is for formal and non-formal educators primarily teaching grades 6-12. During this workshop, we will explore the Eastern Wild Turkey through its natural history, how it is managed in Pennsylvania, and fun, standards-based ways to teach about turkeys. All participants will receive the award-winning Project WILD K-12 Curriculum & Activity Guide! Participants should dress for both indoors and outdoors. Register now, email KecaConEd@windstream.net or call 814-787-5173. Registration deadline: March 21, 2022. All COVID safety protocols will be followed.

In-person at Washington Crossing State Park; actual workshop location - Historic Buckstone Farm, 1201 Taylorsville Rd., Washington Crossing, PA 18977

Join the Environmental Educators of Delaware Canal State Park and Washington Crossing Historic Park at the Buckstone Farm in Washington Crossing, PA, for a free Project Learning Tree (PLT) Educator workshop! Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an award-winning environmental education curriculum designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. This workshop is for formal and non-formal educators teaching grades K-2. During this one-day workshop, you will become trained in the nationwide curriculum, Project Learning Tree (PLT)! All participants will receive a copy of the PLT K-12 Curriculum and Activity Guide. Register NOW by emailing, Gabrielle Lent, EES at glent@pa.gov. All COVID safety protocols will be followed.

In-Person at Parker Dam State Park, 28 Fairview Road, Penfield, PA 15849

In this hands-on workshop participants will be introduced to the curriculum, guided in its use, and shown the resources available to help implement it in their classrooms. Educators will also be given their own copy of the Project WILD K-12 Curriculum & Activity Guide. Register by calling the Park Office at (814) 765-0630. Deadline - April 4. All COVID safety protocols will be followed.

In-Person at Parker Dam State Park, 28 Fairview Road, Penfield, PA 15849 

Growing Up WILD: Exploring Nature with Young Children is an early childhood education activity guide (ages 2-7) that builds on children’s sense of wonder about nature🐻and invites them to explore wildlife and the world around them. Through a wide range of activities and experiences, it provides a foundation for developing positive impressions about nature while also building lifelong social and cognitive skills. In this hands-on workshop, including outdoor activities, participants will be introduced to the curriculum, guided in its use, and shown the resources available through Growing Up WILD, Project WILD, and the Bureau of State Parks to help them implement it in their classrooms. Please register and pay by contacting the Park Office at (814) 765-0630; registration deadline - May 2. All COVID safety protocols will be followed.

Project Drawdown and the Solutions Journalism Network are partnering to offer a webinar from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education to shift the conversation about climate change away from gloom and doom to solutions that inspire students to take action. Participants will be introduced to Project Drawdown’s new Climate Solutions 101 video series and Solutions Journalism Network’s Climate Solutions Collections that are poised to become go-to resources for education about climate solutions. 

Register NOW.

Join the U.S. Department of Education invites and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review free STEM K-8 educational resources to inspire and build your students’ skills in understanding stewardship of the environment. You will learn about the Air Quality Flag 🚩 Program, Generate - The Game of Energy Choices, student challenges, and many more teacher resources. Register NOW.

NOAA’s Environmental Science Training Center is hosting a series of free virtual workshops for educators this winter.

Best practices for effective MWEE professional development.

Join NOAA for facilitated conversations around each of the NAAEE Community Engagement Guidelines for Excellence, specifically in relation to how organizations can employ these in the context of MWEE programs. Attend the dates that you can.

Scholarships equal to the amount of the full conference registration rate and a 1 year membership to PAEE (up to $75) are available for 15 Pennsylvania practicing teachers and/or school administrators to attend the 2022 Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators Conference. Priority will be given to teachers or school administrators that serve Title I schools, marginalized communities, or otherwise work to grow DEI and environmental justice. The conference will take place on March 21-22. Complete the Google form by January 22, 2022 to apply. Scholarships for non-formal Educators are also available.

Questions? Contact PAEE Administrative Coordinator Stacey Widenhofer at stacey@paee.net.

Teacher scholarships are available as part of the professional development and outreach initiatives of the NOAA funded (Grant #NA20NMF4570238) Expanding Environmental Literacy and MWEE Implementation Capacity Across Pennsylvania project.

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office is announcing the availability of ~$1.35 million in funding for new NOAA Chesapeake Bay-Watershed Education & Training (B-WET) grants through two funding opportunities. Projects supported by these funding opportunities will support school districts efforts to deliver Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) to students, help school districts increase their capacity to facilitate environmental education, and advance statewide environmental literacy initiatives.

Contact Elise Trelegan at elise.trelegan@noaa.gov with any questions or to discuss project ideas. This year, NOAA celebrates B-WET’s 20^th anniversary. Chesapeake B-WET, administered by the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office in coordination with the NOAA Office of Education, was the first and is the largest B-WET region with a proven history of supporting outstanding education programs since 2002. It has directly reached more than 700,000 students and 25,000 teachers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with high-quality meaningful watershed educational experiences. More information about the NOAA B-WET program and previous awards can be found at: · Chesapeake B-WET program ; Recently funded education partnerships

First Day Hikes 🚶

For more information about National First Day Hikes visit here and consider heading out on the trail in 2022.

Beginners Guide to Snowshoeing with Kids! Snowshoeing is an amazing way to get outside and enjoy the beauty of the winter months. Some PA State Parks have free snowshoe &/or cross-country ski🎿loaner programs. Contact your local park to find out if they have a loaner program. If you are an educator, check out the "GO Teach Snowshoeing Educator Workshops above.

Before heading out to recreate at a PA State Park this winter ❄, check winter conditions using the State Parks Winter❄Report

- Learn more about DCNR's DEI efforts here -

The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is excited to launch a new opportunity in the NextGen Council. The Council will help inform the agency’s work, advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and create lasting change and necessary conditions to ensure all Pennsylvanians can connect to public lands, natural resources, and engage in recreation and conservation.  

Apply now - https://forms.office.com/g/XWmFhuXHJc Applications are open through January 16! The first meeting will be in late winter/early spring 2022.

Learn more or have questions? Please reach out to Emily Hendrickson at RA-NRDCNREQUITY@pa.gov.

Are you a college professor or student who would like to utilize DCNR land to conduct scientific research, learn from the natural world with your students, and more? Pennsylvania’s State Parks and Forests make great outdoor classrooms to teach, learn, and explore, greatly enhancing college students’ educational experiences.

DCNR's Think Outside program was developed in 2017 to introduce college students across Pennsylvania to DCNR’s lands and to help coordinate the various ways students and professors conduct research and experiential learning on these lands. The program’s impact has been universally positive and the results are exciting. Some recent student-led projects include the creation of the Ready, Set, Fit app and also impressive research on geological formations in Ohiopyle State Park.

To learn more please visit the Think Outside page - https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Education/ThinkOutside/Pages/default.aspx or e-mail Justin Royer at juroyer@pa.gov.

Book your virtual, in-person programs, and field experiences with PA State Park Education staff now! Find a PA State Park. Need help connecting to a PA State Park with an Educator on staff? Reach out to Carissa Longo at calongo@pa.gov.

Carissa Longo, Environmental Education Program Coordinator

Christine Ticehurst, Recreation and Interpretation Coordinator

Visit the DCNR Events Calendar- Teacher Workshops to find additional training opportunities!