With February comes growing daylight ☀, and we're officially past the halfway point between the Winter Solstice & the Spring Equinox. In the lessening darkness, we spent extra time this month gathering eclectic, top-notch educator resources to teach about birds 🐦(Section 1), get outside (Section 4), Leave No Trace (Section 4), celebrate Black History Month (Section 5) & more. While we are past February 14^th, February is still a Happy Heart 💗 Month! (Section 1) Check out all of the amazing teacher workshops coming up through April in Section 2.

Although the winter cold 🧊 can make it challenging to get outside, the many associated benefits make the effort worthwhile! Spending just 10 minutes outdoors each day raises Serotonin levels, increases Vitamin D production, boosts immunity, and relieves stress. Try to use this edition of the E-blast to get OUT THERE!

If you were a Black Bear 🐻, you could be sleeping 😴 through this Pennsylvania winter's cold! A denning adult bear can go as many as 200 days without eating, drinking, or going to the bathroom 🚽! Bears live off the fat reserves they worked so hard over the summer & fall to acquire, recycling their waste & losing fat but NOT MUSCLE! Bears also recycle Calcium back INTO their bones and avoid the loss of bone density that affects people who are inactive for long periods of time. Many nagging injuries heal with little scarring and NO infection! Um, WHAT?! Can you believe bears' bodies can do all of that while they are dormant?! We learned these amazing facts from the February edition of the BearWise Email. BearWise seeks to help people 🧘‍♀️ live responsibly with Black Bears 🐻.

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E-Blast Contents -

• Section 1: BIRDS! 🐦Heart Month! & Winter Teaching Ideas
• Section 2: In-Person & Virtual Educator Professional Development Workshops
• Section 3: Webinars, Contests, & Conferences
• Section 4: Explore the Outdoors! - LNT Series Part 2
• Section 5: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) - Black History Month - FREE Lessons & Webinars!
• Capstone: PA State Park Info. & Updates

Section 1:

🐦BIRDS! Heart Month! & Winter ❄ Teaching Ideas

While you're watching and counting birds this weekend, join John Muir Laws for a Learn to Draw Birds Webinar!

Saturday, February 24, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm ET

FREE, registration required. Suggested donation: $25.00 Register NOW.

Join award-winning artist, author, educator, & scientist John Muir Laws for a 2-hour live online class where he will share his best tips & tricks for drawing birds learned through his 35 years of teaching & illustrating. 

Heart 💟 Month & Winter Teaching Ideas

• We may have missed the actual "V-Day", but February is still "Heart 😍 Month!" Check out this fun way to get outdoors with your students in a Nature❤Heart Hunt! - from Run Wild My Child

• Make these easy Heart💜Shaped Clothespin Bird Feeders! - from Little Pine Learners

• Winter Science Experiment: Making Frozen Bubbles - from Run Wild My Child

Section 2:

In-Person & Virtual Educator

Professional Development Workshops

See ALL of the Upcoming Educator Workshops on the DCNR Calendar

GO Teach: Hiking 101 Educator Workshop

Saturday, February 17, 9:00 am - 3:00pm EST

In-Person at Raccoon Creek State Park, 3000 State Route 18, Hookstown, PA 15050

Act 48: 5.5 hrs.

Fee: $10.00; Pre-Registration is required.

Hiking can open the door to many educational opportunities. Join us and explore the possibilities of using hiking to modernize your curriculum & remake learning in your classroom. This workshop is focused on teachers & educators who teach science, geography, or physical education. Outdoor group leaders are welcome as well. Lessons focus on health, fitness, trip planning, map & compass, finding local trails, forest ecology, & nature journaling. Register NOW! Questions? Contact Patrick Adams, EES at paadams@pa.gov or 724-899-2200.

Project Learning Tree (PLT) Educator Workshop

Saturday, February 24, 9:00am - 3:30 pm EST

In-Person at Tiadaghton State Forest, 10 Lower Pine Bottom Rd, Waterville, PA 17776

Act 48: 6 hrs.

Fee: $10.00; Pre-Registration & pre-payment are required.

Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an award-winning environmental education curriculum. This workshop will focus on the PLT Explore your Environment K-8 Activity Guide and is geared towards both formal & informal (homeschool parents, scout leaders, 4H leaders, etc.) educators, as well as pre-service teachers, who work with students in grades K-8. All participants will receive the new edition of the PLT Explore Your Environment K-8 Activity Guide. Register NOW! Questions? Contact Vinny Curtis, EES at vicurtis@pa.gov.

Improving Schoolyards for Outdoor Environmental Education & Stewardship Virtual Educator Workshop

Wednesday, March 6, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST

On Zoom with Stroud Water Research Center

Act 48: 2 hrs.

Fee: $10.00

Audience: This online session is open to all audiences, but it is especially supportive to homeschool providers, classroom teachers, & non-formal educators.

Outdoor learning spaces benefit water quality and wildlife habitat and provide meaningful outdoor learning opportunities for teachers & their K–12 students. In this workshop, participants will hear directly from educators who have created outdoor learning spaces at their schools and from Stroud Center education staff. They will discuss the process of creating outdoor learning spaces, from design & building to lesson implementation. Presenters will also share tips on how to get started, how to find funding, what design tools to use, & how to successfully communicate with key district staff. Register NOW!

Teacher Workshop - Aldo Leopold Education Project

Saturday, March 9 & Saturday, March 23, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Must attend both days.

In-Person at Ohiopyle State Park, 124 Main Street, Ohiopyle, PA 15470

Act 48: 30 hrs. or 1 Intermediate Unit (IU) Credit

Fee: $140.00 payable in advance to Intermediate Unit One (IU 1)

This two-day for credit workshop is intended for formal educators from K-12. The Leopold Education Project is a series of lessons based on Aldo Leopold’s master work The Sand County Almanac. This book chronicles a year at Leopold’s shack in Sand County, Wisconsin. Lessons are based on his experiences at the shack & his development of a Land Ethic. All of the lessons are hands-on & most are outside. Participants will be required to complete both workshop days & homework. Register NOW. Questions? Contact Barbara Wallace, EES at bawallace@pa.gov.

Pennsylvania🐦Songbirds Educator Workshop

Saturday, March 16, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm

In-Person at the PA State Parks Western Region Conference Room, 195 Park Road, Prospect PA 16052

Act 48: 6 hrs.

Fee: $20.00 payable in advance

PA Songbirds is a hands-on activity guide designed for K-8 classroom teachers, homeschool educators, scout leaders, any adult who wishes to engage children in hands-on science & environmental learning through the lens of birds. Newly revised, this curriculum includes over 40 activities on topics ranging from the science of birds to migration to birds & people. As a bonus, we also explore the Project Learning Tree (PLT) Module “Together for the Birds”. Spend the day with DCNR educators from Moraine & Point State Parks as we experience the activities together, share skills, & more. Participants will receive the new 475 page PA Songbirds: K-8 Teachers Guide + PLT's new Together for the Birds Educator Module E-book. Pre-registration required. Register NOW. Questions? Contact the Moraine State Park office at 724-368-8811 or nasimon@pa.gov.

Teacher Workshop: Supporting Environmental Literacy Across the Curriculum with the MWEE💦Framework

Thursday, April 4, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

In-Person at Tyler State Park, 101 Swamp Rd., Newtown, PA 18940-1151

Act 48: 6 hrs. + 8 additional optional hrs. *If participants would like to earn their MWEE Ambassador certificate, they must complete the MWEE 101 Course

Fee: FREE! Includes breakfast & a light lunch!

The environment provides endless opportunities for authentic learning experiences that support your entire curriculum. When students learn through systemic and well-designed environmental education (EE), they build background content knowledge to support literacy, experience authentic, hands-on learning that advances STEM & promotes career readiness. Recognizing the complexities of implementing student-driven, authentic, and locally relevant EE that meets academic goals, we will explore the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) Framework. This well-established framework provides the structure & resources to support integrating EE in schools that aligns to PA STEELS standards, including the Environmental Literacy & Sustainability domain. This workshop is for formal & Informal educators teaching grades 3-12. It is being co-led by PA State Park Educators & the Bucks County IU. It will include an outdoor field experience 🥾. Pre-Registration required. Register NOW! Questions? Contact Events@BucksIU.org.

Educator Workshop: Focus on Endangered & Threatened Species 🐢

Thursday, April 11, 9:00am - 3:00pm

In-Person at Wildwood Park / Olewine Nature Center, 100 Wildwood Way, Harrisburg, PA 17110

Act 48: 5.5 hrs.

Fee: $25.00 payable in advance; morning refreshments & snacks provided

Why are some species endangered while others are flourishing? Are there different levels of endangered species? Join Wildwood Park Environmental Education staff to explore the concepts and issues surrounding threatened & endangered species, investigate “how” & “why” species become endangered & threatened, examine laws affecting them, and discover methods biologists utilize to help species recover. Workshop also includes a short hike to explore the importance of wetlands for many endangered species and to get a close-up view of the PA Endangered Great Egret. This workshop is for classroom teachers, non-formal educators, college students studying to be teachers (pre-service), school administrators, homeschoolers, & youth leaders. All participants will receive a copy of the Windows on the WILD: PA Biodiversity Guide. Register NOW

Watershed💦Education Teacher Workshop

Saturday, April 13, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm *3hrs. of pre-workshop assignments required*

In-Person at Greenwood Furnace State Park, 15795 Greenwood Rd, Huntingdon, PA 16652

Act 48: 11.5 hrs.

Fee: $20.00 payable in advance; fee can be paid over the phone via credit card - call the park office at 814-667-1800.

Watershed Education (WE) is an inquiry-based, interdisciplinary curriculum for educators teaching grades 6 -12. Developed by the DCNR - Bureau of State Parks, WE helps educators utilize local natural resources as a valuable teaching tool. By blending hands-on classroom & field investigations modeled on professional research methodologies, students participate in data collection & analysis; community networking & partnerships; stewardship & service learning activities. WE promotes in-depth, multi-modal learning and understanding of water resources while encouraging students to examine their watershed holistically.

• Hands-on Field Investigations and Interdisciplinary lessons
• Addresses Environment & Ecology, Geography, History, STEELS, & more PDE Standards
• Journaling & portfolio development

Educators attending this workshop will receive the Bureau of State Parks award-winning Watershed Education Curriculum & additional materials. Register NOW by calling the park office at 814-667-1800.

More Educator Professional Development Trainings are scheduled.

Visit the DCNR Events Calendar- Teacher Workshops to find additional training opportunities! Click the arrows to see upcoming months.

Section 3:

Webinars, Trainings, & Conferences

Farm in the Classroom Design Contest: A Competition for Pennsylvania Middle School & High School Students

This agriculture challenge invites middle & high school students to design, build, & test a hydroponic 🌿 or aquaponic 🐟 system.

The Challenge - Prepare a design plan for a NEW hydroponics or aquaponics system to be constructed for <$1500 (Level 1 or Level 2) or <$2000 (Level 3-Aquaponics Division). Upon submission, design plans will be reviewed by judges. Division winners will receive necessary funding to build systems in line with submitted plans. They will also receive a team trip (up to 10/team, including one mentor) to Millersville University on Friday April 12, 2024 (includes lunch & travel reimbursement). Learn More - Farm In The Classroom Competition.pdf

How to Submit -

• Email your PDF Design Plan file to kuhnsaquaponics@gmail.com (Title your submission as “YOUR TEAM NAME_Final Submission”)
• Submit your entry no later than 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 8, 2024.

2024 PAEE Annual Conference: Reflecting Inward, Teaching Outward

The Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators (PAEE) Annual Conference is an opportunity to celebrate and grow in the fantastic environmental education field in Pennsylvania! Register NOW

Conference Schedule-at-a-Glance - Full Schedule

• March 17 – Pre Conference workshops, Dinner for all, & Evening Activities 

• March 18 – Breakfast, Conference Workshops, Lunch, Keynote Speaker, Dinner, Awards Ceremony, PAEE Annual Board Meeting, & Evening Activities 

• March 19 – Breakfast, Conference Workshops, Lunch, Silent Auction Winners, & Closing 

Visit the PA State Park's educational Exhibit Table & meet DCNR Education Staff at the PAEE Conference! If you’re attending the conference, stop by & see us in the Exhibit Area (PEEC Dining Hall) to learn more about our Professional Development Trainings, School Field Experience Offerings, maps, & much more!

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EclipseEd: Illuminating Learning Paths for the April 8^th Total Solar Eclipse Webinar

Wednesday, April 3, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. ET

Fee: FREE!

Join CIRES Science Show & Share for a special webinar in honor of the April 8th, 2024 total solar eclipse event. For this event, the NOAA Science On a Sphere program has developed datasets showing cloud cover potential, eclipse paths, & a narrated movie describing the total eclipse phenomenon. This workshop will dig deeper into the datasets & best practices for sharing them with your class, ways to incorporate art into your eclipse teaching, & lessons you can add to your unit using community science applications - Globe Observer & CrowdMag. Register NOW!

Section 4:

Explore the Outdoors!

Section 5:

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: Celebrate Black History Month

- Learn more about DCNR's DEI efforts-

This year’s Black History Month theme, "African Americans and the Arts," highlights the many contributions Black Americans have had on the arts, cultural movements, & more. Use African Americans Artists to inspire your students. Try these easy lessons from Tinkergarten - 4 Creativity-Boosting Activities Inspired by African American Artists 🎨

Black History Month- Virtual Event Registration Link

PA State Parks are YOURS!

Book your virtual, in-person programs, and field experiences with PA State Park Educators! 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.

Check out PA State Park's Winter Activity Report before you head to a state park this winter. This weekly report lists snow & ice conditions (including snow & lake ice thickness) for all PA State Parks. The report is searchable by park & by winter outdoor recreation activity 🎿🛷⛸🎣 .

DCNR facilities and Programs are OPEN to ALL👐

• Many Environmental Education programs require pre-registration. Explore the DCNR events calendar for details & to register.
• Plan your outing before you leave. Learn about facilities, download a park map on your phone or print it, and review regulations here: Find A Park
• Take care of & respect the resource. Park, hike, hunt, & more only in designated areas.
• Check the weather before you depart, wear layers, proper footwear, and bring water. Wear orange if hiking in designated hunting areas. Please clean up after pets 🐕.
• Do not litter 🚮.
• Alcohol is not allowed in PA State Parks.
• Make a reservation (up to 11 months in advance) at a PA State Park Campground, Camping Cottage, Cabin, Yurt, or Pavilion.

You can help keep state parks safe for all by following these practices:

• Use the restroom before you leave your house 🏡
• Bring a bag and either carry out your trash or dispose of it properly
• Continue to practice social distancing (stay >6' apart), take hand sanitizer with you & use it
• If you are sick or have been exposed to someone who is sick, stay home

💟 Happy Heart Month! 💟



Carissa Longo, Natural Resource Program Specialist

(Coordinating Project WILD for PA & DCNR's Watershed Education curriculum for PA State Parks)

&

Christine Ticehurst, Natural Resource Program Specialist

(Coordinating PLT & DCNR's GO Teach Curriculum for PA State Parks)

&

Kim Lott, Natural Resource Program Specialist

(Coordinating Project WET & DCNR's PA Land Choices Curriculum for PA State Parks)

Visit the DCNR Events Calendar- Teacher Workshops to find additional training opportunities! Click the arrows to see upcoming months.