Exploring Oceanography Summer Workshop for Maine High School Teachers

Hello MEEA Members,
Thought some of you might be interested in this new workshop offered by Bigelow Labs this summer...enjoy!

Explore ocean science on the coast of Maine!
July 16 - July 19, 2013

Exploring Oceanography Summer Workshop

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is expanding the reach of the Keller BLOOM Program by offering professional development workshops for Maine high school science teachers interested in collaborating with Bigelow Laboratory scientists to enhance ocean science education in the state.  These four-day summer workshops, led by Dr. David Fields<http://www.bigelow.org/research/srs/david_fields/> and Dr. Nicole Poulton<http://www.bigelow.org/research/srs/nicole-poulton/>, provide teachers with training, tools and hands-on research experience so that they are better equipped to teach ocean science in their classrooms.

Educators attending a workshop learn how to teach fundamentals of ocean science in a local and global context.  Topics covered include the history of oceanography, the ocean's biological pump, primary productivity and climate change.

Participants spend a day in the field on a research cruise, attend seminars by Bigelow scientists and engage in hands-on laboratory learning activities.  All attendees receive curriculum materials, aquatic field sampling and laboratory equipment, and follow-up academic year support, as well as 3 Continuing Education Units.  Housing near the Lab, a transportation reimbursement and most meals are provided.

Workshop Feedback

"Thank you for one of the best science professional development (PD) activities I've had in a long time. Everyone was interesting and enthusiastic about their research. Everything was well organized. It was PD done WITH us, not just given TO us, and it includes an on-going piece which is very important for the program's success. With much appreciation, thank you!"

"One of my favorite workshops as it provided time to interact with scientists regarding subject matter understanding and authentic scientific work."

"The day out on the boat, collecting data and then analyzing it back at the lab were excellent -- we were given the opportunity to do the science ourselves (practice and learn), which in turn will make it more transferable to our students."

2013 Workshop - July 16 - 19, 2013
The 2013, "Exploring Oceanography" Professional Development Workshop will take place from July 16th to July 19th (4 days) at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.  Participants include all MAINE High School and Middle School Science Teachers.  Housing near the Lab, a transportation reimbursement and most meals are provided.

TO REGISTER:  Please complete the online form<http://njpoulton.wufoo.com/forms/z7x3x5/>.  Maximum number of participants is 10.  Once registered you will receive notification of your registration, if full, all others will be placed on a waiting list.  For more information, please call 202-747-3255 or email Nicole Poulton, npoulton@bigelow.org.



Funded by the Betterment Fund and the Horizon Foundation.

Chewonki Announcing Second Annual Zero Waste Challenge

Announcing! The Second Annual Zero Waste Challenge Learn how your school can win up to $2,000

Dear MEEA Members,  If you're a 6th, 7th, or 8th grade teacher or administrator  in a Maine school, you can qualify to win a $2000, $1000, or $500 prize by having your student group take the Zero Waste Challenge.  Last year's challenge was so successful that the project has been expanded to reach more schools.  The Zero Waste Challenge is a hands-on service-learning project created by Chewonki and Poland Spring to help encourage the reduction of waste in schools across Maine.   This year, we are partnering with ecomaine and Pine Tree Waste to expand our reach because they know the business of waste and the enormous benefits of reducing your school's waste.  Middle school classrooms (grades 6,7,8) are challenged to enter the contest and help their schools save money and resources by evaluating their waste stream and creating a plan to reduce waste. The three winning student teams will receive a cash prize that can be used to implement a Zero Waste plan at their school or fund an environmental education experience with Chewonki. Contest Timeline Fall/Winter 2012: Schools engage in challenge. January 2013: Entries due. March 2013: Three winning plans are announced and awarded prizes as follows: First prize: $2,000, Second prize $1,000, Third prize $500. For more information and to register, visit:  www.chewonki.org/zerowaste  OR, contact Tom Twist ttwist @chewonki.org

Please forward this to other schools you know!

MEEA Hosting New England's First Environmental Literacy Summit

Tomorrow is the big day!  New England's first Environmental Literacy Summit hosted by MEEA is happening in Biddeford tomorrow at UNE- with over 130 regional EE leaders attending - it is bound to be an amazing day.  Laura Downey, Executive Director for the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, will be offering the Keynote address "The EE Stars are Aligning".   Follow this blog to find out more after the conference.  Looking forward  to seeing you there!
-MEEA Board

MEEA Board Meeting Today in Augusta

Hello MEEA Board and Members,
Please feel free to join us today at our monthly meting from 3:30 to 5:30 at the Viles Arboretum in Augusta. 
Thank you!
-MEEA Board

MEEA at the Common Ground Fair

Hello MEEA Members and Friends,
Make sure you come check out the MEEA table this weekend at the Common Ground Fair!  Come found out about all the exciting new initiatives MEEA is working on to help advocate for and support EE in Maine and New England!  We would love to catch up with you. 
Also MEEA President Ryder Scott will be a main speaker at the Fair this year...if you have a chance make sure you make it to his talk!

See you at the Fair-we look forward to reconnecting with you all!

Update on MEEA Happenings...

Hello MEEA Members,
Hope your summer was well.  MEEA has been busy this summer working on many exciting projects and collaborating with the New England Environmental Education Alliance to raise money to help implement Maine's Environmental Literacy Plan.  We look forward to awarding EPA funds to some outstanding Maine recipients later this fall and are so pleased to be able to support the great work that is happening in Maine!   

We are working hard on redevolpment of our website and are excited to be creating a new website that will be full of resources for formal and nonformal educators.  This is one of our most important goals and we are hoping to have the new site live in January 2013.

MEEA, in collaboration with NEEEA, will be hosting a one day conference October 26th at the University of New England.  Speakers from all over the region will join with Maine EE leaders to talk about implementing Envrionemental Literacy Plans and building capacity for EE programs and associations.  It will be a very educational and inspiring day and we hope you choose to join us!

MEEA will be at the Common Ground Fair this year!  Please stop by our table and say hi.  Thank you for all your support and for the good work you are doing in our state!

-- The MEEA Board

Reminder MEEA Board Meeting Tomorrow in Augusta

Hello MEEA Members,
Just a reminder our monthly board meeting will be in Augusta at the Viles Arboretum tomorrow, Thursday, June 6th, from 3:30-5:30 pm.  All members are invited to join us at this meeting.
Hope to see you there!
--MEEA Board of Directors

Cathance River Education Alliance Hosts Nature Programs For Public at Topsham Library

Hello MEEA Members,
Thought you all might be interested in attending one of these great FREE nature programs hosted by MEEA organizational member the Cathance River Education Allicance (CREA) at the Topsham Public Library...

Today May 29th from 6:30-8:30 is a program about Bird Rehabilitation by Wind Over Wings.  Come to this program by Hope Douglas to see Raven, American Kestrel, Owl and Bald Eagles that have been rehabilitated.

On June 26th from 6:30-8:30 come to a Center for Wildlife presentation about Maine's Nocturnal Creatures...guests of honor will be an opossum, porcupine, bat and owl.

Hope to see you all there!

MEEA Meets with Maine Department of Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen at Ferry Beach Ecology School

On May 24th Ferry Beach Ecology School (FBES) had the honor of hosting the Maine Commissioner of Education, Stephen Bowen, at Ferry Beach from 9-10:30am. FBES Executive Director Drew Dumsch was joined by MEEA President Ryder Scott and board member Linda Woodard (Maine Audubon).  They had some incredible face time with Commissioner Bowen and discussed environmental education and the Maine Environmental Literacy Plan (ELP).  To learn more about the positive impact this visit had on the commissioner's view of environmental education and EE's importance in his upcoming strategic plan for Maine education please read the Commissioner's blog entry: Commissioner Bowen's FBES visit

MEEA is so pleased to act as a voice in Maine advocating for the importance of environmental education in our incredible state.  Please continue to support MEEA in our work if you feel that this advocacy is important.  Thank you! 

 

Upcoming Project Learning Tree High School Workshop

 Hello MEEA Members...thought you might like to know about a very exciting PLT workshop coming up in the next few weeks.  I have used this curriculum in my own high school classroom and it is excellent material.  Consider taking this workshop!

Announcing a June 14 Project Learning Tree high school workshop hosted by Freeport High School
Introducing two curriculum modules:
Focus on Forests & Forests of the World


When: Thursday, June 14, 2012, from Noon to 3:00 - bring your lunch - drinks provided.

Where: Freeport High School, 30 Holbrook Street, Freeport

Why: The Focus on Forests h.s. module  includes lessons on ecosystems surveys and assessing forest health. Also included among the lessons is a case study of the role our forests play in protecting the Sebago & Presumpscot watersheds while addressing concepts in biology, civics, ecology, economics, forest management, and other subject areas.

        Lessons found in the Forests of the World h.s. module provide students with opportunities to apply scientific processes and higher order thinking skills while investigating world forestry issues and conducting service-learning action projects. 

Learn about a recent Freeport HS student field trip to a nearby wood harvest that stimulated interest and discussion for conducting long term field investigations. Teachers then decided to host a PLT workshop opened to all.

The $35/teacher & $25/student workshop fee includes receipt of the two modules and an introduction to the Forest Inventory Growth (FIG) project. A forester and the Maine PLT Coordinator will lead this session.

Please call today with questions, or to register simply send the registration fee (checks made out to the Maine TREE Foundation), no later than June 10, to:

Patricia Maloney
Maine PLT Coordinator
153 Hospital Street
Augusta, Maine 04330
207 626-7990
www.mainetreefoundation.org
www.plt.org

May MEEA Board Meeting Information

The MEEA monthly board meeting is being held at Gilsland Farm, Wednesday May 2nd from 3:30-5:30.  All members are invited to attend-hope to see you there!

Upcoming EE Event at the Frontier Cafe in Brunswick ME

The Cathance River Education Alliance
and Project Learning Tree are excited
to be part of Frontier’s programming
of PLAY AGAIN during Earth Week,
Thursday, April 26th at 8 PM

PLAY AGAIN is an award winning documentary directed by Tonje Hessen Schei, produced by Meg Merrill, and edited by David Bee. The soundtrack includes music from Icelandic band Sigur Ros and singer Kimya Dawson.

At a time when children spend more time in the virtual world than the natural world, PLAY AGAIN unplugs a group of media savvy teens and takes them on their first wilderness adventure, documenting the wonder that comes from time spent in nature and inspiring action for a sustainable future.

This film encourages individuals, families, schools, and communities to examine their relationships with both screen technology and nature, and inspires them to take action to reconnect children to the natural world.

With multiple showings Thursday, April 26 - Sunday, April 29, this is Southern Maine’s chance to check out the film that has been making its way into school programming across the state. Following the opening Thursday night 8pm screening will be a post film Skype Q&A discussion with Outreach Coordinator Greg Lemieux as well as discussion hosted by the supporting groups. The Cathance River Education Alliance and Project Learning Tree will have displays that raise awareness about their organizations and will be there to answer questions.

“We love what we know. If we don’t know about our nearby nature, or have a connection, it will certainly be more difficult be for policies that are good for our environment to occur in the future. It is because people played outside and appreciated their wild spaces that we now have a variety of policies, protected spaces, and trails for future generations to enjoy. “Play Again” helps cultivate this important discussion.” – Rick Wilson

MEEA Conference Closing Session Thoughts...

Hello MEEA Members and Friends-
As we promised at the MEEA conference here is the list of ideas we generated at the closing session when we were visioning in small groups a future for Maine's children and action steps to take to get to this future (of environmental literacy) that we are imagining and, as environmental educators in Maine, trying to help this future become a true reality...

Please continue to post and comment about your thoughts and add information that we might not have captured from the closing session.  MEEA will continue to look back on these thoughts and ideas as we shape our organization in the future.

Thank you for your input and your ideas...lets keep the conversation going so we stay connected to one another and through collaborative EE efforts increase the effectiveness and the validity of the good work we are doing in Maine!

Here were the ideas generated:

• In the future we believe that kids need to be encouraged to become systems thinkers-that we need to demonstrate to kids how to facilitate conversation and think about problems from multiple perspectives.  We need to create authentic, inquiry-based learning experiences for our students.

• We need to continue to facilitate unstructured connections to nature...these connections are as important as deep curriculum (addressing nature-deficit)
• We need to address a feeling of dis-empowerment in our youth and provide them opportunities through service learning to take action and feel empowered to make change in our world. --changing the pervasive sense of entitlement to a sense of empowerment!
• MEEA needs to continue to work to connect educators with each other and to share the work we are doing with the general public so they are aware, educated themselves, and see the amazing things already happening in Maine--we need to share our stories!
• We need to respect the diversity we have in our state (respecting personal experience, background and social history and others' "starting points" in regards to nature)
• We need to include young people as partners, collaborators and ambassadors for change-they must feel important and valued in order to be empowered.
• MEEA needs to continue to create a list of "unusual suspects" for collaboration and then to reach out to them.
• Recognize the power of our stories and interpersonal connection: in regards to collaboration and creating partnerships to encourage people to get outside this is paramount
• Be mindful of the difficulties of making connections in a rural state (with very spread out population centers) ... be inclusive of Northern Maine and also recognize the cultural differences between the populations and their differences in points of view on nature.
• We need to use the local colleges and their energy and expertise more in our collaborative EE efforts
• We need to use social networking more effectively to share our stories and make new connections
• We need to encourage multi-generational involvement in education with Maine's children
• We need to encourage community-based research and problem solving
• We need to find a way to help teachers and non-formal educators share resources so that the lack of money and materials is not what is preventing high quality EE from reaching our children
• We need open forums where we focus on solutions not on causes and student summits to role model good practice and empower youth.
• Continue to grow quality place-based education.
• We want to encourage our youth to become change makers in their communities.
• We need to remember as environmental educators that we are role models and we need to lead by example (food choices, energy choices etc)
• In collaborations we need to be respectful and aware of different time frames for invovled parties (i.e. not collaborating with teachers in summer months etc)
• We need to make sure we don't take the FUN out of learning-learning should be social, entertaining and real!
• We need to remember the importance of evaluating the work we are doing for effectiveness and also to work on teaching students to be self reflective and to self evaluate

I hope I captured the essence of the conversation...let's keep discussing this online!

The New York Times: Nature Deficit Disorder

Hello MEEA Members...thought this commentary in the NYT might be interesting to you!

NYT nature-deficit article 

Nature-Deficit Disorder

By TIMOTHY EGAN

Timothy Egan on American politics and life, as seen from the West.

Tags:

Exercise, nature, the outdoors

Rick Scibelli, Jr. for The New York TimesMount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains.

TUCSON — Your day breaks, your mind aches for something stimulating to match the stirrings of the season. The gate at the urban edge is open, here to the Santa Catalina Mountains, and yet you turn inward, to pixels and particle-board vistas.
Something’s amiss. A third of all American adults — check, it just went up to 35.7 percent — are obese. The French don’t even have a word for fat, Paul Rudnick mused in a mock-Parisian tone in The New Yorker last week. “If a woman is obese,” he wrote, “we simply call her American.”
And, of course, our national branding comes with a host of deadly side effects: heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, certain kinds of cancer. Medical costs associated with obesity and inactivity are nearly $150 billion a year.

This grim toll is well known. Cripes: maybe surgery is the answer, or a menu of energy drinks and vodka (the Ann Coulter diet?). Count the calories. Lay off the muffins. Atkins one week, Slim-Fast the next. We spend more than $50 billion on the diet-industrial complex and have little to show for it (or too much).
But there is an obvious solution — just outside the window. For most of human history, people chased things or were chased themselves. They turned dirt over and planted seeds and saplings. They took in Vitamin D from the sun, and learned to tell a crow from a raven (ravens are larger; crows have a more nasal call; so say the birders). And then, in less than a generation’s time, millions of people completely decoupled themselves from nature.
There’s a term for the consequences of this divorce between human and habitat — nature deficit disorder, coined by the writer Richard Louv in a 2005 book, “Last Child in the Woods.” It sounds trendy, a bit of sociological shorthand, but give the man and his point a listen.
Louv argued that certain behavioral problems could be caused by the sharp decline in how little time children now spend outdoors, a trend updated in the latest Recreation Participation Report. The number of boys ages 6 to 12 who engage in some kind of outdoor activity, in particular, continues to slide.
Kids who do play outside are less likely to get sick, to be stressed or become aggressive, and are more adaptable to life’s unpredictable turns, Louv said. Since his book came out, things have gotten worse.
“The average young American now spends practically every minute — except for the time in school – using a smartphone, computer, television or electronic device,” my colleague Tamar Lewin reported in 2010, from a Kaiser Family Foundation study.
You can blame technology, but behind every screen-dominant upbringing is an overly cautious parent. Understandably, we want to protect our kids from “out there” variables. But it’s better not just to play in dirt, but to eat it. Studies show exposure to the randomness of nature may actually boost the immune system.
Nature may eventually come to those who shun it, and not in a pretty way. We stay indoors. We burn fossil fuels. The CO2 buildup adds to global warming. Suburbs of Denver are aflame this week, and much of the United States is getting ready for the tantrums of hurricane and tornado season, boosted by atmospheric instability.
Last week, an Australian mountaineer named Lincoln Hall died at the age of 56, and in the drama of that life cut short is a parable of sorts. Hall is best known for surviving a night at more than 28,000 feet on Mount Everest, in 2006. He’d become disoriented near the summit, and couldn’t move — to the peril of his sherpas. They left him for dead. And Hall’s death was announced to his family.
But the next day, a group of climbers found Hall sitting up, jacket unzipped, mumbling, badly frostbitten — but alive. He later wrote a book, “Dead Lucky: Life After Death on Mount Everest.”
Still, having survived perhaps the most inhospitable, dangerous and life-killing perch on the planet, Hall died in middle age of a human-caused malady from urban life — mesothelioma, attributed to childhood exposure to asbestos.
Various groups, from the outdoor co-op REI to the Trust for Public Land, have have been working to ensure that kids have more contact with the alpine world than one lined with asbestos. And they don’t even have to haul children off to a distant mountain to get some benefit. An urban park would do.
This week, Michelle Obama appeared in the glow of spring’s optimism to kick off the fourth year of the White House Kitchen Garden, a component of her campaign to curb childhood obesity. If she is successful, it will be because people learned by their own initiative — perhaps at her prompting. A worm at work can be a wonderful discovery if you’ve never seen one outside of a flat-screen. But so are endorphins, the narcotic byproduct of exercise.
“Hope is the thing with feathers,” wrote Emily Dickinson. The First Lady supplied her own variation on the theme, with two powerful words that can go a long way to battling nature deficit disorder: “Let’s plant!”

Upcoming EE Related Free Public Events at Bowdoin College

MEEA Members are invited to these upcoming events at Bowdoin College, all of which are open to the public free of charge:

Meet Your Farmer- a series of 8 short films about farming in Maine
Wednesday, April 4 at 7:30 pm
Searles Hall, room 315.

The evening event will also include remarks by John Piotti, one of Maine’s leading farm advocates, as well as a panel discussion by local farmers.

Released last year by Maine Farmland Trust, these films have now been shown on Maine Public Television and at over sixty venues across the state, but never before at Bowdoin.  The films depict the great diversity of Maine agriculture, while portraying both the challenges and opportunities facing farmers in Maine. The films are the work of Cecily Pingree and Jason Mann, award-winning filmmakers from North Haven.

John Piotti, executive director of Maine Farmland Trust, will introduce the films by providing an overview of what’s happening within farming in Maine. Piotti is uniquely qualified for this task, having worked at the forefront of agricultural issues in Maine for seventeen years.  Outside of Maine, Piotti has served as chairman of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG) and a director of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. In 2005, Piotti was one of only eight Americans awarded a prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship, which he used to study sustainable agriculture in Europe.

Following the films, Piotti will moderate audience questions addressed to a panel of local farmers and food supporters.   

The New Politics of Parenthood: Family, Citizenship and Inequality in America Today

A Symposium to examine the role of family and parenthood in the nation’s current atmosphere of extreme social inequality and extreme political partisanship
Thursday & Friday, April 5-6, 2012
Main and Lancaster Lounges, Moulton UnionFamily and the Reproduction of Class: Keynote address by: June Carbone, Author of Red Families v Blue Families, Edward A. Smith/Missouri Chair of Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City (Thursday, 7:30 pm), and
How Children Succeed: Schools, Parents, and the Cultivation of Character: Lecture by Paul Tough, Author of Whatever it Takes Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America, and editor of the New York Times Magazine. Mr. Tough is a leading author on poverty, education and the achievement gap (Friday 12:30 pm).

Today the way people parent - when they have children and how they raise them - closely correlates both to social class and to political loyalties.  Many commentators believe that that the nation is "splitting apart" into two groups with different kinds of families.  They believe that differences in parenting, especially the rise in single parenthood among low income groups, is the driving force behind this growing inequality.  They wonder how public policy might address it, and how we might agree on a strategy to adopt.

The New Politics of Parenthood examines both the premises of this debate, and the political difficulties of finding solutions.  Bringing together scholars and leaders of organizations confronting the problems of poverty, the symposium will address the fundamental questions:  What is the role of family and parenthood in creating the profound inequality that marks America today?  And do our ideas about family make it harder to find political solutions to the problems of inequality?

For more information, see the webpage: bowdoin.edu/coastal-studies-center

The Redneck Legacy: King Coal and Appalachian Activism, 1912-2012Thursday, April 5, 7:00 pm
Smith Auditorium, Sills Hall
Bowdoin College

Chuck Keeney—a local activist, and labor and environmental justice historian from West Virginia—discusses the impacts of mountaintop removal mining, what the people of Appalachia are doing to stop it, and how we can help here in Maine.

Dr. C. Belmont (Chuck) Keeney is the great-grandson of Frank Keeney (president of the United Mine Workers of America in West Virginia from 1917-1924 and a leader in the 1921 Armed March on Blair Mountain). In 2011, Dr. Keeney, acting chair of the Friends of Blair Mountain, helped organize a protest reenactment of the 1921 march in an attempt to save the battlefield from the practice of mountaintop removal.

Sponsored by the McKeen Center for the Common Good, the Environmental Studies Program, the Departments of History and Sociology & Anthropology, and the Natural Resources Council of Maine.


Mother: Caring for 7 Billion (film screening)
Friday, April 6th, 7pm
Smith Auditorium, Sills Hall

There will be a showing of the film Mother: Caring for 7 Billion, the award winning film about the impact on people and the Earth posed by human's growing population. The film breaks a 40-year taboo by bringing to light an issue that silently fuels our largest environmental, humanitarian and social crises - population growth. Since the 1960s the world population has nearly doubled, adding more than 3 billion people. At the same time, talking about population has become politically incorrect because of the sensitivity of the issues surrounding the topic- religion, economics, family planning and gender inequality. The film illustrates both the over consumption and the inequity side of the population issue by following Beth, a mother, a child-rights activist and the last sibling of a large American family of twelve, as she discovers the thorny complexities of the population dilemma and highlights a different path to solve it. Click here to watch the trailer for the movie.

We are excited to be able to partner with Brunswick community members and so many groups at Bowdoin. The supporting departments and organizations at Bowdoin include: Bowdoin Film Society, Environmental Studies Program, Green Bowdoin, Hillel, McKeen Center for the Common Good, Muslim Student's Association, Sustainable Bowdoin, Women's Resource Center.
(SAVE THE DATE) John Rooks and Sustainable Organization Advocacy PartnersEvent Sponsored by Bowdoin Green Global Initiatives
Thursday, April 19^th 7:30 pm
ES Commons Room, Adams Hall

Green Global Initiatives is excited to have John Rooks, Founder of The Soap Group, come to campus on Thursday April 19th.  The Soap Group, which stands for Sustainable Organization Advocacy Partners, works with organizations, governments, and companies across the globe such as Cliff Bar, the World Bank Institute, the state of Maine and Clynk. The consulting group helps them to "understand, improve, communicate, and own their impact in the world" through a "holistic-systemic approach to sustainability."  John Rooks will be speaking about his experiences with these organizations and his career path in sustainability.

Johns Rooks is the Founder and President of The SOAP Group, author of the book More Than Promote – A Monkeywrencher’s Guide to Authentic Marketing, and a frequent speaker and writer about the intersection of sustainability, language and culture. With nearly 20 years of experience in the environmental and business consulting space, John has worked for an environmental engineering firm, an environmental compliance software company, and as a partner at an ad agency. John is also an adjunct professor of marketing and writing theory, and has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, the federal government and international NGOs on sustainability and business. John is husband to one, father of two and nerds out on zombie movies. He is currently writing his next book - an expose on the seedy underbelly of sustainability consulting.

Click here to go to the SOAP Group website

 

 

Rosemary Armstrong

Environmental Studies Program Coordinator

Coastal Studies Program Coordinator

Bowdoin College

6700 College Station

Brunswick, ME  04011

Phone: 207-725-3396

Fax: 207-725-3989

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MEEA members... Celebrate EE Week!
 
Educator Webinar: Field Investigations and STEM
Wednesday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. EDT

  

EE Week is partnering with the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) and the Pacific Education Institute (PEI) to explore how the schoolyard or local public land can provide students with the opportunity to be scientists using the skills and knowledge of inquiry to collect real-world data.  

Webinar participants will learn how to engage students in STEM education outside, utilizing nature as a laboratory, by planning, conducting and evaluating a field investigation.   

go to http://www.neefusa.org/ for more info!

MEEA 2012 Award Winners in the News!

MEEA 2012 Award winners were highlighted in the Bangor Daily News...congratulations to our award winners!  See the great article below:

MEEA BDN Awards Article

Environmental education awards target sustainability projects

By Christopher Cousins, BDN Staff

Posted March 22, 2012, at 2:23 p.m.

PORTLAND, Maine — An ambitious student-led project to conserve energy at Lincoln Middle School in Portland is among the award-winners being announced Friday at the Maine Environmental Educators Association’s annual conference in Wiscasset.
Fran Rudoff, executive director of an organization called the KIDS Consortium, said projects such as the one at Lincoln Middle School are part of a wider emphasis by the consortium and other organizations on STEM education, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Students at the school studied the use of paper towels and hand-dryers to determine the school’s carbon footprint and which option would be more environmentally friendly. After research on a paper towel’s life cycle, they chose to purchase high-efficiency dryers, the newest of which were installed earlier this month. The students calculated that the hand-dryers will reduce the school’s carbon dioxide emissions by more than 122 kilograms a year.
Lincoln Middle School Principal Steve Nolan said the hand-dryer project was the latest of several energy conservation projects undertaken by students at the school. Among the others were heat conservation methods such as the installation of weather stripping, a conversion to motion-sensing light switches, the mounting of solar panels to generate electricity powered by the sun, and new cafeteria practices, including doing away with styrofoam trays in favor of wax-cardboard containers.
Students also have begun a composting operation to supplement a vegetable garden at the school. Nolan said projects such as these interest students because they go beyond the classroom into real-world applications.
“It’s a chance for them to apply the skills they’re learning in class and to learn in an integrated way,” he said.
Rudoff said that aside from the education benefits, these projects have a significant impact on the school’s budget and environmental friendliness.
“They’ve been making a huge impact,” said Rudoff.
The Maine Environmental Education Association will bestow the awards on Friday at the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset. Other than Lincoln Middle School, the winners include:
• Oakhurst Dairy, Business of the Year, representing the first for-profit business ever recognized by the association. Oakhurst is being recognized for its long-term commitment to sustainability, for reducing its carbon footprint and for its charitable contributions to environmental education in Maine.
• The Kennebec Land Trust, Excellence in Environmental Education program award. The land trust is being recognized for its mission of working with landowners in central Maine to conserve land, support sustainable forestry and farming and educate the public.
• Joanne DeFilipp Alex, lead teacher at the Stillwater Montessori School in Old Town, winner of the 2012 Eberhard Thiele Environmental Educator of the Year Award. DeFilipp Alex, who was Maine’s 1998 Teacher of the Year, has served for 20 years as a facilitator for Project Learning Tree and Project Wild and has written books on environmental education.

MEEA Announces 2012 Award Winners...

The Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) will announce the winners of its annual environmental education awards recognizing this year's most outstanding environmental educator, school, business and environmental program in the state of Maine. These awards will be announced at MEEA's annual conference on Friday, March 23^rd at the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset, Maine at 8:30 a.m. Winners for 2012 include:

• Oakhurst Dairy: The Maine Environmental Education Association Business of Year
• Lincoln Middle School, Portland, ME: The Maine Environmental Education Association School of the Year
• Kennebec Land Trust: The Excellence in Environmental Education Program Award
• Joanne DeFilipp Alex: Eberhard Thiele Environmental Educator of the Year

Oakhurst Dairy is the first for profit business to be recognized by the Maine Environmental Education Association and will receive the Business of the Year award. In 2012, MEEA added for profit business to its award categories. Oakhurst is being recognized for its endless work on improving the company’s sustainability, reducing its carbon footprint, and its generous charitable contributions to environmental education, outdoor education and conservation associations in the state of Maine.

Lincoln Middle School, of Portland, Maine, the winner of the Maine Environmental Education Association School of the Year, is being recognized for its whole-school efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and increase the school's energy efficiency through student-led service learning projects.

The Kennebec Land Trust, the winner of the Maine Environmental Education Association’s Excellence in Environmental Education Program Award, is being recognized for so aptly upholding its mission to work cooperatively with landowners and communities to conserve lands in central Maine, support sustainable forestry and farming, and to educate the public about the natural world.

Joanne DeFilipp Alex, a lead teacher at the Stillwater Montessori School in Old Town, Maine is the winner of MEEA's 2012 Eberhard Thiele Environmental Educator of the Year award. Joanne, a former Maine Teacher of the Year (1998), is an inspirational teacher who instills a love of nature in her students. She is also dedicated to teaching other teachers and pre-service teachers in Maine about environmental education. For over 20 years she has served as a facilitator for Project Learning Tree and Project Wild. She has authored books on environmental education, taught related college courses, and has inspired many students, teachers and parents to become stewards of their environment.

This year’s MEEA conference, “Building Partnerships for Sustainable Communities: Gathering the Usual and Unusual Suspects,” is the key gathering of environmental educators around the state but will also feature conservation organization staff, health advocates, business leaders, governmental agencies, outdoor recreation groups and the agriculture industry. MEEA’s goal for the conference is to expand beyond the typical environmental education audience, integrating all sectors in recognition that the success of our communities relies on a healthy, active, engaged and environmentally literate population.

The awards ceremony will take place at the Chewonki Foundation, located at 485 Chewonki Neck Road Wiscasset, ME 04578. In case of inclement weather, the conference will be held on Saturday, March 24, 2012, at Chewonki.

For more information about MEEA and environmental education in Maine, please explore MEEA’s website at http://www.meeassociation.org/ and MEEA’s blog at http://maineeeassociation.blogspot.com/.

For any questions, please contact MEEA's award chairperson Olivia Griset at 207-232-6964 or oliviagriset@yahoo.com.

Richard Louv Speaking in Maine this Month!

Hello MEEA Members and Friends-

Just wanted to invite you to a much anticipated event....

Best selling author Richard Louv, 

 Last Child in the Woods: Saving Children from Nature Deficit Disorder

University of New England

Friday, March 30th, at 7pm Alfond 205

Richard Louv is an award-winning journalist and author of eight books about the connections between family, nature and community, including Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder and The Nature Principle. 

Book signings will take place after the lecture, and book copies will be available for purchase.

Sponsored by UNE’s Earth’s ECO and the Education Club

Don't Forget to Sign Up for the 2012 MEEA Conference!

Hello MEEA Members and Friends...
Just a reminder that our upcoming conference is happening March 23rd-next week-can you believe it is already that time of year again?  If you have not registered there are still a few slots available but the conference is filling up fast.  It should be a great conference this year!  Visit our website to register ASAP!

MEEA and NEEEA Project Coordinator Job Announcement

Hello MEEA Members,
We are excited to announce that MEEA is building capacity in our organization and we are looking forward to hiring our first paid contract staffer.  This person will have the exciting job of helping MEEA implement Maine's Environmental Literacy Plan.  We hope to find a great person for the job.  Please read on if you are interested in finding out more about this position...

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Projects Coordinator:

The Maine Environmental Education Association &

The New England Environmental Education Alliance

The Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) and the New England Environmental Education Alliance (NEEEA) seek a Projects Coordinator to support the work of both the MEEA and NEEEA Boards of Directors. The purpose of this new position is to efficiently manage specific capacity-building projects for these growing state and regional nonprofit associations, coordinate efforts to implement the Environmental Literacy Plans of the six New England states, and build membership, participation and collaboration through marketing and communication. This position will report to the MEEA/NEEEA Administration Committee. This five-person committee will consist of the president of each organization, the vice-president or president elect of each organization respectively, as well as the MEEA/NEEEA treasurer. The position reports directly to the MEEA or NEEEA president (depending on task).

THE ORGANIZATIONS:

The Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) facilitates and promotes environmental education in Maine through the sharing of ideas, resources, information, and cooperative programs among educators, organizations, and concerned individuals.

The New England Environmental Education Alliance (NEEEA) promotes quality environmental education across New England in partnership with all six New England state environmental education organizations including MEEA.

Both organizations provide networking and collaboration opportunities across New England through several formats:

• Hosting state & regional professional development opportunities with an annual conference (spring/MEEA and autumn/NEEEA), as well as training retreats & workshops.
• Recognizing exemplary environmental educators and programs through annual awards.
• Providing current EE information and resources through online newsletters, websites (www.meeassociation.org & www.neeea.org), list-serves and affiliation with the North American Association for Environmental Education.
• Assisting member organizations with board capacity, development and growth.

Both MEEA and NEEEA have growing finances and resources with annual operating budgets of over $50,000 and combined retained earnings of over $54,000. Both organizations currently have no paid staff and have 14 volunteer Board Directors each, with NEEEA’s board comprised of 2 representatives from each of the 6 New England states and their state EE organization— COEAA, RIEEA, MEES, SWEEP, NHEE, MEEA plus a board president and past president.

DESIRED ATTRIBUTES & COMPETENCIES:

• Commitment to environmental education and a vision for helping achieve the missions of MEEA and NEEEA through increased capacity and implementation of state ELPs.
• Professional experience (5 years+), preferably in a nonprofit EE organization with a similar or related mission including project management and fundraising.
• Computer skills including spreadsheets, database, desktop publishing and the web.
• Enthusiasm for collaboration, creativity, innovation and sustainable growth.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The MEEA/NEEEA Projects Coordinator duties will include:

• Assist state organizations with the creation and implementation of state Environmental Literacy Plans including regional sharing and collaboration.
• Manage grant writing and fundraising projects including foundation and corporate support.
• Work with both boards on their 5-year strategic plans including audience segmentation, needs assessment, appropriate activities and alternative business plans.
• Work with the MEEA/NEEEA Treasurer on project related finances, accounting and budget reports.
• Maintain and improve MEEA and NEEEA databases, files, archives.
• Manage MEEA and NEEEA websites.
• Manage and implement $150,000 EPA Region 1 Grant (if awarded).
• Oversee marketing, membership and public relations projects for both organizations.
• Serve as NEEEA liaison to the 6 state organizations and as NAAEE Affiliate liaison.
• Various and sundry duties as they arise.

ANTICIPATED WORKLOAD:

2,400 hours from April 2, 2012 to December 31, 2013—

Average 30 hours per week: MEEA ~20 hours and NEEEA ~10 hours per week

The Projects Coordinator is expected to attend MEEA monthly board meetings and NEEEA quarterly meetings, and the MEEA and NEEEA annual conferences. An additional 10 hours/week is possible dependant on additional funding. This contract work will be paid on a monthly billable basis.

COMPENSATION:

Contractual position to be paid at $30/hour for a 2012-2013 maximum of 2,400 hours plus an expenses stipend of up to $1,500. Initial contract is for April 2, 2012 to December 31, 2013.

TO APPLY :

Please submit a cover letter and a current resume to the Projects Coordinator Staffing Committee, c/o Drew Dumsch, Treasurer, MEEA and NEEEA, at drew@fbes.org (in PDF format, please). EOE - we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or disability. Applications will receive priority consideration if received by February 20, 2012; however, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. April 2, 2012 is the anticipated start date for this position. Those with questions about the position or search process may contact:

Drew Dumsch, MEEA and NEEEA Treasurer, ph: 207-283-9951 or email: drew@fbes.org.

Ryder Scott, MEEA President, ph: 207-665-2935 or email: ryder.scott@maine.edu

Lisa Purcell, NEEEA President, ph: (802) 353-9440 or email: lisa@fourwindsinstitute.org

MEEA 2012 Call for Award Nominations

Hello MEEA Members,
MEEA is seeking nominations for our 2012 awards... please read below:

Maine Environmental Education Association Awards 2012

~ Call for Nominations ~

The Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) is seeking nomination applications for recognition of outstanding environmental achievement in Maine in the following four categories:

• The Eberhard Thiele Environmental Educator Award
• Excellence in Environmental Education Program Award
• Maine Environmental Education Association School of the Year Award
• Maine Environmental Education Association Business of the Year Award

Nominations may be submitted using the attached form either by the nominee or by a colleague on its behalf. Applications are due by Monday, February 27th 2012. The selection criteria for each of the awards are as follows:

The Eberhard Thiele Environmental Educator Award is designed to recognize either an environmental education professional who works outside the formal classroom setting or a public or private school classroom teacher that incorporates environmental education into their pedagogical philosophy and practice. Eberhard Thiele was the first President of MEEA (1981), served many years on the board, and inspired many students as the Director of Environmental Studies at the University of Maine, Fort Kent.

The award recipient:

• makes continuous and enduring contributions to environmental education 
  demonstrates capacity for creating and implementing successful EE activities

• encourages students and/or audience to make informed decisions about environmental issues
• shows creative and innovative approaches to EE programming
• promotes environmental education by inspiring colleagues and/or providing training or resources to other educators

The Excellence in Environmental Education Program* Award is designed to recognize an outstanding environmental education program that is:

• innovative and creative
• sustainable
• has a strong evaluation component
• results in action or changed behaviors by participants.

*Recipients for this award might include nonprofits, land trusts, city programs and others.

The Maine Environmental Education Association School of the Year Award is designed to recognize an outstanding Maine public or private school or school program that demonstrates a commitment to one or more of the following:

• reducing the school's environmental impact and improving energy efficiency
• environmental and sustainability education that incorporates service learning.
• creating a healthy school environment (i.e. high school standards for nutrition, fitness, physical environment such as air and water quality, and quantity and quality of outdoor time for both students and staff)

The Maine Environmental Education Association Business of the Year Award is designed to recognize an outstanding Maine Business that is committed to one or more of the following:

• connecting to local land and resources which highlights conscious understanding of health, conservation or environmental and economical sustainability
• serving their community through the support of green initiatives
• reducing their environmental impact and improving their energy efficiency

MEEA awards will be presented at the annual conference, Building Partnerships for Sustainable Communities: Gathering the Usual and Unusual Suspects, March 23rd, 2012 at the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset.

Please complete the application form attached to nominate yourself or a colleague for one of the 2012 awards. Submission by e-mail is required. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact:

Olivia Griset MEEA Awards Committee Chair oliviagriset@yahoo.com

Please Note:  Individuals that serve as MEEA Board Members and the programs those individuals oversee are not eligible to receive MEEA awards during their term of service and for one year after. In addition, MEEA does not have to award every award every year; if MEEA deems there are not enough quality nominations in any one category an award may not be given in that category that year.

Maine Environmental Education Association

AWARDS NOMINATION FORM 2012

Nominee’s Name: ____________________________Award category:________________________________

Home Address: ____________________________________________________________________________

Organization/School Name & Address: _________________________________________________________

Job title or Grade and subject taught:_________________________________________________________

Home Phone: ________________Work Phone: __________________Email:___________________________

Contact information of person nominating this individual or program (if different than nominee):

Name:________________________________Phone:________________Email:________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________________________________

HOW TO APPLY:

Complete this form and write a narrative essay of no more than 750 words which explains how the applicant meets the award criteria.

Please e-mail application and essay on or before Monday February 27^th, 2012 to:

Olivia Griset oliviagriset@yahoo.com

THE SELECTION PROCESS

All materials are due by February 27th, 2012. Applications will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the MEEA Board of Directors by March 12th, 2012, after which all applicants will be notified.

MEEA awards will be presented at the annual conference, Building Partnerships for Sustainable Communities: Gathering the Usual and Unusual Suspects, March 23rd, 2012 at the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset.

Please help MEEA in recognizing excellent environmental educators, programs, schools and green businesses in the state of Maine!