West
Central Region
Counties:
Adams, Bond, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Christian, Fulton,
Greene, Hancock, Jersey, Logan, Macoupin, Madison,
Mason, McDonough, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike,
Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott
Upcoming
Events:
March 3, 2012
Roots of Nature (RON) Early Childhood
Educator Training including Growing Up WILD: Exploring
Nature with Young Children
Adams Wildlife Sanctuary in Springfield, Illinois.
Time: 8:30 am–5:00 pm
Location: Illinois Audubon Society; Springfield, IL.
Cost: Contact for registration options
Registration: Contact Jo Fessett at (217) 544-2473
or jfessett@illinoisaudubon.org
Facilitator: Patti Brown, The Nature Institute
This one-day focus on providing nature education to
budding naturalists is organized by Betsy Irwin (Lincoln
Memorial Gardens) and Jo Fessett (Illinois Audubon
Society). The 2012 event will offer a full day of
nature education (from 8:30am to 5:00pm) with the
option to attend a Growing Up WILD (GUW) educator
training workshop in the morning. Topics covered during
the sessions will support Growing Up WILD activities,
and the day will conclude with a sampling of crafts,
food, and songs from the Growing Up WILD curricula.
The workshop is open to anyone who is interested in
improving their ability to bring nature education
to the future stewards of our lands and waters, but
GUW workshop attendance is not mandatory. More details
and workshop costs will be available soon. If you
are interested and would like a registration form,
please contact Jo at jfessett@illinoisaudubon.org.
Resources:
The
Sangamon River: A Sense of Place DVD
For social science teachers of grades six through
eight in Cass, Champaign, Ford, Mason, Menard, Logan,
McLean, De Witt, Piatt, Macon, Sangamon, Christian,
Montgomery, Macoupin, Tazewell and Shelby counties,
The Sangamon River: A Sense of Place is a DVD that
can help you teach about a local resource, its culture
and history. This DVD (56 minutes, closed captioned)
was produced by the University of Illinois at Springfield
and has been shown on local PBS stations. If you teach
in one of these counties and would like a free copy
of this DVD, please send your request on school letterhead
to Valerie Keener at the address listed below.
Valerie Keener
Administrator, Division of Education
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL 62702-1271
217-785-0973
Cell 217-725-9620
FAX 217-782-9552
valerie.keener@illinois.gov
IL
Zero Waste Schools Grant Program
The IL Zero Waste Schools Grant Program provides
Illinois public and nonpublic schools grant funds
to be used to implement or expand recycling and waste
reduction programs. The purpose of the program is
to assist Illinois schools in achieving zero waste
status, thus increasing the amount of solid waste
diverted from Illinois landfills. A new grant cycle
will begin later this year to fund recycling programs
to begin in schools in the Fall 2009. Your name will
be added to the 2009 IL Zero Waste Schools Grant program
notification list. You will be contacted as soon as
the application is available. To be placed on the
notification list, please email Brett Ivers at Brett.Ivers@illinois.gov
In
addition to the grant program, the Bureau of Energy
and Recycling sponsors the IL Sustainable Education
Project (ISTEP). ISTEP offers FREE educational resources,
including hands-on inquiry kits (recycling/vermicomposting),
bookmarks, and posters that focus on energy efficiency
and recycling. ISTEP also offers pencils made from
recycled material available in multiple quantities
for classroom/school events. The website is being
updated, but a description of some program offerings
can be found at www.istep.org. Please contact Susan
Nevitt at Susan.Nevitt@illinois.gov or 217-785-2863
to order material.
Reconnecting People to Our Region's Great
Rivers
The network of conservation, heritage and recreation
attractions developing in The Confluence provides
countless opportunities to reconnect to the Great
Rivers in the heart of our bi-state St. Louis region.
www.confluencegreenway.org
Regional
Directors:
Patti
Brown
The Nature Institute
tni3@piasanet.com
Paula
Edgar
John Wood Community College
edgar@jwcc.edu