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Important
Resources
2010
Environmental Literacy for Illinois (EL for
IL): A strategic plan for environmental education in Illinois
The Environmental Literacy for Illinois strategic plan was originally
released in July of 1995. In January of 1998 six of the 10 original
committee chairs met in Bloomington to revise and update the plan
to reflect upon objectives that had been met, as well as the technological
advances achieved in the past few years. The original plan was
endorsed by over 200 leaders throughout the state, from agency
personnel and nature center staff, to educators and Illinois State
Board of Education staff. During Conservation Congress 2000, Environmental
Literacy for Illinois won the full support of the congressional
body and was unanimously passed for statewide adoption.
In May of 2005, a revision team convened to amend the plan to
reflect the accomplishments of the plan’s goals since its
conception and modify it for the next five years. The revision
was available for review to over 150 environmental educators throughout
the state.
In October of 2009, the Conservation Congress voted on a number
of recommendations to increase youth involvement and interest
in outdoor activities. The top recommendation in the Youth Recruitment
and Retention subcommittee made by the congress was to update
the Environmental Literacy for Illinois strategic plan. The Illinois
Department of Natural Resources engaged the Illinois State Board
of Education and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
to develop this plan, with input from over 30 organizations. Governor
Pat Quinn signed Executive Order 10-7 on April 14, 2010, supporting
the adoption of the Environmental Literacy for Illinois strategic
plan.
Illinois
Green Standards and Descriptors
Early in 2000, the Illinois Environmental Education Advancement
Consortium (IEEAC) was challenged with reviewing the Illinois
Learning Standards to identify benchmarks that addressed environmental
education. In 2005, the group was challenged to look at the Science
and Social Studies descriptors and identify those that addressed
environmental education. Since IEEAC members believe that environmental
education follows a scope and sequence of learning, we wanted
to critically review each benchmark to find the correlations.
The rubric chosen to complete the correlation was developed by
the North American Association of Environmental Education’s
National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines
for Learning (K-12).
Online
Tool for Evaluating EE Programs
MEERA (My Environmental Education Evaluation Resource Assistant)
is a free, online tool for educators to help evaluate their programs.
Visit http://meera.snre.umich.edu/
for more information.
New
Resources
NEW
DISCUSSION PACKAGE FOR PBS FRONTLINE’S POISONED WATERS
Hedrick Smith Productions has created a discussion guide and DVD
clip reel from the PBS FRONTLINE special POISONED WATERS that
aired nationwide on April 21, 2009. The package will include a
DVD with five-minute excerpts from the show and a 26-page educational
booklet fitted into a DVD case. Together, the discussion guide
and video clips are designed to stimulate public discussion of
crucial issues and effective solutions for water protection and
restoration. It is intended for teachers, students, regulators,
administrators, activists and anyone else interested in improving
water quality. It will be available at no charge for a limited
time. Please visit the PBS FRONTLINE Web site at www.pbs.org/frontline/poisonedwaters
for the full PBS broadcast and more information about the program.
New Resource for Teaching Science in Informal Settings
Surrounded by Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments
can be preordered now from the National Academies Press at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12614#description.
Based on the National Research Council study Learning Science
in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits, this 220-page
book provides case studies, questions, and illustrative examples.
The book should be released in early 2010. Examination copies
are available for graduate, undergraduate and in-service instructors.
For further information, contact customer_service@nap.edu.
Lake
Education Assistance Program (LEAP)
This program provides funding for various watershed
related projects. LEAP offers maximum awards on a $500 per school
and/or other not-for-profit organization basis. Schools and other
not-for-profitorganizations can apply for financial help for group
or individual attendance at field trips, seminars, workshops or
other events related to inland lakes or lake watersheds. The Illinois
EPA will grant approximately 100 awards per fiscal year. Two application
periods are offered annually, September 30 and January 31. Application
forms for LEAP assistance can be obtained from the Illinois EPA,
Bureau of Water, P.O. Box 19276, Springfield, Illinois, 62794-9276,
phone 217/782-3362 or downloaded from the Illinois
EPA's homepage.
General
Resources
Standing
Up for Illinois - Office of Lt Governor Pat
Quinn
US
EPA Region 5 Resources for Educators
The
National Park Service Educational Resources
The
National Park staff has developed age appropriate educational
worksheets on biology, geology, and history, which are being
distributed for free along with classroom sets of appropriate
Park brochures.
A field
guide to aid biologists, naturalists, land managers, law enforcement
officials and students in the identification of the butterflies
found in Illinois. This guide contains more than 300 color photographs
of all species plus information on habitats, natural history
and distribution.
Green
Teacher is a non-profit, practical, quarterly magazine
for all K-12 educators and parents who seek to promote environmental
literacy and global awareness with young people.
- Masters
of the Air Booklet The latest addition to the series
of activity books available from the Department of Natural
Resources (IDNR) features 16 hawks and owls with illustrations
to color and descriptions to read. The booklet also includes
several other activities about the raptors.
- Illinois
Snakes Poster This is the fifth poster in the Illinois
Fauna series by the IDNR Division of Education. Twenty-five
species of snakes native to Illinois are illustrated with
color images, as are five juvenile snakes.
- Natural
Divisions State Map Another poster is available for
you to use! The front side of Illinois' Natural Divisions
has a map of the State showing the location of the 14 natural
divisions and a color image of each. The reverse side explains
what the natural divisions are and how they and the biodiversity
of Illinois are related.
- To obtain
a copy of the above, or other IDNR Education materials, contact:IDNR
Division of Education
Earth
Awareness program is an interactive enrichment (school
assembly) program being utilized by Education Service Agencies,
museums, schools and educational organizations throughout the
United States to teach students about earth science, the environment
(recycling, water, pollution, rain forests, etc.) as well as
subject areas such as geography and social science. The Earth
Balloon, a 20 foot model of the earth that students enter to
learn about the changing planet, is ideally suited for classes,
such as: environmental science, math and more.
Our
Water Environment is now available on line in its new
form as the Water Works Journal (WW). WW continues the National
Water Center's tradition and commitment to a better understanding
and appreciation of all aspects of our water environment.
Materials
include a teacher's guide, posters for display in classroom
and information on the statewide poster and poetry/prose competition.
The guide was designed to meet the North American Association
for Environmental Education's Environmental Education Materials:
Guidelines for Excellence. It is correlated to the Illinois
Learning Standards. The guide and the information for the statewide
poster and poetry/prose competition are available on Illinois
EPA's Web site (http://www.epa.state.il.us/kids/teachers/index.html).
Environmental
Education Courses Calendar
Fundamentals
of EE
Gain
a foundational knowledge of environmental education and learn
how to incorporate quality EE into your instruction. Participants
discuss the history and goals of EE, develop an understanding
of the professional roles and instructional methods of environmental
educators, and interact with other educators from across the
country.
Environmental Education Grants
Lake
Education Assistance Program (LEAP)
This program provides funding for various watershed related
projects. LEAP offers maximum awards on a $500 per school and/or
other not-for-profit organization basis. Schools and other not-for-profitorganizations
can apply for financial help for group or individual attendance
at field trips, seminars, workshops or other events related
to inland lakes or lake watersheds. The Illinois EPA will grant
approximately 100 awards per fiscal year. Two application periods
are offered annually, September 30 and January 31. Application
forms for LEAP assistance can be obtained from the Illinois
EPA, Bureau of Water, P.O. Box 19276, Springfield, Illinois,
62794-9276, phone 217/782-3362 or downloaded from the Illinois
EPA's homepage.
Adopt
a Stream
The
Illinois Smallmouth Alliance has put together a program whereby
various usergroups will be empowered to make a difference in
a watershed of their choosing state-wide. For more information
contact Mike Clifford at (773)771-9042 or visit http://www.illinoissmallmouthalliance.net/html/conservation/adopt-a-stream.html
Environmental
Education Resources
Environmental
Literacy for IL
'If
Trees Could Talk'
Environmental
History Curriculum
Illinois
Environmental Education Database
Environmental
education (EE) is a life-long process of discovering and understanding
the interdependence between humans and their environmental resources.
The function of EE is to foster environmental literacy-to develop
a citizenry that is aware of, and concerned about, the environment
and its associated problems, and which has the knowledge, skills,
attitudes, motivations, and commitment to work individually
and collectively toward solutions for current problems.
Community
Action Problem Solving (CAPS) Program Training
Earth
Force offers local training in the Community Action Problem
Solving (CAPS) program. CAPS combines environmental education,
service learning and civic action into one framework that engages
youth to create lasting environmental change in their communities.
Eisenhower
National Clearinghouse (ENC) Online
ENC,
established by the U.S. Department of Education, focuses on
K-12 math and science education. The content on ENC Online has
been organized into four major categories - Curriculum Resources,
Web Links, Professional Resources, and Topics.
ESCAPE
Escape
is a collection of 36 hands-on activities related to exotic
aquatic species. A fee for the material applies.
Illinois
Wildflowers
This
website has many good photos and great descriptions of Illinois
wildflowers put together by local plant enthusiast John Hilty.
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