Upcoming Green Teacher Webinars:
Welcoming Immigrants via Outdoor Recreation Programs
Presenter:Β Adrienne Blattel
Tuesday, November 24, 2015 7:30-8:30pm EST
In 2010, Adrienne Blattel developed a program through an inner-city community centre in Montreal to bring together newly-arrived immigrants and other Montrealers through outdoor recreation. During this presentation, Adrienne will outline how activities are run to foster integration and intercultural understanding, which types of outings have worked well, lessons learned and ideas for the future.
Adrienne Blattel started up an Intercultural Outdoor Recreation Program in 2010,Β through a local community centre, with the goal of bringing together Montrealers from near and far through outdoor activities. Adrienne originally hails from Ottawa, where she developed a taste for paddling, cross-country skiing, camping and more. During her time spent in France, Montenegro and Montreal, she learned first hand how outdoor recreation can help people settle in, and was inspired to start this program in Montreal. Adrienne has a Masters in Environmental Studies from York University.
Fostering Leadership for Sustainability
Presenter: Pat Armstrong
Wednesday, December 2, 2015 7:30-8:30pm EST
What is the best way to get 11-18 yearΒ olds engaged and active in bringing about change for a more sustainable future? Pat will share ten principles that emerged from her many years of leadership training programs.
Pat Armstrong has worked in environmental education and education for sustainability for over thirty five years, actively involved in the development and implementation of internationally recognized sustainability education programs that provide long-term change. More recently Pat has been researching and developing a range of leadership training programs and delivering them to different sectors of the community. She is a doctoral candidate at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, researching adolescent leadership for sustainability.
How to be a Better Teacher-Naturalist
Presenter:Β Clare Walker Leslie
Wednesday, December 9 2015 7:30-8:30pm EST
In her presentation, Clare will share her straight-forward techniques for engaging people of all ages with the natural world. Often using paper and pencil in an Observational Format, she shows ways to use both writing, simple drawings, and variousΒ observation techniques to record what is being seenΒ directly while outdoors. In fact, Clare uses an instructional method that harkens back to the early study of Science, when naturalists had to record their observations in order to prove what they had seen to their patrons and colleagues.Β Today, when schools are under pressure to meet State Standards, Clare is careful to make sure her work in classrooms fits into the particular curriculum of each class, age and situation.
Clare Walker Leslie grew up outdoors playing in the woods and fields near Philadelphia. After college, she developed a career that combined the study of Nature and drawing/writing/painting/teaching as a means of connecting both herself and her students with where they live, season by season and year upon year. Β A self-taught naturalist, she has just published her twelfth book, entitled The Curious Naturalist. Prominent among her earlier books were The Nature Connection (2010) and Keeping a Nature Journal (2003).Β Over the years, she has been fortunate to study with some of Europeβs top wildlife artists. Clare lives in Cambridge, MA and Granville, VT.Β Learn more at www.clarewalkerleslie.com.
Collecting Field Data on Local Birds with Elementary
Presenters:Β Renee Bachman andΒ Ted Watt
Thursday, February 4 2016 7:30-8:30pm EST
Ted and Renee planned and carried out a Birds in Forested Landscape Cornell University Nesting Bird Survey with 5th Graders in Western Massachusetts. In this Webinar Ted and Renee will describe their project along with other bird study projects done. Teaching bird identification 
skills, visual and auditory, field data collection and analysis skills and presentation techniques for the wider community will be included. Outdoor bird study with students is aligned with NGSS practices and is a lot of fun!
Renee Bachman is a veteran teacher who currently teaches at Leeds Elementary School in Northampton, Massachusetts. Her passion is getting kids outdoors to do authentic science and foster a sense of stewardship in her students.Β Ted Watt , of the Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst, MA, USA, has worked as a teaching naturalist at environmental centers for over 35 years. He has studied birds and plants of northeastern North America and is tremendously curious about all life and enjoys working with local elementary students and teachers to enhance standards-based outdoor learning.
Remote Cameras in Environmental Education
Presenters: Ryan Pennesi and Dawn Tanner
Wednesday, February 10 2016 7:30-8:30pm EST
Young people do not realize there are so many interesting things that they can learn about animals in their own schoolyard and neighborhood.Β Using remote cameras helps teachers to increase technology learning in their classrooms and brings students outside to create meaningful connections. Whether you think small scale at what your students will learn about the animals that share their space when they are absent or you choose to connect with localΒ scientists, setting up trail cameras will give you a window into the wild.Β JoinΒ Ryan and Dawn in discussion as they address choosing the best locations to 
place the cameras, how to set them up and what can be done both inside and outside of the classroomΒ with the resulting images and data.
Ryan Pennesi is a Mentor Naturalist at the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, Minnesota. After studying wildlife conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he worked as a crew leader with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps and as an environmental educator with the Student Conservation Association in Western Massachusetts.Β Dawn Tanner is a PhD candidate in the Conservation Biology Program at the University of Minnesota. Working in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN Project WILD), Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, Afton-Lakeland Elementary, and Afton State Park, she created the Taking Action Opportunities (TAO) curriculum that makes use of remote cameras for environmental education.
