Water Stewardship for your School and Community

Transcription

1 2014 Summer Institute Water Stewardship for your School and Community Learn how to monitor and care for the water resources in the Kickapoo River Valley! This course will show you how to design and implement an ecological restoration in your school through engaging, interdisciplinary activities that explore STEM, social studies, art, and more. Teachers of all grade levels, informal educators, and community members can use ecological restoration to engage their students academically and as environmental leaders. GENERAL INFORMATION: Dates: August 4-8 th, 2014 Time: 8:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Location: Kickapoo Valley Reserve Visitor Center To Register: Contact Claire Shaller at for an application packet (overview, teacher application form, and school administrator letter). Grades: Curriculum is designed for 4K-12 students, including special subjects (art, music, technology, etc.) and special needs. Credits: 3 special student graduate credits from the UW-Madison, tuition waived. Includes: Curriculum guides, team activities, cross-curricular connections, supplies, resources for the classroom, expert leaders, field trips. Each participating school will receive funds for a restoration project with their students! Come with your colleagues! We recommend teams of 3-6 teachers, parents, and community members from your school.

2 Water Stewardship Application for the 2014 Earth Partnership Kickapoo Valley Water Stewardship Institute Discover how restoring native ecosystems can help: Invigorate your school and community through interdisciplinary learning experiences and research for all ages. Enhance community awareness, skills and knowledge of stewardship actions to enhance biodiversity and prevent pollution through restoration and bio-retention in the Kickapoo Valley. Support relevant learning that connects youth to their culture and place and informs about ecological and environmental issues and solutions. Inspire youth and adults develop a personal understanding of their relationship with others and the natural world. We invite you to participate in an Earth Partnership Water Stewardship Institute for graduate credit in which you will learn how to use the process of ecological restoration as a broad environmental context for teaching and learning about the Kickapoo River watershed. The process of habitat restoration is an exciting, real-life project that spirals through the curriculum from kindergarten through twelfth grade and includes many disciplines such as science, math, social studies, language arts, and related arts. Earth Partnership: Kickapoo Valley Water Stewardship:, funded by the Kickapoo Valley Reforestation Fund, will employ ecological restoration of native plant communities on schoolyards, in rain gardens, and nearby shoreline, wetland, riparian and estuarine habitats as a basis for interdisciplinary K-16 curriculum activities, teacher professional development & citizen science. Since 1999, teachers from the Kickapoo School District in Viola, Wisconsin, have participated in Earth Partnership for Schools (EPS), attending 1-2 week professional development institutes at UW Stout, UW-Madison Arboretum and then implementing a K-12 restoration education curriculum on the school grounds and Griffin Trust property. Literally hundreds of Kickapoo students have participated in restoring primarily prairie species through collecting seeds, growing plants and planting them in gardens around the school building and across the highway in the Griffin Trust Preserve. Lead teachers have hosted institutes for area educators at Viola and in 2012 at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve with participants from Viola, La Farge, Reedsburg, and other area schools. In order to serve a greater portion of the Kickapoo River watershed, EPS has been working with teachers from Viroqua, Livingston, Kickapoo, Norfolk-Ontario-Wilton, Richland Center and Fennimore. These teachers have been meeting to learn about restoration education throughout the current school year, laying the groundwork for teams from their communities to attend a summer institute in 2014 and plan a restoration at on their school grounds. OVERVIEW University professors, resource professionals, regional collaborators, students, teachers and EPS staff will envision and implement regional projects serving the Kickapoo Valley in an effort to engage students in community outreach and action for identifying storm water impacts and instigating water quality solutions. Teachers receive three graduate credits with the tuition waived from UW-Madison Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Each participant will receive EPS curriculum Guides, Phenology Wheels and other resources. Each school will receive at least $800 for project materials and supplies.

3 Content for the Earth Partnership Kickapoo Valley Institute will include: o How to use the EPS 10-Step Restoration Education Process with students and community: Discovering Species, Habitats and Cycles, Exploring and Mapping Watersheds, Inquiring, Investigating and Monitoring; Sharing Student Data and Learning; Engaging in Community Action and Service Learning; and Restoring Native Ecosystems. Water Stewardship teaching/learning tools include: o Participatory Photo Mapping utilizing GPS, digital photography and Google Maps to document and track projects, assess human activities on the watershed, record real-time events, construct site and watershed-scale explanations and share data with students in the Kickapoo Valley watershed. o Citizen Science monitoring tools to monitor storm water run-off, assess causes and potential risks, and contribute to shared data-bases. o Phenology Wheels developed by elementary teacher Georgia Gomez-Ibáñez, Cambridge Elementary School, WI with Anne Forbes, Partners in Place to provide a graphic organizer for people of all ages) to record their observations of seasonal rhythms, cycles, arrivals and departures that can provide an introduction to climate science. Activities based on the Leopold family observations at the Leopold Shack further develop observations in the schoolyard and backyard. o Earth Partnership s Indigenous Arts and Sciences initiative, which incorporates Native American perspectives of land and water stewardship. Participants will be exposed to an indigenous approach to schoolyard restoration built on respect, reciprocity, responsibility and relationships. o Administrators will be invited to experience the institutes to build support for teachers efforts to involve students in relevant learning through place-based projects. PROGRAM SCHEDULE 2014 Spring Form teams comprised of 3 6 teachers, administrators, support staff, and or parent volunteers. When selecting your team members, think about strategic integration of Earth Partnership Water Stewardship for project sustainability. You may consider a representative for each grade level or full grade participation or a representative for each subject area. Submit teacher application forms to the Earth Partnership office by June 1. Summer Receive course registration instructions and apply to UW-Madison and for credit. Process must be completed by July 30 to obtain credit. Attend the Earth Partnership: Kickapoo Valley Water Stewardship Institute August 4 8 held at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve School Year Attend a winter meeting (dates to be determined during the Institute) Implement stewardship activities with your students and share your experience at the winter meeting. Form an ongoing planning team to integrate water stewardship learning experiences Participate in an optional Action Research Course or continuing education course including webinars and local workshops offered during Spring Semester for two additional graduate credits 2015 and Beyond Attend future Earth Partnership Institutes (if interested) Participate in on-going educational opportunities Continue cycle of ecological restoration-based water stewardship education. Maintain student and school and community involvement.

4 RESPONSIBILITIES OF TEACHERS 1. Participate in the 5-day summer Earth Partnership: Kickapoo Valley Water Stewardship Institute 2. Attend a one-day winter meeting (date to be determined during each institute). 3. Develop a school-based plan at the Institute to implement Earth Partnership restoration projects, field work, data collection and outreach with students. 4. Identify an activity to implement and assess with your students during the school year. Share your experience at a follow-up meeting. 5. Meet regularly as a team throughout the school year. Invite/involve additional colleagues, parents and students. 6. Our funders request evaluation of Earth Partnership program activities. At times you will be asked to participate in program evaluations and/or provide classroom and student-based assessments you have used. CREDIT The 2014 institute is offered through University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Curriculum and Instruction for three credits. These credits are classified as special student credits. The credits can be transferred to graduate credits by the graduate department with whom you are enrolled. The course is a UW- Madison graduate level course with a graduate level course number, and tuition and segregated fees are waived (worth $1,342.12). Contacts: Local Kickapoo Valley Area Earth Partnership Coordinator Francesco Accomondo, (608) faccomando@gmail.com Earth Partnership for Schools Program Office Claire Shaller, (608) , cshaller@wisc.edu APPLICATION SUBMITTAL Please submit all completed application materials either by FAX (608) , to Claire Shaller, cshaller@wisc.edu, or mail to the Earth Partnership Office at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, 1207 Seminole Hwy., Madison, WI on or before June 1, APPLICATION CHECK LIST Teacher Application Forms Please keep copies for your records In conformance with applicable federal and state law and with University policy, UW-Madison does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin or ancestry, sexual orientation, arrest or conviction record, marital status, handicap, political affiliation, or veteran's status with regard to treatment of employees and students in the educational programs or activities which it operates. Inquiries concerning this policy may be directed to appropriate campus admitting or employing units or to the Office of Affirmative Action and Compliance, 175 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI ; 608/

5 Earth Partnership: Kickapoo Valley Water Stewardship UW-Madison Arboretum 1207 Seminole Highway Madison, WI Water Stewardship TEACHER FORM Complete 1 form per participating teacher Name (Please Print) Grade/Curriculum Area(s) Preferred Name Address School Name School Address Home Address School Phone Home Phone Cell Phone Years of Teaching Experience Please summarize why you would like to be a participant in Earth Partnership: Kickapoo Valley Water Stewardship Initiative.

6 I understand that as a participant in the Earth Partnership: Kickapoo Valley Water Stewardship Initiative I will: 1. Participate in the 5-day Earth Partnership Institute, held August 4 8 at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. 2. Develop an action plan with my team at the Institute to implement Earth Partnership restoration projects, field work, data collection and outreach with students. 3. Identify an activity to implement and assess with my students during the school year and share my experience with colleagues at the follow-up winter meeting. 4. Form an ongoing EPS site committee at the school. 5. Work with students to develop a native planting at the school site or within the community. 6. Participate in program evaluation as requested by Earth Partnership Program funders. Signature Date

7 Water Stewardship Dear School Administrator: A team of teachers from your school is applying to participate in an Earth Partnership: Kickapoo Valley Water Stewardship Institute with funding from the Kickapoo Valley Restoration Fund. The institute shows teachers how to plant and use restored native habitats and/or rain gardens on school grounds and nearby riparian, wetland and shoreline areas to teach a broad range of subject matter. Activities are inquiry, place and project-based and aligned to state standards. The Earth Partnership for Schools (EPS) teacher professional development model has proven effective in increasing teacher collaboration and improving student learning. While focusing on ecology, native habitat plantings also incorporate subjects such as mathematics, history, science, social studies, language arts, art, and music. Since 1991, EPS has worked with over 1,200 schools in 22 states and Puerto Rico restoring schoolyard habitats and improving K-12 education and STEM-based learning by engaging students in hands-on/minds-on learning. For those schools selected, the program will provide services, training, and graduate credit worth approximately $20,000. UW-Madison graduate tuition is waived for participating teachers. EPS offers teachers substantial support, training, and expertise as they create a native habitat planting and develop a curriculum plan to make the native planting project a broad educational resource that meets state standards. The program provides: three UW-Madison graduate credits for each teacher who attends the EPS Institute held August 4 8 at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve a luncheon presentation during the Institute for school administrators and community members professional on-site consultation by staff for restoration activities ongoing curriculum development support to participating schools inquiry and STEM-based research opportunities for students at least $800 for restoration project supplies and materials Earth Partnership: Kickapoo Valley Water Stewardship will employ ecological restoration of native plant communities on schoolyards, in rain gardens and nearby shoreline, wetland, riparian and estuarine habitats as a basis for a) interdisciplinary K-16 curriculum activities, b) professional development of teachers and c) citizen science resulting in greater applied environmental literacy, outreach and action in Wisconsin schools and communities. EPS collaborates with other education programs to create a comprehensive, inquiry and restorationbased approach, integrated with sustainability, biodiversity, pollution prevention and service learning.

8 We ask that the following requirements be met to satisfy guidelines to maintain a high-quality program: 1. Each participating school will provide space and time for piloting Earth Partnership Water Stewardship activities. 2. The school commits to the development of a native planting at the school or in the community and its subsequent use as a teaching tool in keeping with the school s long-range plan, professional development plan, and mission. 3. Schools will form an ongoing curriculum planning team to infuse and integrate the native planting project into the school s curriculum. 5. Our funders request evaluation of Earth Partnership Water Stewardship Program activities. Your school will be asked to participate in program evaluations and/or to provide classroom and student assessments. Student names are not required. 6. At times, we may take photographs of students participating in the native planting process. Teachers will attempt to obtain parental consent for EPS. We are very excited about this opportunity and look forward to working with your teachers and school. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at 608/ or by e- mail: cherylbauer@wisc.edu. Sincerely, Cheryl Bauer-Armstrong, Director Earth Partnership for Schools Office University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum I have read the above and agree to the requirements of the program: Signature Date Title In conformance with applicable federal and state law and with University policy, UW-Madison does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin or ancestry, sexual orientation, arrest or conviction record, marital status, handicap, political affiliation, or veteran's status with regard to treatment of employees and students in the educational programs or activities which it operates. Inquiries concerning this policy may be directed to appropriate campus admitting or employing units or to the Office of Affirmative Action and Compliance, 175 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI ; 608/