Teaching Teachers and Connecting Kids with the Environment
Last year, we held our first training event for local educators, which we called “Learning in the Umpqua Watershed: Engaging K-12 Students through Nature Connections & STEAM Activities.” This is now an annual event, and this year it will take place over three days (April 13th – 15th), allowing us to focus our attention on particular grade levels during each session. Thanks to funding from grants awarded by the Clif Family Foundation and The Roundhouse Foundation, we are able to offer this program for free to educators and provide each participating teacher with books and other materials, as well as a $100 stipend. We greatly appreciate these funders’ support, because it allows us to demonstrate our gratitude toward educators and offer much-needed resources to help their students to thrive! We are also so grateful for all of the time, effort, and creativity that local teachers contribute to the youngest members of our community.
Another great program that began last year was Kids for Nature. This summer camp, originally presented by a local 9-year-old during our Eco Innovations Challenge as a way to connect youths with the environment, is expanding in exciting ways! Like last year, we will visit various local parks and engage in educational and nature art activities, but this year we are hoping to offer the program to more youths, have sessions run throughout the summer, and include one or two camping trips. This is a big undertaking so we are looking for people to help facilitate it.
To learn more about how you can participate in or help facilitate either of these wonderful programs, please email our Director of Education and Outreach at ryan@umpquawatersheds.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
~Ryan Kincaid
