admin - California Science Education Conference
- Green Schoolyards of America
- Alive & Awake
- The National Environmental Education Foundation
- National Association for Environmental Education
As I am interested in the accessible environmental curriculum for kids of all backgrounds, I found the group Green Schoolyards of America. I found this organization very interesting because as I am from Chicago, I know many kids don’t have readily available access to green spaces or nature. Green Schoolyards America transforms school grounds into areas with trees, grass, edible Gardens, and local plants, insects, and animals. They don’t just create these green spaces, but they also create a curriculum that teaches about environmentalism and environmental Sciences. They work alongside other institutions and their environmental organizations have developed green spaces all over the world.
https://www.greenschoolyards.org – link to the Green Schoolyards of America Webpage
For the event section, I found an annual event titled the “California Science Education Conference” in Pasadena. This conference gathered “teachers informal educators, institutes, and everything in between” and focused on ways to merge nature and technology so as to keep kids of the newer Generations engaged with environmentalism and science. A blurb I read about the conference even states that “By stepping outside, even on the playground, and applying the use of technology, educators can allow a student to develop something truly innovative we as educators must think differently, act differently, and teach differently to foster a sustainable future for the next generation.” list conference relates heavily to what I want to do as a career which is to find ways of informal education to keep kids engaged with environmentalism and nature which could easily mean using technology and other means to teach.
The organizations and events in our position to influence the future positively. This is because they are both aiming to connect kids to learning materials that they will engage with. Efforts can be made to teach kids topics of all sorts if those kids are not interested in engaging with what they are being taught it can be a lost cause. it’s important to meet students where they are and build off their prior knowledge and I believe these organizations and this event are both doing that. I think there will always be improvements that can be made to the education of children we will always have to keep up with each new generation and find new ways to teach.
