Pacific Education Institute

Looking for ways to encourage outdoor learning this summer? Check out this post from Victoria Rydberg-Nania at North American Association for Environmental Education - NAAEE

In a nutshell:
- connect with nature
- explore content outdoors
- engage in civic action
- keep it simple



https://eepro.naaee.org/community/blog/end-year-ideas-take-learning-outside-ways-make-us-healthier-happier-and-smarter?fbclid=IwY2xjawSg3HlleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE5UmdUcG5TWVp5MjZvNkZHc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHn8R6cclvMBazkq9YFasd5hyCmfe5PYU3gQosKp2vbx7ctNxWza-okWqmfiY_aem_YoGw_O_Yx71kiGn4v49DAg

End-of-Year Ideas to Take Learning Outside in Ways that Make Us Healthier, Happier, and Smarter | eePRO It’s the time of the year when students and teachers alike are ready to head outdoors! Here are ideas and resources to take learning outside in ways that make us healthier, happier, and smarter.

Teachers, we know it's June, and you are enjoying a well-deserved break. As you start thinking ahead to next year, PEI will be providing weekly tips on how to get started with outdoor, place-based learning. Without further ado, here's #1.

It may be the most important:

Start small.

One of the biggest obstacles to this type of learning is teacher confidence. Good news! You don't have to begin with an integrated science unit conducted during a two-day backpack in the Cascades. Instead, choose something you're already doing and figure out a way to bring a portion of it outdoors. Better yet, investigate simple activities like than sharpen observation skills and can support integrated STEM and ELA.

As one teacher who attended the workshop series explained, “It can be a little daunting and scary. The people who were at the workshops or running the different professional development sessions were really supportive and had practical tips so that I felt more comfortable going outside. They told me, ‘It’s okay to start small. It doesn’t have to be grand.’”

Remember this as you begin planning for next year and have fun with it!

Attention WA State certificated educators!
📍Earn 5 STEM Clock Hours: Free Seeds to Salmon (S2S) Curriculum Workshop

Workshop Details: Participants will receive 5 STEM clock hours
Attendance at BOTH sessions is required:
Wednesday, August 12th | 10 AM to 12 PM
Friday, August 14th | 9 AM to 12 PM

Join Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group to participate in a special S2S Curriculum Workshop focused on piloting and strengthening our newly revamped environmental education curriculum!
Participants will explore hands-on, classroom-ready lessons from the Seeds to Salmon curriculum series that can be directly implemented in educational settings. The curriculum is an open educational resource aligned with Washington State NGSS standards, designed to support engaging, place-based learning around salmon, watersheds, and environmental stewardship.
Location:
WSDOT SW Region Headquarters
11018 NE 51st Circle
Vancouver, WA 98682
Cost: Free!
Snacks and light beverages will be provided.
While STEM clock hours are available only for Washington State certificated educators, we warmly welcome any interested community educators, environmental educators, informal learning staff, and partners to attend.
RSVP is required to attend at the link below
https://forms.gle/PnEyRYavUVrCADQt7

Interesting information about the growing demand for and the shortage of qualified applicants to fill them, courtesy of EarthDay.org.

"The green economy is generating millions of new jobs — but the workers trained to fill them aren’t keeping pace. According to LinkedIn data, job postings requiring at least one green skill are growing twice as fast as the number of workers who have those skills. That gap has real consequences, not just for the planet, but for workers, businesses, and economies navigating one of the biggest transitions in the history of work.

Efrem Bycer leads workforce and climate policy partnerships at LinkedIn, where he helps policymakers, employers, and workers understand and navigate the major shifts reshaping the world of work. EARTHDAY.ORG Director of Education Bryce C**n — who first connected with Bycer at COP climate conferences — sat down with him to talk about what the green skills gap means for everyday workers, which industries are changing fastest, and why the transition is proving more durable than the politics around it."

https://www.earthday.org/the-green-skills-gap-22-minutes-with-efrem-bycer/

The Green Skills Gap: 22 Minutes with Efrem Bycer | Earth Day The green economy needs millions of workers — but training isn’t keeping up. LinkedIn’s Efrem Bycer breaks down the green skills gap and what to do about it.

In the 6th and final workshop with Northlake Elementary School, "Schoolyard Stewardship: Connecting Gardens, Students, and Community," we toured Northlake's garden, harvested asparagus and artichokes, and learned how they make their benches and set up summer community gardening days so plants get watered and harvested throughout the summer. We discussed the best watering methods, learned about how harvest is shared through community farm stands, enjoyed a wonderful meal provided by Steve the Rabbit and got to take home seeds and plants!

In 1999, a national study found that 59% of Americans didn’t know what the term ‘watershed’ meant. Even today, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) notes that approximately 80% of Americans in urban areas are unaware of the networks of urban creeks and waterways that run through their communities.

Yet watersheds are vital to local ecosystems and community health. They function as natural filters for the water we drink and use for agriculture, prevent erosion and flooding and support biodiversity by providing habitats for wildlife.

On June 13, PEI is hosting 'Connecting Families with Budd Inlet Watershed' with Olympia Community Sailing, a three-hour event designed to connect the Latino Heritage Community and the general public with their local ecosystems. Join us at the Port Plaza in Olympia between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and be prepared to learn and have fun!

Saturday, June 6th is , an opportunity to get outdoors and explore a new destination or visit an old favorite. Trail building and maintenance are one aspect of PEI's Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems (YESS) program, intersecting with forest management, restoration ecology and aquaculture and fisheries.

Anyone who has ever worked on trails has a different appreciation for the vital role they play in minimizing impacts on habitat, the amount of planning and engineering that goes into them and why water is always a consideration. YESS participants will remember these lessons for the rest of their lives, with the way they notice and interact with trails forever changing.

Happy National Trails Day (almost)!

Find An Event Find a National Trails Day® event near you to join a nationwide trail service and advocacy movement on the first Saturday of June.

Join PEI and Olympia Community Sailing for another great day of connecting with local watersheds, with support from the City of Olympia - Government.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources' Steve Ogden shares what inspires him about forestry education workshops for teachers and why it's so important that people understand the complexities and considerations of forest management.

“It’s difficult for educators to find the time and budget for outdoor education,” says Ogden. “That makes it so important that we have landowners and forest practitioners who partner with PEI and can provide good information. I hope our participants take away from today how complex forestry and natural resources management are.”

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation Rayonier Smurfit Westrock Weyerhaeuser

Forest as a Classroom Washington DNR presenter Steve Odgen Washington DNR's Assistant Regional Manager for the State Uplands P...