Strengthening & Sharing our Skills as Environmental Educators

The Harris Center’s team of talented teacher-naturalists are strengthening and sharing their skills this fall – locally, regionally, and even nationally.

Jenna Spear, John Benjamin, and Jaime Hutchinson are attending the North American Association for Environmental Education conference (Spokane, WA); Karen Rent is attending the New England Environmental Education Alliance conference (Fairlee, VT); and Janet Altobello is taking courses in the Next Generation Science Exemplar-Based (NGSX) Professional Learning System (Vermont Institute of Natural Science) and Nature-Based Leadership (Antioch University New England).

Susie Spikol is running sessions on natural history collections and forest bathing at the Northern Woodlands conference (Fairlee, VT); and Polly Pattison is leading a “Birds in Our Neighborhood” workshop at the Inside-Outside: Promising Practices in Nature- and Place-Based Elementary Education conference (Keene, NH).

In addition, several of our naturalists are working with local school districts to develop place-based curriculum: Janet and Jaime are collaborating with Jaffrey Grade School faculty (Grades K-5) on a Contoocook River project; Janet and Jenna are spearheading a group tasked with the creation of a 4th grade curriculum focused on collecting and sharing data about wild mammals in Keene; and Polly and Jenna are helping 2nd and 3rd grade classroom teachers in Keene incorporate citizen science into their teaching.

The end result of all these professional development activities? More engaged learning, and a deeper connection to the natural world, for students and teachers alike.