Posts tagged environmental education
EcoExpress in the Philadelphia Science Festival
Apr 1st
The Philadelphia Science Festival is a ten-day, community-wide celebration of science that takes place annually in April, featuring lectures, debates, hands-on activities, special exhibitions and a variety of other informal science education experiences for Philadelphians of all ages. GreenTreks Network’s environmental education program, EcoExpress.org, will be participating in three upcoming events as part of the Philadelphia Science Festival!
Science Carnival on the Parkway
Saturday, April 20, 2013, 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
at Logan’s Circle (on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 19th Street in Philadelphia, PA)
You’ve never experienced an outdoor carnival like this one! This carnival features more than 100 exhibitors offering non-stop, family-friendly experiments, interactive activities, games, and a packed line-up of live entertainment. Enjoy liquid nitrogen ice cream, make gak, meet live zoo animals, check out the inner-workings of robots, take a tour of a helicopter, extract DNA from a strawberry, test a “crime scene” for forensic evidence, and so much more!
Teacher Workshop: Connecting to our Everyday Environment with EcoExpress.org and the PA Horticultural Society
Monday, April 22, 2013, 4:00pm to 7:00pm
at the Department of Making and Doing (3711 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104)
Engage in a lively discussion with other educators on how to make cross-curricular connections to environmental science. Then, learn how to address ecological topics while using your student’s everyday environment and gain valuable classroom resources from EcoExpress and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Participating Pennsylvania-based teachers will receive three Act 48 credit hours. Register for free here.
Student Event: Neighborhood Science After School
Thursday, April 25, 2013, 3:30pm to 5:30pm
at the South Philadelphia Branch of the Free Library (1700 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145)
Turn your kitchen into a science lab! Discover how chemistry plays a role in some of your favorite foods. Then, learn how you can keep our drinking water safe and clean by protecting water at the source, and how to write and break secret codes! Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and Temple University will also be presenting! This event is FREE and open to students in K through 12!
In addition to attending these excellent events, don’t forget to enter EcoExpress’ contest to win a mini video camera!
Environmental Education Event on Monday, March 4th!
Feb 13th
Monday, March 4th, 2013
4:30pm to 7:00pm
in the lobby of the United Way Building (1709 Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103)
Register at EcoExpress.EventBrite.com.
On Monday, March 4th, 2013, our EcoExpress program will co-host the Spring into Science Education expo with the Philadelphia Education Fund’s Math+Science Coalition. In its third year, Spring into Science Education is a FREE networking & educational event for local educators. Educators of grades K through 12 will learn about inspiring resources and ideas that can be immediately brought back into the classroom!
Highlights of the Spring into Science Education expo include:
- The premiere of our newest documentary on Rain Gardens
- Exhibits by Local Environmental, Science, and Math Education Experts
- Hands-On Activity Demonstrations
- Refreshments
- Prizes
- And more!
Participating Organizations Include:
Bartram’s Garden, Delaware Valley Green Building Council’s Green Schools Program, Earth Force, Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, iPRAXIS, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia Science Festival, Philadelphia Water Department Public Education, Weavers Way Community Programs, and more to be announced
REGISTER BY MARCH 1st at EcoExpress.EventBrite.com.
Guest Blog: Introducing Master Naturalist John McGlaughlin
Jul 25th
As mentioned in our last post, we are beginning our series of Guest Blogs with PA Master Naturalists. Here Naturalist-in-training John introduces himself and shares his video: “Birds, Arthropods, and Herpetology“.
Hi all,
My name is John McGlaughlin and I am a PA Master Naturalist in training. I hail from the Roxborough section of Philadelphia and am a Public Defender by day and a Naturalist by night. I live a stone’s throw away from Fairmount park and spent much of my life ‘back the crick’ enjoying the many splendors of the great outdoors. The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education is another great resource that is also right around the corner from my house. I was even lucky enough to intern with the environmental education department of the Schuylkill Center during my college days at Temple University. Roxborough has so many outdoor opportunities that it’s earned the nickname Philbilladelphia.
The PA Master Naturalist program has been nothing short of amazing so far. I heard about the program back in January by way of e-mail and had my application sent out the following week. I worked as an environmental educator a few years back at the Schuylkill Center and another place called the Ashokan Field Campus up in the Catskills. But then law school disrupted most of my environmental ed. opportunities and I’ve been hankering to get back into the field ever sine. I’m hoping to use my newfound Naturalist position to get back into teaching young people and sharing some of the great things I’m learning in the program.
So, everybody asks ‘What do you do in the Master Naturalist program?’ Well, so far we’ve done a whole lot. The course consists of weekly ecological readings, in-class lectures with environmental professionals, full day field trips and periodic nature journaling. Our coursework will culminate in a capstone project where each Naturalist develops a service project and then presents their idea to a panel of environmental experts.
This past week we focused on arthropods and ornithology but previous Naturalist topics included Wissahickon Geology, Biodiversity, Upland Habitats, Watersheds and Natural Selection. To get a better sense of the hands-on component of the Naturalist Program I brought my camera along for our ornithology/herpetology/arthropods session this past weekend to capture some of our adventures from the field.
Enjoy!
Greening at School: a Learning Tool for Students, Community
Apr 27th
From US EPA Region 3 Press Office
(PHILADELPHIA – April 26, 2012) A $200,000 grant announced today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will help fund projects to make South Philadelphia’s George W. Nebinger School and surrounding streets greener and healthier.
EPA’s grant, with matching funding from the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) and the nonprofit Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE), brings the total award to $400,000 that will go towards a host of green features at Nebinger School and the adjacent neighborhood. The projects are part of the city’s wide-ranging plan, Green City, Clean Waters, to control pollutant-laden stormwater that inundates the city’s sewer system and causes sewage overflows into area waterways. EPA and the City of Philadelphia signed a partnership agreement earlier this month to help ensure the success of the city’s plan. Continued below >>
For a look at what the Albert M. Greenfield in Center City has done as part of its Greening Greenfield Initiative, check out this video:
Green Schools: Albert Greenfield Elementary from GreenTreks Network on Vimeo.
“This grant will help the city realize the environmental, economic and community benefits of the Green City, Clean Waters plan,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “In controlling stormwater runoff, we’ll also be helping students appreciate ways of preventing pollution and creating cost-effective, high-performance green streets adjacent to the school.”
In addition to the benefits for Philadelphia, controlling stormwater runoff is critical for reducing pollution to the Delaware River and Bay – the focus of joint efforts by PDE, EPA, and PWD as part of the National Estuary Program. All three are now teaming up with the School District of Philadelphia to develop what is intended as a national and international model for stormwater management and educational programming at the Nebinger School. The school is located at 6th and Carpenter Street in South Philadelphia.
Efforts at the Nebinger School will focus on using green stormwater infrastructure as a classroom, field and laboratory tool, and demonstration opportunity for students and the community. The green tools that may be integrated into the design of the school yard include rain gardens, porous play surfaces and pavement, and stormwater planters. These features will help manage stormwater runoff from the school yard and select adjacent streets.
Several streets close to the Nebinger School have been chosen as potential Green Street projects based on critical connections they create between significant neighborhood amenities and businesses, such as the Weccacoe Playground and the business corridor on Passyunk Avenue between 6th and 10th streets, which is part of the Passyunk Business Improvement District. Green tools that may be integrated into these Green Streets include stormwater trees and tree trenches.
Officials said the project may provide an opportunity for Philadelphia students to collaborate with similar schools in the City of Rio de Janeiro, Philadelphia’s sister city in stormwater management. This collaboration is an extension of the Joint Initiative on Urban Sustainability (JUIS), a partnership among the U.S. EPA, Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the City of Rio de Janeiro, and the City of Philadelphia, which was formed to advance sustainable cities.
For more information on the Green City, Clean Waters plan and the EPA-city partnership, visit PWD’s website >>
EcoExpress’ Science Cafe at the Philadelphia Science Festival Carnival, Saturday 4/21
Apr 18th
EcoExpress’ Science Café for Teachers
Saturday, April 21st, 2012 at 3:30pm,
at Sister Cities Park (18th St and Race Street in Philadelphia, PA)
During the Philadelphia Science Festival Carnival on the Parkway, EcoExpress will be presenting a FREE Science Café designed specifically for local teachers!
Connect the Philadelphia Science Festival experience with the classroom while expanding your science and environmental resources by attending EcoExpress’ Science Café. You will receive information about free classroom resources and great tips from leading educational experts. You will also have the chance to share your own ideas, suggestions, and successes with other local educators during our breakout discussion session.
Our Educational Experts:
Anita Brook Dupree
Anita Brook Dupree is one of the nation’s leading experts in science education. She holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Temple University in Philadelphia, and holds National Board Certification in Early Adolescent Science. Anita was a middle school science teacher, and the science curriculum specialist for middle years for the School District of Philadelphia.
Chuck Lafferty
Chuck Lafferty is a first grade teacher at Longstreth Elementary School. Chuck oversees and coordinates the last active “Campus Park Project” in Philadelphia. His most recent project is the creation of the “Kindergarten Interpretive Pollinator Garden” at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum.
Jane Kirkland
Jane Kirkland is the author of the award-winning Take a Walk® Books, a nature discovery series for kids 8 and up. Her awards include the National Arbor Day Foundation’s Education Award and two Teachers Choice Awards. She is a monthly guest on Philly’s Kids Corner radio program (WXPN) and has also appeared on Animal Planet TV, PBS, and NPR.
Meg Malloy
Meg Malloy is an environmental scientist for the Philadelphia Water Department at the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center (FWWIC). Previously, she worked at Thomas Jefferson University and at the University of Pennsylvania in their biology departments. Meg received her BA in biology from Arcadia University and her Masters of Environmental Studies from University of Pennsylvania.
Find more details for the event and RSVP here!
The Philadelphia Science Festival is a is a ten-day, community-wide celebration of science that takes place annually in April, featuring lectures, debates, hands-on activities, special exhibitions and a variety of other informal science education experiences for Philadelphians of all ages. The Carnival event this Saturday, April 21st, on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia is the big kickoff! Here are some highlights from 2011:
