Regina Sizemore a high school science teacher from Whitesburg, Kentucky in Letcher County has been selected as the KAEE Excellence in Environmental Education award recipient.

Throughout her teaching career Mrs. Sizemore has initiated several programs that inspire her students to take an active role in caring for our environment. Among the many projects were a paper, plastic, and cans recycling program at Whitesburg High School as well as a spring clean up that has been ongoing for 6 years. Her students also participated in the water watch program at three different sites of the North Fork River and the National NEED Award Program in Washington DC. Mrs. Sizemore obtained a visual arts grant that allowed her

students to design and create a sculpture that represents organisms adapting to their environment. Through coordination of several agencies she was able to plant over 70 native species trees at her high school. Regina Sizemore has been instrumental in not only implementing environmental education programs in her area but also sustaining ongoing programs that inspire and motivate her students. The Kentucky Bluebird Society Outdoor Classroom Enrichment Program has been selected for the KAEE Excellence in Environmental Education Program Award.

(Continued on page 9)

2005 Excellence in EE Award Winners

I n t roduc ing the Campa ign fo r Environmental Literacy, a nation-wide initiative that exists solely to empower our community to advocate for a greater federal investment in environmental education (EE) programs throughout the nation. Alongside partner organizations that range

from the National Wildlife Federation to the National Council for Science and the Environment, CEL’s success to date in restoring $14 million in EE federal funding clearly shows that our community can in fact come together and effectively make its collective voice heard. Adding your voice

(Continued on page 6)

Special points of interest: • Make note of the new KAEE

mailing address!

PO Box 17494

Louisville, KY 40217-0494

President’s Pen 2

Waste-Free Lunch 3

KAEE News 4-5

KGS River Basin Map 6

Envirothon 6

2005 EE Week Drawing Winner 7

2006 Conference 7

Word Search 9

2005 Excellence in EE Award Winners 9

Out of the Classroom and Into the Wilderness

10

Photos from Elk Viewing 11

Inside this issue:

Winter 2005

I am writing this the day after the KAEE Board of Directors retreat. Our retreat is not a time for rest, rather it is a time to get away from our places of work to focus on KAEE. We concentrate on KAEE for two full days and then some. I think I can speak for the rest of the Board of Directors in saying that we are all tired today. This year’s retreat was unique because we had an outside professional working with us to evaluate where KAEE has been and where we might go in the future. Corky McReynolds, from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point and Treehaven Environmental Learning Center, is a recognized national leader in group processing, facilitation, and strategic planning. Prior to the retreat, all board members were asked to fill out the Organizational Assessment Tool (OAT). The OAT provides environmental education leaders with a tool to comprehensively review the major aspects of internal organizational development. It is also a tool which can be used to increase organizational effectiveness. Corky analyzed our completed OATs and determined several factors about KAEE’s Board of Directors. One of the most interesting of these factors is that we are guided by our values and vision, but we can’t define our vision. This observation by an outsider was enlightening. It caused us to stop and think - what is our mission? According to the KAEE bylaws, our mission is to build a sustainable Kentucky environment through education. How do we do this? How have we done it in the past? How will we do it in the future? After thinking about this, Corky led us through the process of strategic planning for KAEE. We started with developing our vision, which fulfills the mission of the organization. This involved brainstorming by everyone present. We all answered the question “How can KAEE build a sustainable Kentucky environment through education in 7 years?” There were 82 responses to the question. These responses had to be narrowed down and finally resulted in the development of three positive statements about what we will try to accomplish in the next 7 years - our vision. Here are the three vision statements that we will be focusing on: 1. KAEE will consistently provide a quality conference that provides professional development benefits for educators with diverse experiences and needs.

(Continued on page 3)

President’s Pen

Page 2 KAEE Newsletter

KAEE

Executive Committee President: Julie Gee, Region 2 Vice President: Amy Sohner, Region 4 Secretary: Mary Kathryn Dickerson, Region 4 Treasurer: Doug McLaren, Region 5 Board of Directors Seated Board Members through 2006 Region 1: Nancy Kiernan Region 2: Cheryl Messenger, Debra Spillman, Sherry Wheeler Region 5: Rosetta Fackler, Jennifer Turner Region 7: Evelyn Morgan Seated Board Members through 2007 Region 2: Steve Spencer, Janet Kistler Region 5: Portia Brown Region 6: Kim Alexander Region 8: Cathy Neeley Ex Officio Members Jane Eller - KY Environmental Education Council Kate Shanks - Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet Please send newsletter articles and photos to: Newsletter Chair: Portia Brown - simplynatural@insightbb.com Newsletter Editor/Webmaster/Membership Coordinator: Matt Coddington - Matt@MultiMatt.com Membership Information: Visit the KAEE website at www.KAEE.org or contact: KAEE PO Box 17494 Louisville KY 40217-0494 KAEE is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of teachers, ad-ministrators, government and agency personnel, business and industry representatives, and private citizens interested in pro-moting environmental education.

Visit us online at www.KAEE.org

.

Page 3 Winter 2005

2006 Conference Sept 8-10, 2006

KAEE celebrates 30 years of

dedication to Environmental Education

Conference will be in Covington, KY

More details to come in early 2006!

.

2. KAEE will develop partnerships and networking opportunities with individuals, organizations or groups sharing KAEE’s common mission for developing a sustainable environment through education. 3. KAEE will educate teachers about the interdisciplinary and engaging nature of EE so that they can realize its educational benefits. During the remainder of the time that we had at the retreat, we began to develop strategies that we will adopt to implement KAEE’s vision. Lots of good ideas were flying around our small groups. This was our stopping point for the retreat, but we will continue the process with an action plan for each strategy as we work throughout this year. I am very excited about focusing on our mission and having a strategic plan to meet that mission. After you read the above vision statements, does one of them hit home for you? Would you like to help us achieve our goals? We want our members involved and would love to have your assistance as we move ahead with our plan. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or any board member if you would like to help!

(Continued from page 2)

President’s Pen (continued) Many parents pack food for their children’s school lunches in plastic bags, aluminum foil and wax paper or they purchase pre-packaged single serving items, such as juice boxes. While this may be convenient, the impact that food packaging and uneaten food has on a community’s waste stream is astonishing. The average school age child throws away 67 pounds of lunch waste (packaging and uneaten food) each year.

A Waste-Free Lunch is one easy way to help reduce the amount of waste going into our already burdened landfills and save money! According to www.wastefreelunches.org,

implementing the changes suggested below can result in a savings of up to $240 per child per school year.

• Send a cloth napkin or washcloth instead of a paper napkin

• Wash and reuse yogurt or cottage cheese containers to send items bought in bulk

• Send stainless steel utensils that can be washed and reused

• Wash and reuse water, soda or sports drink bottles to send drinks to school

• Reuse empty bread bags or produce bags to send sandwiches

• Send fresh fruit and vegetables • Use a reusable lunch box made from

plastic, metal or fabric For more information on how to start a Waste Free Lunch program in school, please visit www.KentuckyPRIDE.com.

Have a Waste-Free Lunch Classroom!

15th International Children’s Painting Competition The International Children’s Painting Competition on the Environment is organized annually by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace and Environment (FGPE) Bayer AG and Nikon Coporation. It has been held since 1990 and has received over 160,000 entries from children in over 100 countries. This year’s is the fifteenth and will focus on the theme of Deserts and Desertification. The global competition as well as regional competitions will be organized in cooperation with partners in the regions. Preliminary selection will be done by UNEP Regional Offices and their partners while the final selection will be done by UNEP, the Foundation for Global Peace and Environment (FGPE Japan) , Bayer AG and Nikon Corporation. All four partners are inviting children all over the world to submit their paintings to the UNEP offices in their regions. Entries must reach the relevant UNEP regional offices by 20th January 2006 at the latest. All North-American participants please submit pictures to: UNEP Regional Office for North America 1707 H Street, NW, Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20006 Ph: 202-785-0465 Fax: 202-785-2096 For full rules – including on guidelines on which country belongs to which region – and information on how to submit a painting, please see the Painting Competition website: http://www.unep.org/tunza/paintcomp15

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Grant Writing Workshop The Kentucky Association for Environmental Education (KAEE) is hosting a Grant Writing workshop for environmental educators on January 19 in Richmond, Kentucky. Joe Baust, 2005 NAAEE president and director of the Center for Environmental Education at Murray State, will be facilitating. An informational flyer and a registration sheet can be found on the KAEE website, in the Calendar section. The cost is $50 per person, which includes lunch and a one year membership to KAEE. Please register soon as there is limited seating.

———————————————————— National Youth Science Camp ~ W. VIRGINIA The National Youth Science Camp (NYSC) is an all-expenses-paid residential summer program offering educational forums and recreational activities that encourage the development of thoughtful scientific leadership. The 2006 NYSC will be held at Camp Pocahontas in the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. Find your state contact: http://141.153.63.184/NYSC.asp http://www.nysc.org/2006/index.html

———————————————————— Earth Expeditions ~ Africa, Asia & The Americas Deadline: February 1, 2006 Earth Expeditions from Miami University's Project Dragonfly and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is accepting applications now for its 2006 tuition-free graduate courses which are open to educators from all disciplines and settings. http://www.EarthExpeditions.org/

———————————————————— February 28th, 2006 Deadline for Entry - International Young Eco-Hero Awards A great opportunity to recognize 8 to 16 year olds for their environmental successes and to inspire others is available through the INTERNATIONAL YOUNG ECO-HERO AWARDS offered annually by Action For Nature. Cash prizes are available to reward individual initiatives in the areas of environmental advocacy, environmental health, research or protection of the natural world. More information, go to the Action For Nature website: http://www.actionfornature.org

(Continued on page 5)

KAEE News

Page 4 KAEE Newsletter

A note from the Newsletter and Website Committee:

Please submit information about EE news, EE resources, and EE professional development experiences for the KAEE newsletter and/or

website.

Information can be sent via email or an attachment to:

Newsletter Submissions: Portia Brown simplynatural@insightbb.com

Website Submissions: Matt Coddington Matt@MultiMatt.com

Please see the website

for submission deadlines

.

April 16-22, 2006 2nd Annual National EE Week Coordinated by National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF) the 2nd Annual National EE Week will be the single largest environmental education event in the U.S. and will provide a week of educational preparedness for Earth Day for thousands of educators and millions of students. Find out how to get involved! http://www.eeweek.org/

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Cities & The Environment ~ Call for Submissions Calling for submissions for inaugural issue (May 2006) of Journal of Cities and the Environment (CATE). New publication aims to provide an international forum for urban researchers, and practitioners, to explore ecological theory, share relevant data, and exchange best practices. http://www.catejournal.org/

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Resources for Students and Educators 2006 Global Sustainability Curriculum Facing the Future's latest global sustainability advanced student textbook, "It's All Connected - A Comprehensive Guide to Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions." This textbook is already in use by high school teachers in 40 U.S. states and 10 countries and by a number of universities including the University of Washington, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Florida. http://www.facingthefuture.org/purchase.htm Free Teaching Green Books for EE Faculty If you teach EE courses to youth educators, pre-service or in-service teachers, Green Teacher is willing to send you a free copy of their new 240 page books, Teaching Green: The Elementary Years and Teaching Green: the Middle Years. In exchange, you would show the books to your students, giving them the opportunity to make a bulk purchase at a big discount. http://www.greenteacher.com/reviewcopies Learning with the Tree of Life Tree of Life (ToL) learning pages for teachers and students provides information on using the Tree of Life Web Project as a tool for learning and teaching about biodiversity. The ToL Treehouses are Web pages linked to scientist created core content about the world's organisms. http://www.tolweb.org/tree/learn/learning.html

(Continued from page 4)

KAEE News (cont’d)

Page 5 Winter 2005

NSTA'S Early Years Blog Check out NSTA's Early Years Blog to see innovations in the preK-2 classrooms. Some topics include: finding resources & activities, assessment & standards, classroom management, and integrating strategies. http://science.nsta.org/earlyyearsblog/ Sewage in Your Face The City of San Diego's Metropolitan Wastewater Department children's Web site is targeted for students Grade 4-8. Features a virtual sewage treatment tour, resources for additional research, and classroom activities and lesson plans for teachers. http://www.sandiego.gov/mwwd/kids/ The Fish Olympics Interactive learning site provides background information on various fish based on camouflage, strength, eating, and speed. Click on one of the events, read about each contender and choose the winner of the Olympics. Site provides a summary, lists of books, magazines, clubs, and reference sites for additional research. http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/nof/fish/index.html Wyland Ocean Challenge Exploring the natural world through Art and Imagination, the Wyland Ocean Challenge "Clean Water for the 21st Century" is a nationwide classroom program that uses an art-based, interdisciplinary approach to environmental education and conservation. http://www.wylandoceanchallenge.org/

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For all the latest EE News, Grant information and other

opportunities, visit our website! www.KAEE.org

Did you know that Kentucky has over 89,400 miles of rivers and streams in 12 major drainage basins and with 849 miles of rivers bordering other states? A new map from the Kentucky Geological Survey includes this information plus other facts about Kentucky water and depicts the drainage basins, along with the state’s major rivers and lakes. “We found there were people interested in knowing more about the state’s river basins who couldn’t find a paper map showing all of this information,” says Dan Carey, a KGS hydrologist and co-author of the map. “So we pulled together the streams and water information from the Kentucky Division of Water and the river-basin data from the USGS to create this full-color 22-inch by 37-inch publication.” Besides providing information on the water resources and uses of the state, the map includes a number of photos depicting the setting of some of Kentucky’s streams and lakes, from the shear rock walls of the Kentucky River Palisades of central Kentucky to the cypress swamps of the Obion Creek watershed in the west and the sailing waters of scenic Cave Run Lake in northeastern Kentucky. “We think a lot of people will find this map both interesting and useful, whether they are teachers who can use the map as an educational tool for the

classroom or outdoorsmen interested in the extent of each watershed,” says the map’s co-author Terry Hounshell of the KGS. Full-color paper copies are available for $8 each from the KGS Public Information Center on the UK campus at 859-257-3896 or toll-free at 877-778-7827. The entire map file (4.1 MB) can also be viewed and downloaded online in PDF format at the Survey’s web site, http://www.uky.edu/kgs.

KGS Publishes River Basin Map of Kentucky

Page 6 KAEE Newsletter

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Campaign (continued)

will only help make our community just that much stronger! So, we encourage you to join the many organizations and hundreds of individuals who have already used CEL as a vehicle for communicating their perspectives to Capitol Hill. It’s simple to become engaged in the campaign! Just visit www.FundEE.org and sign up for action alerts. CEL will let you know when an important EE funding decision is at stake, and provide you with an easy opportunity to tell Members of Congress how they should vote.

Together, our voice will ring loudly in the ears of our d e c i s i o n m a k e r s i n Washington!

(Continued from page 1) Envirothon is a nation wide environmental competition for High School students and Bluegrass PRIDE wants to help teams from Central Kentucky compete! PRIDE has buckets to help your team compete at regional, state and national levels. Information on forestry, wildlife, aquatics and soil are available for check out through PRIDE's Resource Library. For more information about E n v i r o t h o n , v i s i t www.envirothon.org. To find out about reserving the buckets, call toll free, 866.222.1648 or visit www.kentuckypride.com

Satellite image of Western Kentucky

Envirothon!

The 2005 winner of the EE Week drawing is Jan Gibson of Hazard KY! She will receive a $50 gift certificate to any Kentucky State Park. The following is a description of her activity: Hazard-Perry 4-H Forestry & Soil Field Days September 12-15, 2005 “As part of the Natural Resource education offered in the 4-H program, the annual 4-H Forestry & Soil Field Days are offered to 4th and 5th graders. This year nine elementary schools participated in this event, an enrollment of 423 students. Youth and teachers alike are taught skills in dendrology, tree measurement, compass traverse, and soil science. They learn to use equipment such as the compass, the Biltmore stick and are introduced to the clinometer. They learn to estimate distances using their feet and math. They learn to identify trees by classification and observations. They determine board feet and soil classifications using charts and measurements.

This 4-H program aligns with the KDE core content in science and math. The KY Division of Forestry and the Agronomy Dept of the University of KY work together with the Perry County Cooperative Extension Service to utilize the Perry County Park and 4-H Tree Walk as an outdoor classroom. The 4-H Tree Walk is a project that in the past has been supported by the KY Department of Agriculture Ag Achievers grant.”

Page 7 Winter 2005

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2005 Winner of the EE Week Drawing 2006 KAEE Conference

KAEE celebrates 30 years of dedication to Environmental Education

You won’t want to miss the September 8 – 10, 2006 KAEE Conference when we celebrate KAEE’s 30 years of service to Environmental Education in Kentucky and the nation! Plan now to join us in Covington, Kentucky, to explore the past, and embark on a future journey that promises to take Environmental Education to new heights! We’ll center our conference at the Radisson Hotel on 5th Street in Covington, just a few blocks from the Ohio River. Many exciting adventures await us there!

Conference details and rates will be published in early 2006. For more about the hotel, visit it at www.radisson.com/covingtonky or to learn more about the area, go to www.staynky.com.

Page 8 KAEE Newsletter

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Since 1991, Green Teacher magazine has been a valuable resource for both classroom teachers and non-formal educators who want to promote environmental literacy among young people from kindergarten through high school. Written by educators, for educators, each quarterly issue brings innovative ideas, classroom-ready materials, and reviews of the latest resources. Find out why Green Teacher is a best-selling environmental education magazine—use the order form below to take advantage of your membership discount: you’ll receive $2 off of a one-year subscription; $3 off of a two-year subscription.

Visit www.greenteacher.com to find out about additional Green Teacher resources: v Books for educators - Greening School Grounds: Creating Habitats for Learning and Teaching About Climate Change

v E-Packs - text-only thematic collections of articles from past issues v Back issues of Green Teacher magazine

Discounts on subscriptions for KAEE members!

North America’s best-selling magazine for environmental educators

Discounted prices for KAEE members (orders must be prepaid by check or credit card and this order form must accompany your payment):

US $24/1 year (regular $26) US $42/2 years (regular $45) I’m paying by: Check (enclosed) Visa MasterCard Card #_________/_________/_________/_________ Exp:____/____ Name on card: ______________________________________ Note: If you are using a credit card, your payment will be processed at Green Teacher’s office in Toronto, Canada. The charge will appear on your statement in U.S. funds and may be a few cents more or less than the price stated above, depending on the Canada-U.S. exchange rate on the day of the transaction.

Kentucky Association for Environmental Education Name ___________________________________ Address __________________________________ _________________________________________ City ____________________ ST ___ Zip _______ Please send your completed order form to: Green Teacher, PO Box 452, Niagara Falls, NY 14304 USA or Green Teacher 95 Robert St, Toronto, ON M5S 2K5, Canada Phone: 416-960-1244 Email: info@greenteacher.com

If you’re receiving this Newsletter in paper format via U.S. Mail, consider opting to receive it electronically!

All that is required is internet access and

the free Adobe Acrobat Reader! This will allow us to

put postage costs to better use,

and we can save a few trees in the process!

2005 Excellence in EE Award Winners (continued)

The enrichment program has been instrumental in raising student’s awareness of bluebirds in Kentucky. The Kentucky Bluebird Society (KBS) provides free bluebird houses to schools as well as assistance in creating bluebird trails. The KBS program raises public awareness about environmental education through their publication of the trail sites as well as their educational materials. This program enhances classroom instruction by increasing student’s motivation to learn through hands on experiences with bluebirds. Students become invested in the bluebird families on campus thus it is easy for students to understand the life requirements such as clean water, food, shelter and habitat space requirements. The society president, Bob Ivy, and the education director, Ed Ray, work collaboratively to sustain this program. The Kentucky Bluebird Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing Kentucky’s wildlife and student’s learning opportunities. The Sanitation District #1 in the Boone, Kenton, and Campbell counties has been selected for the KAEE Excellence in Environmental Education - Organization Award. The organization has demonstrated a series of best practices to control storm water runoff. These are in the forms of a vegetated roof, reducing pavement and utilizing porous paving

(Continued from page 1)

Winter 2005 Page 9

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KAEE Environmental Word Search

This month’s theme: Birds

Find the following 10 words in the puzzle:

Albatross Bluebird Chickadee Dove

Eagle Flycatcher Hummingbird Junco Meadowlark Oriole

You can find the solution on our website!

http://kaee.org/newsletter.htm

and proper landscaping to reduce runoff from impervious surfaces. In addition, the staff developed a curriculum designed to teach about nonpoint source pollution, wetlands, watersheds and recycling water. The instruction starts when you pull into the parking lot and continues to the lobby where a huge tank filled with native fish. Signage describes the importance to aquatic life of keeping our waters clean. Sara Zepf has developed several activities to demonstrate how watersheds work and the importance of vegetation vs. pavement in controlling the amount of polluted runoff. In addition there is a very vivid demonstration of how pollution enters bodies of water through storm drains. Through a thoughtful process of site development, educational activities, and practical solutions, Sanitation District #1 has demonstrated Best EE practices.

Page 10 KAEE Newsletter

A team of adventurous environmental educators hiked a portion of the Sheltowee Trace in honor of Kentucky Environmental Education Week celebrated September 11-17. Educators from a variety of agencies came together to explore the Sheltowee Trace as an educational resource.

The trace extends 267 miles from Pickett State Park in Tennessee to just north of Morehead, Kentucky. The trace traverses forest, ridge tops, meadows and streams throughout the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. The trail was built in 1979 and provided hikers a unique look at the biodiversity of Kentucky.

The hikers trekked from the most southern point of the trail in Kentucky at Big South Fork Recreation Area at the Kentucky-Tennessee border to Camp Wildcat in the Daniel Boone National Forest. The hikers passed by natural wonders such as Cumberland and Yahoo Falls which are reminders of the many opportuni t ies for env i ronmenta l educa t ion i n Kentucky.

Throughout the 110 mile journey, people from counties surrounding the trace joined the hikers to participate in programs ranging in topic from black bears in Kentucky to management of the forest. Hikers documented these educational experiences in journals to share with others.

In addition to celebrating Environmental Education Week, this project is designed to highlight the trace as an educational and recreational resource and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the USDA Forest Service. In 2006, hikers will complete the journey by finishing the northern portion of the trace.

“I hope that, at the completion of the hike, I can share with others a picture of Kentucky's varied, valuable and exciting natural resources that are available to everyone as they step outside and into Kentucky's diversified forests,” stated Doug McLaren, UK Department of Forestry.

To view pictures and read hikers’ journal entries, visit the project Web site at: http://www.kentuckyawake.org.

Out of the Classroom and into the Wilderness

Page 11 Winter 2005

Photos from the 2005 Conference Elk Viewing and Mine Habitat Safari

Kentucky Association for Environmental Education PO Box 17494 Louisville KY 40217-0494

Since 1976, the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education has worked to build a sustainable environment through education.

Professional

$30 _____

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Student

$15 _____

Life

$250 _____

Family (2 adults, same household)

$50 _____

Institutional (agencies, schools, non-profit organizations)

$100 _____

Corporate (business and industry)

$300 _____

Special Gift for Legacy Fund

$ _____

TOTAL enclosed $ _____

Membership Level

For an explanation of membership categories, visit our website at

www.KAEE.org Has your membership expired? If so, please support KAEE and renew today!

Membership Application Name ___________________________________________ Affiliation ____________________________________________________ Work Address ________________________________________________ City ______________________________ State ___ Zip ___________ County (work location) __________________________ Work Phone (day) _________________ Fax ____________________ Home Address ________________________________________________ City ______________________________ State ___ Zip ___________ Home Phone _____________________ If applicable, with what grade or age group do you work? ______________ EMAIL ADDRESS ____________________________________________

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Make checks payable to KAEE and mail to: KAEE PO Box 17494 Louisville, KY 40217-0494