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Celebrating Excellence in Environmental Education
Tackling Topics for a More Inclusive Community
Dear Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education (WAEE) Members, As environmental educators, we are committed to raising awareness about the environmental challenges facing our state and teaching the next generation about the importance of environmental stewardship. Today, we are reaching out with an urgent call to action in light of the oil spill that occurred in December 2024 in Wisconsin and the ongoing Enbridge pipeline battle in Northern Wisconsin, which has the potential to catastrophically contaminate the Great Lakes. We strongly encourage you to take a moment to watch the film Bad River , available now on Peacock. This powerful documentary sheds light on the struggle faced by communities and ecosystems impacted by Enbridge’s pipelines, including the threat they pose to the pristine waters of the Bad River Watershed. The film is an eye-opening look at the risks of oil pipeline operations in Wisconsin and the people and wildlife that stand to lose everything if action is not taken. We believe it is essential that our voices, as environmental educators, be heard in this critical moment. We encourage you to call your senators and express your concerns about the environmental risks posed by the Enbridge pipelines and the recent oil spill. Your voice can make a difference in the fight to protect Wisconsin’s natural resources and ensure a safe, sustainable future for all. Here’s what you can do: Watch the film Bad River to understand the environmental implications. Call your state senators to urge them to take immediate action to hold Enbridge accountable and protect Wisconsin’s waters. Find contact information for your representatives here . Share this alert with others in your community, and encourage them to take action. As environmental educators, we have a unique role in advocating for the health of our state’s ecosystems. By raising our voices in support of stronger environmental protections, we can help shape a future where our waters, lands, and communities are safe from the risks of oil pipeline disasters. Thank you for your dedication to environmental education and advocacy. Together, we can make a meaningful difference.
WAEE Honored for 2023 & 2024
Outside for 5 The NAAEE Affiliate Network is challenging teachers, administrators, nonformal educators, parents, and more to join the OutsideFor5 movement. Sign the OutsideFor5 Pledge and commit to: Spend at least 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week, or any meaningful amount of time learning outside with youth. Support outdoor learning efforts in schools Connect with other local educators and outdoor professionals. Learn more From our NAAEE Affiliate Network friends in Colorado: We know you work hard all year long! Nature is just as important for your well-being as it is for your students! We hope you take some time to rest, recharge, and renew in nature this summer. Check out these articles to learn more about what nature can do for you as an educator or parent! Experiencing Awe in Nature has a Powerful Effect on Well-Being . “Experiencing awe can contribute to a host of benefits including an expanded sense of time and enhanced feelings of generosity, well-being, and humility.” Stress Reduction and the Natural World "However, Hunter et al (2019) found that just 20 to 30 minutes three times a week is enough to bring benefits." What is Kaplan's Attention Restoration Theory "In a nutshell, Attention Restoration Theory, or ART, proposes that exposure to nature is not only enjoyable but can also help us improve our focus and ability to concentrate (Ohly, White, Wheeler, Bethel, Ukoumunne, Nikolaou, & Garside, 2016)." Take the Nature Connectedness Scale (NCS) Survey to learn more about your own relationship with the natural world: Nature Connectedness Survey
UW-Extension, in partnership with many organizations, developed "Paths to Inclusion: a resource guide for fully including youth of all abilities in community life" which is a 20 page PDF designed to provide guidance to increase opportunities for disabled youth. Sections include: What Is Inclusion and Why Does it Matter? What Do We Need to Know About Disabilities? How Does Inclusion Happen? Where Is Inclusion Happening? How Can We Support Well-Being? and more… For complete details, visit the UW-Extension website: https://4h.extension.wisc.edu/4h-resources/paths-to-inclusion/ View PDF
Join the new Landscape Analysis Map of EE in Wisconsin! You are invited to participate in an exciting project we a re launching in partnership with EcoRise, the North American Association for Environmental Education, and other NAAEE affiliates in the Midwest. We’re teaming up to conduct a comprehensive landscape analysis of environmental education in the Midwest. To help us complete this analysis, we invite you to participate in Gen:Thrive, a collaborative initiative organized and led by EcoRise . EcoRise has begun to compile a directory , dashboards , and other tools that will help school districts and community leaders advance K-12 environmental education programs across the United States. The information you provide on the Gen:Thrive platform will also help us make data-driven programming decisions and provide analytical tools to help secure greater funding for EE in the Midwest. So far, EcoRise has completed initial data collection from 26 states. We need your help to add Wisconsin to the map! Ready to join? Simply contact Gen:Thrive with your interest for joining the Wisconsin Landscape Map and they’ll provide you with your personalized invite code and instructions for adding your organization to the platform. Only one profile should be completed per organization. We have asked you personally, based on your position. However, if you feel that someone else could help provide more complete information by working on this with you, please share your organizational login code to complete the profile rather than create an additional profile. The profile questionnaire will address your organizational operations, services provided, audiences served, and programming themes to help us better understand environmental education and engagement in the Midwest. It should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. The profile is divided into two levels: organizational information and program information. After completing the organization-level questionnaire, please continue to the program survey, where you can provide detailed information about your key program offerings. The more programs you can provide information for, the more accurate our coverage map and data will be. Even if you don't have time to submit surveys for each of your programs, we encourage you to still submit an organizational survey to get you on the map! Please note that the profile survey will function best using Google Chrome as your browser. As a token of our appreciation for your time and effort, all Wisconsin organizations that complete an organizational level survey will receive a $5 discount for one employee to attend our annual conference, which will be held at Upham Woods near the Wisconsin Dells, October 24th-26th, 2024. Everyone who completes the organization level profile and program-level responses for at least their top 3 attended programs will be entered to win one of the following prizes: A $50 Gift Certificate to the Outdoor Learning Store A $50 Amazon Gift Certificate One of Two items of your choosing form the WAEE Gear Store A free registration to a future WAEE Online Course for one employee 5 Winners get a $15 Discount to our Annual Conference Please complete your profile by Friday, March 15th . If you have any questions as you work through the Gen:Thrive platform, please don’t hesitate to contact Beca Borkowski at admin@waee.org Thank you in advance for your time and assistance with this project. We’re looking forward to accelerating our community impact together! Sincerely, The WAEE Team