ACLIPSE The ACLIPSE university course instructional materials, and associated grades 6-12 teacher professional learning opportunities and materials, engage participants in climate science activities while using data in authentic and locally-relevant ways.
Adaptation & Evolution This session focuses on developing adult-level understanding of the concepts of adaptation and evolution for instructors.
Adapting our Pre-Program Classroom Visits A summary of how changing pre-program classroom visits to emphasize observation instead of memorizing facts led students to be excited to engage with nature.
After a Leadership Institute When Jamee Puccio and Paige Marley returned to their organization after participating in the BEETLES August 2017 Leadership Institute, they got right to work.
Approach to Walking Field Trips An approach to create school site maps that highlight walkable destinations and routines organized for K–5 from Green Schoolyards America!
Assessing for Learning This session explores how any activity that provides evidence of student thinking can be used to inform instruction and promote further learning.
BEETLES Guide for Outdoor Science Program and Organization Leaders This Guide is a planning tool to support leaders to successfully implement change in their organizations and programs.
BEETLES in a Day Program Luana Rivera Palacio shares how she implemented BEETLES in a day program and their approach to hiring instructors that reflect the communities they serve.
BEETLES Strategies in History Programming The Ocean Institute reflects on how BEETLES approaches apply across disciplines, describing how student and nature-centered teaching strengthened their history programming.
BEETLES: An Evaluation of a Capacity Building Model to Support Outdoor Science Programs This brief shares impact results from the BEETLES project’s 2011-2015 Field Testing process.
Birding on the Trail At Shady Creek Outdoor School, it is not uncommon to have a kid screaming with delight when they identify a bird.
Building Regional Networks: Lessons Learned in Collaboration and Community A series of implementation stories about how subnational networks in Sierra Valley, San Diego, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Alabama, and Minnesota worked together to strengthen regional collaboration among environmental education organizations.
Building Towards an Inclusive Organizational Culture: Insights and Lessons Learned from YES Nature to Neighborhoods This brief highlights how YES Nature to Neighborhood shifted organizational culture to intentionally foster the promotion and retention of BIPOC in the organization.
Celebrating Black History, Rooted in Plants, at the New York Botanical Garden Arvolyn Hill of the New York Botanical Garden describes a program she designed on the influence of the African diaspora on the plant world.
Centering Equity and Inclusion in Cultivating Community Drawing on our first-hand experiences, the goal of this brief is to bring awareness to the ways that white supremacy culture has shown up in the field of environmental education.
Collaboration Spotlight: BEETLES and Social Emotional Learning at the BOOST Conference An interview with Arthur Pearson about how three organizations used their experiences with BEETLES as a way to approach facilitating Social Emotional Learning in a conference presentation.
Connecting BEETLES Approaches and Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices James Taborda-Whitt of Camp Bovey describes intersections between student and nature-centered teaching practices, and trauma-informed, healing-centered approaches
Constructing Understanding There is a large amount of research on how people learn. This session breaks that information down and shows instructors how they can apply that knowledge to their teaching.
COSIA: Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences Prepare future scientists (undergraduate & graduate students) to communicate their science knowledge more effectively to the public and other diverse audiences
Creating Effective Outdoor Science Activities This resource can help programs create effective new outdoor science activities for use by multiple instructors across a program and adapt and revise existing activities.
Designing a Custom 4-Day Curriculum with BEETLES, Part 1 In 2019, Waskowitz Outdoor Education Center hired BEETLES to develop a curriculum for their 4-day residential outdoor school program focused on ecosystems, science practices, sense of place, and connection to nature.
Designing a Custom 4-Day Curriculum with BEETLES, Part 2 Meredith von Trapp of Waskowitz Outdoor Education Center describes a 4-day residential outdoor school curriculum focused on ecosystems, sense of place, and connection to nature.
Designing Outdoor Science and Environmental Education Distance Learning Experiences What can effective virtual outdoor science experiences look like? This blog post offers examples and ideas.
Discussion Strategy Videos This series of video offers ideas on building a culture of discussion, responding to students, engaging students in argument, and supporting language learners.
Emerging Leaders Cohorts: An Affinity-Based Model for BIPOC in Environmental Education Hear from Professionals of Color about the impact of the Emerging Leaders Program, an initiative to advance equity and inclusion within the outdoor environmental science field through the BEETLES Learning Institutes.
Encouraging Student Discussion & Productive Talk Discussion is key to learning. These resources provide ideas, tools, and routines to support instructors to develop skills required to lead productive, meaning-making discussions.
Engaging & Managing Students in Outdoor Science A guide on how to engage students positively from the beginning by creating an environment in which they can be the best versions of themselves.
Engaging and Managing Students Applied to Teen Outdoor Experiences Xander Tartter shares how key concepts in the BEETLES Guide to Engaging and Managing Students in Outdoor Science apply to his work in youth leadership development.
Engaging Staff in Creating New Site-Based Activities and Improving Existing Activities David Gardner describes how he got staff excited to develop new activities that made better use of the plants and animals on their site.
Env Literacy Curriculum Connections This resource helps you identify units in your curriculum that emphasize environmental concepts and add outdoor learning experiences to classroom routines.
Evidence & Explanations Teaching outdoor science as a process of discovering mysteries ignites students’ wonder and curiosity about interacting with nature. Those strategies are modeled throughout the session.
Examining Equitable & Inclusive Work Environments in Environmental Education This study, led by the Research Group at the Lawrence Hall of Science, explores the design of a professional learning workshop series for outdoor science organizations.
Example California Env Lit Implementation Watch Craig Strang discuss how California is approaching the systemic implementation of environmental literacy into state-wide education systems. For more information, check out: https://ca-eli.org/.
A Few of Our Favorite Field Guides Field guides are a useful, student-centered strategy for introducing content to students. Below is a list of field guides we’ve used, created, or had recommended from partners.
A Field at Risk: The Impact of COVID-19 on Environmental and Outdoor Science Education This policy brief describes the importance of this field, the findings of our survey, and recommendations for mitigating the potentially devastating threats facing this field.
Field Journaling with Students Field journaling is a powerful practice that supports observation, thinking, and learning. This session explores how field journaling can be used to support learner engagement and science learning.
Focusing on the Long Term: How We Overcame Resistance How Santa Cruz Outdoor Science School shifted program policies and approaches to generate instructor buy-in and support for student and nature-centered teaching.
Getting Better at Letting Go as an Instructor The first time I led NSI: Nature Scene Investigators, it was a total flop.
Guide for Outdoor Science Chapter 1: Working Toward Equitable and Just Outdoor Science Organizations How can we create and sustain equitable and just working and learning environments?
How Implementing BEETLES Transformed Our Program Jenny McGuigan of Tremont shares how BEETLES professional learning sessions helped reveal where their organization wanted to be, and how student activities offered ways to get there.
How Our BEETLES Implementation Was a Learning Experience for Everyone Involved A story of using BEETLES approaches and resources to transform an organization’s curriculum and approach to teaching and learning.
How Our Two Programs Conducted BEETLES Professional Learning Collaboratively Organization leaders from Expedition Yellowstone and Yellowstone Forever describe how conducting shared professional learning among their instructors supported collaboration and reduced competition.
How to Use Videos for Building Reflective Practice Establishing reflective structures, like watching instructional videos together and discussing them, can help nurture a culture of reflection and growth among staff.
How We Changed Our “Tone-Sets” to Inspire Students for Inquiry Seth Weinberg of Westminster Woods describes how changing daily “tone-sets” led students to be more excited and prepared to proactively engage in their education.
How YMCA Camp Seymour Started Revising Curriculum How Jill and Becca of YMCA Camp Seymour took their time and to effectively work towards student and nature-centered teaching and curriculum design.
Impacts from COVID-19: Resilient Outdoor Science Programs Need Support as Challenges Persist This brief investigates how a network of outdoor science programs has fared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Improving Outdoor Science Teaching and Learning: The Implementation of a Capacity Building Model in Outdoor Science Programs This paper examines the role and value of professional learning and organizational capacity building in outdoor science education.
Improving Teaching and Learning Through Shifts in Program Policies Tara Fuad shares how BEETLES materials and approaches transformed teaching and learning at her site– and how changing program policies helped make it happen.
Inquiry Fever With Students Sarah Johnson writes about introducing several foundational BEETLES student activities and Exploration Routines.
Intentional Hiring and Recruitment through the Lens of Equity and Inclusion Insights and Lessons Learned from Crissy Field Center, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Inter-Institute Collaboration on Professional Learning for Elementary School Teachers Sarah Johnson of Wild Rose Education and Sara Monson of Walking Mountains Science Center worked together to plan and lead a workshop for 11 elementary school teachers.
Land Acknowledgements Land acknowledgments call attention to the enduring presence of indigenous peoples– but they’re just one small part of supporting indigenous sovereignty.
LCAP toolkit Find out more about what you can do to be an advocate for science education and environmental literacy in your community!
Letting the Messy In Claire Maguire shares some common challenges of engaging students in investigations, and how “letting the messy in” can lead to meaningful teaching moments.
Making a “Destination Hike” Optional to Give Instructors More Flexibility Sometimes program policies or structure unintentionally hinder high quality student experiences. Learn how San Mateo Outdoor Education changed policies to better support high-quality teaching/learning.
Making Observations How we can help learners make careful observations while encouraging wonder and curiosity? The session explores methods and activities to strengthen learners’ skills in making observations.
Matter & Energy in Ecosystems This session focuses on developing adult-level understanding of the concepts of matter and energy and how it relates to ecosystems.
Meet the BEETLES: Bringing Wonder, Curiosity & Science to Residential Outdoor Schools – news article Check out this article in Clearing by Kevin and Craig, introducing environmental educators to the BEETLES Project.
Model Field Journal Pages Student journals should require original student thought and direct engagement with the environment. We recommend these pages be the bulk of a program’s journal.
Nature & Practices of Science This session explores 3 questions: “What is science?,” “How do scientists actually do science?,” and “How can we help young people think like scientists to answer questions about the natural world?”
NGSS & Environmental Education This short summary offers context about the Next Generation Science Standards and opportunities for supporting NGSS-aligned instruction in outdoor science schools.
Ocean Literacy – National Marine Educators Association Ocean Literacy is the understanding of the ocean’s influence on you and your influence on the ocean.
Offering I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of as a Tool for Social Emotional Learning An educator describes using I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me of to support stress relief and Social Emotional Learning with classroom students.
One Teacher’s Journey Towards Implementation Kirsten Franklin, a classroom teacher, makes a case for why environmental literacy should be essential to classroom instruction.
Oops! How I Wish We Hadn’t Introduced BEETLES to Staff, and What We’re Doing Now Paul Raia reflects on the value of moving slowly and intentionally when implementing organizational changes.
The Other Side of the Coin: Supporting Districts to Implement Environmental Literacy at Scale A summary of some of the opportunities and value of cultivating partnerships outdoor science education programs and school districts.
Outdoor In-Person Learning: Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight Series In this series of blogs, written in 2021, the BEETLES team heard many stories about how the environmental education community is adapting to the Covid pandemic.
Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: McCall Outdoor Science School McCall Outdoor Science School describes how their existing partnerships K-12 school district led to the creation of an in-person outdoor learning program during the pandemic.
Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: North Cascades Institute The North Cascades Institute describes how they partnered with several organizations to offer in-person outdoor learning for elementary students in three school districts during the pandemic.
Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: Portland Public Schools Brooke Teller of Portland Public Schools shares how she leveraged CARES funding and support from local businesses to implement district-wide outdoor teaching during the pandemic.
Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: Santa Cruz Outdoor Science School Heather Molloy describes a program that offered childcare and outdoor learning to children of Santa Cruz County school district employees during the pandemic.
Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: Sierra Nevada Journeys Sean Hill shares about Sierra Nevada Journeys’s approach to establishing a partnership and weekly outdoor education program with a local elementary school.
Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center Joe Walewski of Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center describes a partnership to offer outdoor, in-person education during the pandemic.
Peaks and Valleys: A landscape study of environmental literacy implementation in and out of California’s TK-12 Classrooms
Preparing Chaperones for Outdoor Science Chaperones are integral parts of outdoor science programs. This short guide includes three versions of what an instructor or program leader could do with chaperones to prepare them specifically to support outdoor science learning and the group’s nature exploration.
Professional Learning at Scale Mass Audubon, a nonprofit with 20 nature centers throughout Massachusetts, shares how they built a professional learning system to support high-quality teaching and learning across their state.
Promoting Discussion Discussion is an essential part of learning. This session provides valuable knowledge, strategies, and discussion practice to help instructors develop their discussion-leading skills.
Questioning Strategies This session focuses on how to use questions to encourage student exploration and learning, and how instructors’ behaviors may encourage or discourage student exploration and learning.
Racial Equity and Inclusion in United States of America-Based Environmental Education Organizations: A Critical Examination of Priorities and Practices in the Work Environment This study sought to explore how Environmental Educators of Color experience and are impacted by workplace culture, practices, and policies.
Reflective Teaching & Coaching Tools A set of tools to support organization leaders in creating a reflective learning culture on staff, and in coaching instructors to improve their practice.
Regional Network Tales from the Field: Alabama Environmental Education Summits The AEES shares how convening statewide and regional summits strengthened relationships and the quality of teaching among organizations in Alabama.
Regional Network Tales from the Field: Forming Community Partnerships to Inform Curriculum Design with the Native Voices Project A description of the Native Voices Project, a regional collaborative in the Upper Feather River Watershed between local educators and leaders from the Mountain Maidu community.
Regional Network Tales from the Field: Philadelphia A regional network in Philadelphia brought informal educators and school administrators together for professional learning and reflection on equity within the field of environmental education.
Regional Network Tales from the Field: San Diego How 12 environmental education nonprofits and two school districts in San Diego built a network focused on professional learning and relationship building.
Regional Networks Tale from the Field: Minnesota Collaborative Five residential environmental learning centers in Minnesota describe working together to evaluate their capacity for equity and prioritized collaboration over competition among their organizations.
Regional Networks Tale from the Field: River Cities The River Cities Environmental Education Learning Community shares what they learned as a regional cohort, and how this can advance justice and equity in environmental education.
Setting a Tone: How We Develop a Learning Culture Among Staff Ray Cramer describes how Islandwood has developed a culture of learning and reflection among their instructional staff.
Shifting Program Policies to Support Teaching and Learning Two examples of organization leaders changing policies to support learner-centered instruction.
A Structure for Reflection: How We Organize Our Post-Program Debrief Lunch Meeting Routine This is an example of how the Islandwood Graduate Program structures their post-program debrief meeting to maximize reflection and learning.
Student Activity Videos This series of short videos of BEETLES student activities is meant to be used with the Guide to Using Videos for Reflective Process.
Supporting Social Emotional Learning in Outdoor Science A guide to how student and nature-centered teaching approaches offer opportunities for the development of Social Emotional Learning competencies.
Teaching & Learning Learning is an active, social process. This session focuses on the Learning Cycle, an approach to sequencing phases of activities based on how people learn.
The Value of Outdoor Environmental Education Programs for Girls and Youth of Color: Cultivating Positive Dispositions Toward Science and the Environment
What Would You Do? This activity is a routine that can help develop such a reflective learning culture on your staff.
What’s in Our Backpack? Learners should engage directly with nature as often as possible during outdoor science experiences. Here’s things we recommend instructors carry that help learners do that.
The Whole Enchilada: How We Transformed Our Program Through BEETLES Gregory Bahr of San Joaquin Outdoor Education shared how he used BEETLES approaches and resources to shift organizational practices to support student-centered and nature-centered teaching.
Working Towards Equitable Organizations California: A Pilot Workshop Series Summative Evaluation Report
Working with Large Groups: Interview with Korena David Korena David of Foothill Horizons Outdoor School shares tips and techniques for engaging groups of 30+ students in student and nature-centered learning.