Outdoor Education Commons^™

Growing Girls’ Leadership Through Outdoor Programming, Kallen E. Tsikalas And Karyn L. Martin

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Girl Scouting (GS) is fundamentally about developing girls as leaders—growing their courage, confidence, character, and ability to make the world a better place. It does this by providing them with opportunities to build leadership skills (outcomes) related to discovering, connecting, and taking action (GSUSA, 2008), and by engaging them in the processes of learning by doing, cooperative learning, and girl-led activities (James & Bastiani Archibald, 2009).

Contents, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

The Coalition for Education in the Outdoors is a non-profit network of outdoor and environmental education centers, nature centers, conservation and recreation organizations, outdoor education and experiential education associations, institutions of higher learning, public and private schools, fish and wildlife agencies, and businesses that share the mission to support and further outdoor education and its goals.

The Environmental Rhetoric Of Song, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Pete Seeger was, indeed, a master of environmental lyric and song. His folk style musical rhetoric continues to attract the listening of thousands of children and adults each year. Songs can capture the moment and also launch a movement. What follows are 10 of our favorite tunes carrying environmental/green messages. Some are old, some are new; perhaps you have others to share with Taproot readers. Our favorite, considering the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors’ mission, is a new one by none other than Bruce Matthews, first director of the Coalition. It began as a poem many years ago and …

From The Editor, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

The need for environmental patriotism, the theme of this issue of Taproot, is suggested by a 2006 college student in his final quarter of college. Asked by professor Carmen Werder (See Resources on page 48) to describe himself via metaphor, the student finally settled on being like a stream. A stream, he said, “is always moving forward, forever changing…eventually becomes pure… We are all pieces of a larger system, and I appreciate my place in it. It’s the first time I’ve ever thought of myself as part of something bigger.” How is it, Werder asks, that research shows so many …

Local Environmental History And The Journey To Ecological Citizenship, Michael B. Smith

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This article describes a process of hands-on learning that Professor Michael Smith uses to help college students develop a sense of place and understand the meaning of civic engagement. It also suggests ways of evaluating a teacher’s pedagogical effectiveness. The article first appeared in the book, Citizenship Across the Curriculum, which describes how similar approaches to civic education can also be used in political science, mathematics, the natural sciences, rhetoric and communication studies. Smith’s inclusion of student comments about their course experience is especially insightful for scholars wishing to know more about the learning process.

A Salute To Pete Seeger: Environmental Patriot Extraordinaire, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

A Salute to Pete Seeger is a tribute to an American folk music legend. Celebrated for his political activism and contributions to revive American folk music, Seeger was also an important environmental patriot. Tirelessly using his guitar and banjo he got a whole generation singing together and actively involved in cleaning up and protecting the natural world. The inscription on Pete’s banjo succinctly illustrates his personal philosophy and how he lived: “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.” His principled and modest lifestyle provides a worthy role model for teachers and parents who want their children to become …

Participant Profiles, Antecedent Predictors, And Developmental Outcomes, Jayson Seaman, Erin Hiley Sharp, Sean Mclaughlin, Corinna Tucker, Karen Vangundy, Cesar Rebellon

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Adolescents spend 40% to 50% of their waking hours in discretionary activities, representing an important context for youth development (Verma & Larson, 2003). Structured and unstructured outdoor activities have been acknowledged as especially promising venues for positive youth development (PYD, Mainella, Agate & Clark, 2010; Sibthorp, 2010). In the youth development and activity literature, however, outdoor activities often are undifferentiated from other options, with researchers emphasizing more generic characteristics such as adult supervision, program structure, and skill-building opportunities (see Mahoney, Larson, & Eccles, 2005). Conversely, many outdoor education scholars highlight the distinctiveness of outdoor programs, yet research designs are frequently …

Constructing A Family Adventure Experience, Jillisa R. Overholt

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

While family leisure is a growing area of inquiry, focus on family outdoor recreation or family adventure experiences remains limited. Outdoor recreation and camping experiences, however, are particularly well suited to enhancing family bonding and cohesiveness (Hawkes, 1991). This has been suggested to be the case because of the unfamiliar environment, the social structure, and the types of interactions required to successfully negotiate the environment and task (Huff, Widmer, McCoy, & Hill, 2003). Much of the existing research in this area has focused on organized family camping experiences (Agate & Covey, 2007; Taylor, 2006) or short-term adventure experiences, usually one …

Book Reviews, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section reviewed several books. These books included:

Outdoor Adventure and Social Theory-- edited by Elizabeth C. J. Pike and Simon Beames and reviewed by Jeff Rose

The Journey at Malloryville Bog-- written by Robert M. Beck and reviewed by Charles Yaple

In The News, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section contains multiple brief news items related to conservation, environment, and outdoor education.

Resources, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section lists teaching resources of all types for those who work in outdoor education at the time of publication. Some highlighted items include:

Eco-Warriors: Updated Edition

Rise of the Eco-Warriors: Film Review

Taproot In & Outside The Classroom, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section provides activities and strategies to include Taproot into classroom lesson plans.

Conference Calendar, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section lists conferences in the field of outdoor education including the "North American Association for Environmental Education" and "4th IEA Clean Coal Centre Workshop on Cofiring Biomass with Coal."

Nebline, June 2014

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Nurturing Unmarried Parents and Their Children

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

"Can’T Touch This": Empowering Children With Severe Food Allergy In The Residential Camp Setting 2014, Alexsandra Dubin

Master's Theses

The purpose of this project was to create an empowerment program for children with severe food allergy (SFA) in a residential camp setting. Despite recent advancements in research, there is no cure for SFA, thus there is a need for programs to help children manage their allergies and cope with the ramifications of their condition. Quality of life is a major concern for children with SFA, as the constant fear of exposure to an allergen can lead to high levels of anxiety. This is particularly noteworthy because, barring exposure to an allergen, these children are otherwise healthy and symptom free. …

Nebline, May 2014

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: The Cost of Invasive Species

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Nebline, April 2014

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Backyard Farmer -- Six Decades of Growing Gardeners and Protecting the Environment

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Special Pullout Section: Weed Awareness

Graduate Research Innovation Awards Encourage Young Scientists To Ask Bold Questions, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), in partnership with the Association for Fire Ecology, offers Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN), awards yearly to a handful of top-quality graduate students conducting research in fire science. GRIN awards are intended to nurture the next generation of fire and fuels scientists and managers, enhance their professional development, help them become engaged with their community of peers, and equip them to tackle the fire and fuels management challenges of today and tomorrow. To earn a GRIN award, master’s and doctoral students are invited to submit succinct four-page proposals for original research in fire ecology, management, …

Nebline, March 2014

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Make a Difference -- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

From The Editor, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Following the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions, this issue of Taproot arrives with the Coalition’s renewed dedication to help further the goals of outdoor education. A new partnership with Sagamore Journals and Applied Health Sciences will serve as a vehicle to enable realization of that commitment by making our publications more widely available. We believe the time is right for a resurgence of outdoor education to take on its rightful and sorely needed role in the advancement of sustainability, including assisting in redefining the concept of sustainability itself. The lack of attachment and allegiance to place, ecological consciousness, and …