Outdoor Education Commons^™

So Much More Than Summer Camp: The Importance Of Environmental Education At Nature Centers, Olivia P. Upton

Student Scholar Showcase

In conjunction with my Westover Honors Thesis, my Bonner Legacy Project focused on the development of environmental education curriculum and programming at Camp Kum-Ba-Yah Nature Center [CKBY]. Informed by a review of current climate education, lesson plans and activities were modified in collaboration with CKBY staff to be more climate-focused and aid in the development of systems thinking skills. Activities were compiled and edited to teach concepts, such as food webs, feedback loops, and the greenhouse effect, while also promoting team-building and critical thinking. Educational kits for each activity were created, which include all materials needed as well as a …

So Much More Than Summer Camp: The Importance Of Environmental Education At Nature Centers, Olivia P. Upton

Student Scholar Showcase

Education in the U.S. currently faces a deficit in the promotion and proper teaching of climate change curriculum. Oftentimes caused by a lack of clear teaching standards for environmental education, the American political machine stirring up controversy, or teacher preferences, there are obvious gaps in the teaching of climate change curriculum. As climate change is considered one of the greatest threats facing humanity today, there is a need to educate people, especially younger generations, in order to navigate future challenges and make informed decisions. Nature centers offer the ideal location for the promotion of climate change education based on their …

Seasonal Wages And Program Outcomes In Wisconsin’S Non-Profit Outdoor Education Industry, Michael H. Schneck

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Non-profit outdoor education is an important tool that helps participants build meaningful relationships and positive perspectives of the natural world. Many non-profit outdoor education programs in Wisconsin rely on seasonal staff to fulfill the mission and vision of their programming through meaningful and tedious work. Because these staff are asked to help facilitate ideal program outcomes, it is important to analyze how seasonal wages for these roles influences staff effectiveness. This case-study analyzes the relationships between wages and program outcomes through the lens of human capital and workforce development and equity theory to better understand what most notably influences seasonal …

The Perceived Benefits Of And Barriers To Open-Water Swimming: A Mixed-Methods Examination, David Elliott Ph.D, Mark A. Christie Ph.D

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

This study set out to determine the perceived benefits of, and barriers to, open-water swimming (OWS). Adopting a mixed-methods approach, six hundred and sixty-five open-water swimmers responded to an online survey consisting of the Exercise Benefits and Barriers Scale (EBBS) and a series of open-ended questions. Data from the EBBS revealed the strongest perceived benefits to be ‘Psychological Outlook’ and ‘Life Enhancement.’ In terms of barriers, those presented in the EBBS received low ratings with only ‘Physical Exertion’ considered as being somewhat problematic. Content analysis performed on the open-ended responses showed social aspects, mental well-being, and connection to nature as …

Evaluation Of Online Information On The Cold Shock Response To Accidental Immersion In Cold Water, Adam Wilson, Heather Massey, Clare M. Eglin

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Many of the UK open water accidental deaths have been attributed to the initial responses to cold water immersion (CWI) collectively known as the cold shock response (CSR). The aim of this study was to analyse the publicly available internet information on CWI and CSR for accuracy and quality compared to the ‘gold standard’ published, peer-reviewed research. Seventy-eight webpages which provided information in English on unexpected CWI and CSR were evaluated. Webpages were accessible, widely available, and had appropriate readability scores. Webpage accuracy was suboptimal including only presenting on average 10 (range 3-16) CSR components out of 19. Quality of …

Nebline, March/April 2025

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Be Groundwater Aware in Your Day-to-Day Life! Becky Schuerman

National Groundwater Awareness Week, March 9-15, 2025

National Nutrition Month: Food Connects Us, Alyssa Havlovic

Recipe of the Month: Wild Vegetable Salad, Alyssa Havlovic

Prepare Your Landscape’s Spring Game Plan, Sarah Browning

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month, Mary Jane Frogge

2025 GROBigRed

Embracing the Puddle: The Joy of Rainy Day Outdoor Play, Hayley Jackson Perez

Agronomic Practices to Reduce Nitrate Losses to Groundwater, John Nelson

Ethan & Morgan Gabel Attend National 4-H Congress

4-H Horse Teams at Nationals

Teen Council 4-H’ers Team Up to Lead Overnight Lock-in

Heart of …

Nature Journaling: A Tool For Designing A Responsive Science Methods Course For Adult Learners, Meenakshi Sharma, Divya Gangadin, Francy Gomez

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

We examined an outdoor, experiential learning approach within a science methods course for nontraditional adult learners who are often career changers or individuals transitioning into teaching later in life. Through immersive, nature-based experiences, the course connected adult learners to science via direct engagement with the natural world. We include reflections from two nontraditional learners who participated in a 6-week nature journaling process, showcasing how they embraced inquiry-based experiences in natural settings. These reflections reveal a supportive learning environment that values diverse learning styles and life experiences and encourages exploration. Insights from these experiences can guide science teacher educators in developing …

Beer And Biology, A Perfect Pairing: Using Beer To Spread Awareness About Invasive Species, Samuel Nutile, Adam Simpson, Sara Stahlman, Lynne E. Beaty

Journal of Extension

Managing the spread of introduced invasive species relies on educating recreationists that currently or potentially harbor such species. By partnering with a local brewery, we developed the Lagers for Lakes Draft Series to facilitate outreach about aquatic invasive species in Erie, Pennsylvania. To date, Lagers for Lakes drafts and associated launch events have reached over 230 individuals and increased awareness of invasive species by 86%. With the materials provided here and the lessons learned from these events, we hope similar outreach efforts can be developed elsewhere to educate and minimize the spread of invasive species.

Identifying The Level Of Physical Activity (Pa) In Hospitality & Tourism, Kinesiology, And Recreation Students, Erick Kong, Dal-Hyun Moon, Alexandra Sandoval

ICHRIE Research Reports

Purpose – This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on Physical Activity (PA) on hospitality & tourism, kinesiology, and recreation students at California State University. The findings will help understand a direct impact on what is needed to be in place on campus in order to support and promote normal levels of PA as recommended by the World Health Organization.

Methodology/Design/Approach – PA was measured by a modified version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ) questionnaire. There were 116 students that participated in this study, respondents were mostly students who are majoring in hospitality & tourism, kinesiology, and recreation. …

Manejo Y Conocimiento Del Cafetal Como Espacio Para El Fortalecimiento Educativo En Escuelas De Zonas Indígenas Y Rurales, Atzin Elihu Calvillo-Arriola, Alma Adrianna Gómez Galindo

Critical Proceedings of the STEM ED Conference (2024)

El café es uno de los cultivos más importantes en el mundo, en México este sistema agroforestal, considerado de bajo impacto para los ecosistemas, es manejado por familias campesinas e indígenas, esto abre la posibilidad de valorar y reconocer al cafetal como un laboratorio viviente para la enseñanza de las disciplinas STEM.

Pensar El Enfoque Stem Desde Los Lugares Habitados Por Los Estudiantes, Yeison Andres Arboleda Piedrahita, Alma Adrianna Gómez Galindo, Alejandra García Franco

Critical Proceedings of the STEM ED Conference (2024)

Abordamos el tema de los árboles, que surge del diálogo con padres de estudiantes de un poblado indígena al sur de México. Este tema es potente para pensar en la implementación del enfoque STEM desde una perspectiva situada y relevante, considerando los vínculos de las personas por los lugares habitados.

Red De Milpas Escolares De Nuevo León Una Comunidad De Aprendizaje Docente Y Su Impacto En El Aprendizaje De Los Estudiantes, Reina Janeth Morales González, Alma Adrianna Gómez Galindo

Critical Proceedings of the STEM ED Conference (2024)

Red de Milpas escolares de Nuevo León, es una comunidad de aprendizaje entre docentes interesados en la implementación de las milpas. Esto conlleva retos como actividad agroecológica y escolar. El aprendizaje en comunidad representa una forma de enfrentarlos abonando al conocimiento de los estudiantes y a la formación del profesorado.

Perspectivas De Docentes De Secundaria Frente A Una Enseñanza Con Enfoque Stem En Escuelas Rurales, Yesenia Castaño Torres, María Teresa Guerra Ramos

Critical Proceedings of the STEM ED Conference (2024)

Se analizan las perspectivas de docentes de una escuela ubicada en una zona rural de México sobre el enfoque STEM para la enseñanza de los saberes escolares en secundaria. Se reflexiona sobre lo que entienden los docentes sobre las disciplinas STEM y la viabilidad del enfoque en contextos escolares rurales.

Bridging Indigenous And Hispanic Knowledge Systems Through Collaborative Panel Discussions: Stem Teachers’ Perceptions Of Culturally Sustaining Nature-Based Pedagogy, Uma Ganesan

Critical Proceedings of the STEM ED Conference (2024)

This paper presents findings from a transformative collaborative panel discussion session at the 2024 STEM Education Conference, examining how nature-based, environmentally conscious, and culturally sustaining science teaching practices implemented at the Umonhon Nation Public School (UNPS) in Nebraska can inform teaching practices in the Rio Grande Valley. The session was co-facilitated by University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Associate Professor Dr. Amanda Morales and UTRGV Assistant Professor Dr. Uma Ganesan. The study combines panel discussion analysis with qualitative survey data from participating STEM educators, providing rich insights into teachers’ perceptions of implementing culturally and linguistically sustaining (CLS) practices in diverse contexts. By …

Nebline, January/February 2025

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

2024 Extension Highlights

4-H Engaged 34,177 Youth

Nebraska Extension’s Strategic Direction

Reflflection, Growth and Whole-Person Wellness for 2025. Emily Gratopp

Recipe of the Month: Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup, Emily Gratopp

Extension’s 2025 Master Gardener Volunteer Training Begins Soon

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month

Upcoming Green Industry Conferences

ProHort Lawn and Landscape Update

2025 Pesticide Applicator Trainings

Crop Production Clinics

Leaving a Lasting Legacy for Midwestern Farm Women

At Ag Literacy Festival, Students Learn How Agriculture Impacts Their Daily Lives

Managing Hard Water, Becky Schuerman

Don’t Let Fungus Gnats Bug You and Your Plants, Kait Chapman

2025 Lincoln …

Perceptions Of School Garden Programming And Their Communities: A Mixed-Methods Research Study, Briana Lafratte

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

School gardening has been connected to improving student nutritional knowledge (Landry et al., 2021; Leuven et al., 2018), academics (Eugenio-Gozalbo et al., 2020), and pro-environmental attitudes (Zelenika et al., 2018; Chang, 2015). Caring for plants in the garden fosters a positive and caring relationship with plants, allowing students to see themselves as a part of the natural world and promoting environmentally active stances in adulthood (Kalvaitis & Monhardt, 2012; Chawla, 2007). This exploratory sequential mixed methods study explored the scope of how school gardening programs are being utilized across a county in Pennsylvania to promote student community involvement, how food …

Recreational Activity Handbook, Aisha Naz Ansari, Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta

Institute for Educational Development Pakistan (IED-PK) Archives

A thoughtfully designed resource for children in areas where attending school in person has become more challenging.

Perceptions, Limitations, And Impacts Of An Outdoor Learning Garden On Elementary-Age Students In A Rural North Carolina District, Kimberly M. Smith

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Outdoor learning gardens are environments where science meets the wonder of a child as they cultivate crops within the boundaries of their schoolyard. When students have opportunities to leave the four walls of their classroom and move outdoors, their minds are awakened and they can explore, analyze, and synthesize information. This mixed methods research investigation took place in a rural North Carolina district on an elementary school campus. The study sought to consider the perceptions of teachers and parents of outdoor learning and the limitations that prevent teachers from including experiential learning opportunities for students. The methodology for the research …

Beyond The Bin: Transforming Relationships With Waste Through A Collaborative Inquiry-Based Environmental Education Curriculum, Kaylee V. Morris

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis presents Beyond the Bin, a collaborative inquiry-based environmental education curriculum designed to transform how young learners understand and interact with waste. Motivated by the limitations of current downstream waste education—focused primarily on consumer behavior and individual disposal practices—this project argues for an upstream approach that identifies the underlying cause of these prevalent systems of disposability. Grounded in environmental education theory, affective learning, and ecological literacy, the curriculum encourages students to rethink waste as a material with creative potential rather than something to discard. Through creative engagement, experiential learning, and community-based initiatives, the curriculum fosters collaboration between students, teachers, …

Depth Of The Lake And The Height Of The Sky (2017) By Kim Jihyun, Megan Jane Laverty

Picture Books

The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky (2017) is KimJihyun’s first picture book; it is composed entirely of pictures. It “tells” the story of a young boy and his dog who spend a day swimming and sunbathing at a lake that is within walking distance from his grandparents' home, whom he is visiting with his parents. At first glance, the story might seem unremarkable, recounting an experience familiar to many. However, Kim’s illustrations challenge this assumption by drawing us into the boy’s encounter with nature. She creates a visual journey that guides us through a perceptual …

Amin's Harvest For Tomorrow Through Nine Compassionate Attributes:, Dua Nadeem, Bibi Haleema, Fazila Saleem, Komal Malik Shivji, Samina Iqbal, Seemi Batool

Institute for Educational Development Pakistan (IED-PK) Archives

At CfC, we believe that the future of our society depends on raising children who understand and practice compassion in all aspects of their lives. The book was created to help children connect with the concept of compassion and other core values, such as self-compassion, mindfulness, courage, gratitude, forgiveness, integrity, humility, altruism, and empathy. These values are essential not only for personal development but also for building stronger, more caring communities.
In the Sindh context, where communities face unique social, environmental, and climate related challenges, we wanted to provide children with a narrative that reflects the importance of collective action …

“Nice To See You”: Addressing Plant Awareness Disparity With Locally Specific Ecological And Cultural Plant Education, Cecilia Muecke

Pomona Senior Theses

Plants form the basis of life on Earth. However, due to the phenomenon of plant awareness disparity, a self-perpetuating cycle whereby plants are overlooked on an individual and global level ensues. Lack of plant awareness leads to a lessened emphasis on plants in sustainability and conservation as well as biology education, resulting in negative impacts on biodiversity and food security. The severity of plant awareness disparity is dependent on cultural context, and Indigenous and/or traditional societies are less likely to experience plant awareness disparity because of they are typically more connected to plants for their everyday needs. Native plants are …

The Everyday Scientist: Down In The Weeds In The Heart Of The South, Pamela Zendt

Master's Projects

The Everyday Scientist: Down in the Weeds in the Heart of the South is a creative nonfiction capstone project that was released as a book. The narrative documents my two-year journey as a community scientist and explores how ordinary people contribute meaningfully to scientific research in the natural world. Rooted in my desire to connect my passion for the outdoors with the goals of the Master of Arts in Professional Writing program, this project illustrates that environmental science is not only for trained professionals. Instead, it thrives on the curiosity, dedication, and participation of volunteers who follow established protocols, collect …

Beyond The Possible: Climate Justice, Global Citizenship, And Classrooms – Speculative Essays, Amanda C. Fanelli

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the potential of speculative essays as pedagogical tools to inspire K-12 educators to integrate climate justice education within their classrooms, utilizing the framework of Global Citizenship Education (GCE). While climate change is often presented in schools as a scientific or technical issue, the literature on environmental justice demonstrates that climate change is inextricably linked to systemic inequities rooted in race, gender, colonialism, and economic oppression (Bullard, 2000; Shiva, 1988; Whyte, 2017). Yet educators frequently lack accessible, integrative frameworks for addressing these intersections in their teaching without overhauling existing curricula. This study addresses that gap by triangulating ecopedagogy, …

Educating Outdoors: A Qualitative Case Study On School Readiness Development In A Nature-Based Preschool, Lauren Lefevre

Theses and Dissertations

Play is widely considered one of the most crucial activities for healthy early childhood development, yet many current early childhood education (ECE) programs prioritize academics at the expense of this critical activity. Despite this focus on math and literacy skills, a significant number of children arrive at kindergarten unable to demonstrate proper school readiness. Nature-based early childhood education (NbECE) is a growing alternative education option that prioritizes risky play, loose parts play, and nature play, potentially providing children with countless opportunities for school-readiness development through play. Guided by the biophilia hypothesis (Wilson, 1984), which suggests that humans are innately drawn …

Avoiding Racial Equity Detours: Racial Equity Trainers’ Visions Of Racially Equitable Residential Environmental Education, Anna Mooney Ph.D.

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study investigated how racial equity trainers envision racially equitable residential environmental education (REE). While addressing racial inequities has been central to environmental scholarship, equity detours undergirded by systemic power structures continue to pose significant barriers in addressing inequities in practice. The research explored the question: “How do racial equity trainers envision racially equitable residential environmental education?” Using constructivist grounded theory and drawing on portraiture’s “search for goodness,” the study conducted 1-hour virtual interviews with six racial equity trainers, employing iterative coding through the constant comparative method. A 2-hour virtual focus group and subsequent 30-minute “dissertation reality check” provided additional …