Outdoor Education Commons^™

Keepers Of The Earth, Jeannette Armstrong

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

I have always felt that my Okanagan view is perhaps closer in experience to that of an eyewitness and refugee surrounded by holocaust. I draw on this experience of witness to frame my own comments on a social crisis that has been interpreted in various fields of study as critical. As a Native American, I have felt that crisis as a personal struggle against an utterly pervasive phenomenon. My conflict has been to unremittingly resist its entrapment, while knowing that it affects every breath I draw. Through the lens of that perspective, I view the disorder that is displayed in …

The Obligation To Endure Again, Sandra Steingraber

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

The author of this letter was a young biologist named Rachel Carson. Carson could not have known, when she penned it, how profound an impact her short letter would have. The Associated Press picked it up for syndication. The Reader's Digest reprinted it. And so her missive found its way onto front porches and breakfast tables, into living rooms and libraries and doctors' office waiting rooms across the nation. At the height of the Cold War, in the midst of an anti-Communist inquisition that had convulsed the federal government, Carson's assertion that "the real wealth of the Nat ion lies …

Review Of Beyond Ecophobia, Beth Bojarski

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Nature loving and back yard exploration could easily be chalked up to the responsibility of parents (alongside respect, tolerance and sharing) while classrooms examine the lifecycle of a butterfly or the names of rainforest birds. However, the truth is that teachers and parents alike have the extraordinary opportunity to share with children just how intricate and incredible Mother Earth is ... before overwhelming them with the perils of our environmental crisis.

Astronomy For Your Whole Family, Larry Klaes

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Astronomy for Your Whole Family, Part I (found in the last issue of Taproot) concluded with a discussion of two of the most well-known star patterns as seen from Earth's northern hemisphere: the Big and Little Dippers. Not only are they among the most recognized collections of stars in our night sky, they also serve the important function of marking the direction of true north from the heavens.

Review Of Places Of Power, Jennifer Bradley

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

It is not unusual to find children's books about nature, nor even about the responsibility people have towards the natural world; however, to find a picture book that convincingly explores this from the place of mutual communion and spiritual connection is indeed rare. In Places of Power, author Michael DeMunn draws from his Native American heritage to share his belief that within the natural world there are places of power that connect to places deep within each of us, places that are powerful because they are where the Creator speaks to us in a way that only we can understand.

Resources, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section contains a listing of teaching resources of all types for those who work in the outdoor education field at the time of publication. Some items highlighted include: "Project NatureConnect" and "Reconnecting with Nature: Finding wellness through restoring your bond with the Earth" By Michael Cohen.

Professional Opportunities, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section included numerous opportunities for professional development related to outdoor education and environmental or conservation education. Some of the options included the "Global Change Institute" and the "Society for Human Ecology".

Conference Calendar, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section provides a list of conferences in the field of outdoor education including the Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario and NIRI (National Institute of Recreation Inclusion).

Practitioner's Corner Strengthening Natural Senses, Michael Cohen

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

"Us is the united wholeness, wisdom and spirit of the natural world and our true inner nature. Acknowledgement of Us results in living more harmoniously with the living land, waters and life-spirit within and about us ... we enjoy peace with the whole of nature found in ourselves, others and the landscape."

From The Editor, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Using ecopsychology as a theme, this issue of Taproot rightfully begins with a salute to Michael Cohen. Janet Thomas provides readers with a well-written overview of Michael's life and work in On All Nine Legs - Teaching Outdoor Love to an Indoor World. Like Cohen, Jeannette Armstrong sees a form of insanity that grips modern cultures-a sickness that can only be cured by reconnecting with the natural world that nurtures us. As a Native American (Okanagan), Armstrong provides an outsiders view of the "wild and insane" lifestyles lived by humans in a consumer- oriented world. In Keepers of the Earth, …

Review Of Psychology And Environmental Change, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

The good news, according to author Raymond Nickerson, is that "psychology has much to contribute to solving the problem of detrimental environmental change." The bad news is the problem of environmental change is not high on "the priority list for the psychological research community as a whole." Operating from those statements, readers of Psychology and Environmental Change, should not expect to walk away with tried and true methods for altering human behaviors contributing to environmental degradation. However, that does not mean Dr. Nickerson's book is unworthy of purchase and thorough reading.

On All Nine Legs, Janet Thomas

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Although we are part of nature, most of us learn to spend on average over 95 percent of our time and 99 percent of our thinking separated from and out of tune with nature's beauty, balance, healing, sustainability and restorative powers. According to Cohen, this is a profound loss that traumatizes us into denial. We deny that we are rewarded by our daily indoor lives for fearing and exploiting, rather than embracing and learning from nature. We deny that we are psychologically addicted to nature- disconnected lives that produce personal, social and environmental dysfunction.

Review Of Biological Time, Beth Bojarski

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Biological time describes the "natural lifecycles and events of organisms dictated by the presence or absence of light . . . [it is a] unifying theory, linking the timing of ancient calendars with modern scientific research and historical records that show how the natural world is marching to a drumbeat that we are just now learning how to hear."

Review Of Clearing Magazine, Beth Bojarski

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

At first glance, Clearing Magazine could be passed off as a publication specific to Northwestern North America as one grazes through the upcoming news and events that focus on clinics and conferences in California, Idaho and Washington. However, a deeper look conveys substantial contributions to the environmental education field on all levels and locations. Topics covered range from practical to extremely thought provoking and inspiring.

Review Of Including Youth With Disabilities In Outdoor Programs, Lynn Anderson

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

In a culture driven by accountability and measurable outcomes, Including Youth with Disabilities in Outdoor Programs, should be well received. The book, based on the results of the three-year National Inclusive Camp Practice study, presents evidence-based practices that will help professionals include youth of all abilities in their camp programs.

Review Of The Elegant Universe, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

While a theory of everything (TOE) still eludes physicists, Greene shares in understandable, and at times entertaining, terms how superstring theory may bridge the gap "between the laws of the large - general relativity - and the laws of the small - quantum mechanics." As they now stand, both cannot be correct. General relativity is very accurate in explaining the behavior of the universe at large and quantum mechanics in describing behavior of subatomic particles. However, they "collide horribly" when physicists try to explain such things as black holes and the early conditions of the big bang.

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 a mission the support and furtherance of outdoor education and its goals.

Professional Opportunities, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section included numerous opportunities for professional development related to outdoor education and environmental or conservation education. Some of the options included "Creating Ripples: Education, Environment and Culture" and "Teaching OUTSIDE the Box - Creative Uses of Nature in Education".

News Briefs, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section contains multiple brief news items related to conservation, environment or outdoor education. Some items include: "Environmentalist Named Recipient 2004 Nobel Peace Prize" and "Endangered Parks".

From The Editor, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This issue of Taproot is dedicated to encouraging a reacquaintance with the evening sky. Our lead article by Joseph Flanagan describes efforts being made to "restore the night sky" to our national parks. In it Flanagan argues, "the night sky is a primal element of our human heritage ... " and " is the eternal backdrop to human history, inspiration of thought and belief, source of the deepest questions human beings have posed about themselves and their place in the world." Readers will be encouraged about the progress being made to protect this aspect of national parks.

The Night Sky, Joseph Flanagan

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Losing the night sky might seem the least of our worries in today's world. And yet a growing chorus of voices, many in the preservation community, is making a case for action: The night sky is a primal element of our human heritage, perhaps the ultimate cultural entity. It is the eternal backdrop to human history, inspiration of thought and belief, source of some of the deepest questions human beings have posed about themselves and their place in the world.

Review Of There Once Was A Sky Full Of Stars, Beth Bojarski

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

There Once Was A Sky Full of Stars is a beautifully written and poignantly illustrated children's book looking at the past, present and future status of light pollution. It is an ideal read for helping children and adults understand the issues of light pollution and to begin opening their eyes to the harm that is done to the environment and to future generations in innocent ways. "Some children won't care to look up in the air, Those stars are just stories, they'll say."

Resources, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section contains a listing of teaching resources of all types for those who work in the outdoor education field at the time of publication. Some items highlighted include: "TheEEWorks.org" and the "International Dark Sky Association".

Astronomy For Your Whole Family, Larry Klaes

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

We live in an amazing Universe. W At this very moment, we sit on a spinning ball of rock eight thousand miles across. This oversized boulder, our planet Earth, revolves around a yellow star at over one thousand miles per hour. This star, our Sun, is just one of billions in a vast spiral island of suns we call the Milky Way galaxy. Our seemingly huge star island floats among billions of other similar realms in a Universe almost fourteen billion years old in both space and time.

Feeling overwhelmed? Perhaps even a bit small and lost in all that …

Practitioner's Corner- Please Touch, Anita Sanchez

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

I wish I had a nickel for every environmental education activity that involves index cards. Students drown in a sea of paper. My kindergartener brings home worksheets, pictures, notes, every day. By the end of the year, the pile is as high as he is. Are you doing activities with pictures of animals cut out from magazines and laminated onto index cards? You know who you are. Forget the index cards! Use real stuff.

Conference Calendar, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section provides a list of conferences in the field of outdoor education including GLIN (Great Lakes Information Network) and NAAEE (North America Association for Environmental Education).

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 a mission the support and furtherance of outdoor education and its goals.

Review Of Spinning Tales, Weaving Hope: Stories, Storytelling And Activities For Peace, Justice And The Environment, Kerry A. Masarik-Pryor

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Once upon a time in a land not so far away, five professional storytellers realized they had something in common. Their commonality was telling stories that would promote a greater good in the world; soon the five storytellers became The Stories for World Change Network. These individuals believed that telling stories would aid in the development of values, emotions, and academic and life skills. On the basis of this belief, Spinning Tales, Weaving Hope was created. This book became a well-known compilation of stories from around the world that addressed issues of difference, conflict resolution, trust, justice, and peace.

Toward A Living Literacy: Environmental Education And The Story Of Place, Patrick Howard

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Undoubtedly, science has its place in environmental education, but the creation of an environmentally conscious citizenry is more than it alone can bear. The truth it offers is not the truth of which we are in need. Our children learn about things, yet there is little investiture of who they are or an exploration of their fundamental connection to their place.

Tinkling Cymbals And Sounding Brass: Hearing The Different Drum, Michael L. Umphrey

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

After researching a hundred-year environmental history of what seemed to be nonstop economic troubles, the kids concluded this way: "We looked to Libby's past for answers to our current troubles. But we didn't find answers. What we found was that life had always been difficult, but that our grandparents and great-grandparents had always found a way to help each other and get along. And so will we."