Outdoor Education Commons^™

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 "Society for Ecological Restoration" and the "Get Out! Conference".

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 Black And Brown Faces In America's Wild Places, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Reading Black and Brown Faces... is a delightful, troublesome, and inspirational experience. Delightful, because it is a beautifully written and photographed (also expertly done by Edmondson) testimony from the lives of twenty Black people who overcame barriers that have historically inhibited their people from venturing into wild places. Because each chapter is their personal story, Edmondson wisely let each person share: why wild places are important to them in terms of childhood experiences, what they do in the outdoors, who were their heroes and mentors, their thoughts on minorities in wild places, beliefs about youth and wilderness, their best outdoor …

Young Children's Relationship With Nature, Randy White

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Almost 150 years ago, nineteenth century psychologist Herbert Spencer published his book, Principals of Psychology, in which he espoused the "surplus energy theory," explaining that the main reason for children's play is to get rid of surplus energy. Although researchers and developmental theorists have rejected his theory, it has had an unfortunate and lasting influence on the design of children's outdoor play environments (Malone, 2003). As a result of Spencer's theory, playgrounds are seen as areas for physical play during recess, where children 'burn off steam,' and not for the other domains of development or for learning. In child care …

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: "Edutopia - The George Lucas &lucational Foundation" and the "Nature Deficit Disorder Survey".

From The Editor, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

"The times, they are a changin' ... " so goes the song by Bob Dylan. That line sadly describes what appears to be happening with far too many children in regard to time spent outdoors. In my childhood days a great deal of time was spent in the forests, streams, abandoned fields, swimming hole, and baseball diamond (which also hosted football, soccer, and all sorts of makeshift games). At night we played kick the can or hide and seek in between houses until way after dark and finally dragged home dog tired but physically fit. Today, one word seems to …

Nebline, November/December 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Extension Offers Guardianship Trainings Mandated By the Nebraska Supreme Court
Guardianships Happen for Variety of Reasons
Pruning Ornamental Plants
Spark Up the Fireplace with Color
Test Nitrogen Levels this Fall, Begin Planning for Spring Fertilization
Free Soybean Cyst Nematode Sample Kits Available
Farming No-Till Increases for Major Nebraska Crops, Better for Environment, Fuel Saved
Computerized Farm Financial Recordkeeping Workshops
Preparing a Thanksgiving Feast Does Not Have to be Difficult!
Monte Cristo Sandwich Recipe
$tretch Your Food Dollar with Healthy Snacks
Time-Saving Kitchen Tools for Holiday Gifts
President’s Notes — Alice’s Analysis
Household Hints: Tips for a Warm, Cozy and Efficient …

Nebline, October 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Seven Steps to a Healthier Habitat in the Home
Reduce Grain Depth to Save Time/Energy When Drying Grain
Don’t Feed Fresh Silage too Soon
Beware of Wood Heating Dangers
Spider Bite or Staph Infection? Diagnosis is Important
Tips to Prevent Recurrent Head Lice Infestations
Keep Out Unwanted Pests
Household Hazardous Waste Collection
Healthy Food in a Hurry!
Awesome Banana Walnut Shake Recipe
“Cook It Quick!” Dishes Out Advice
Drying and Roasting Pumpkin Seeds
The A, B, C’s for a Healthy School
Nutrition Education Program Partners with Salvation Army’s Summer Day Camp
President’s Notes — Alice’s Analysis
Household Hints: Lower Your …

Nebline, September 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

4-H Partners With Lincoln After-School Programs
After-School Youth Participate in County Fair 4-H Activities
Free E-mail Horticulture Newsletter
Storing Vegetables and Fruit
Too Late to Spray Bagworms
Deep Watering in Fall Can Prevent Tree Death
A Clean Garden This Fall Means A Disease-Free Garden Next Spring
Take Precautions To Avoid Serious Injury When Operating ATVs
Stocking Up on MyPyramid- Style After-School Snacks
Fruit Muesli Recipe
$tretch Your Food Dollars with Beans
President’s Notes — Alice’s Analysis
Household Hints: Stain Removal Tips
Fall Maintenance
FCE News & Events
Starting the “New Year” Out Right
Chemical Control of Eastern Redcedar
Eastern Nebraska …

Nebline, August 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Kids Ag Discovery Zone at County Fair is Interactive Experience
Fun Facts About Farm Animals
Predicting the Last Irrigation for Corn, Milo and Soybeans
Effect of Increasing Energy Prices on Irrigation Costs
Fall is the Best Time to Stop Henbit
Pesticide Container Recycling Program
Add Mulches to Landscapes to Protect Plants from Temperature Changes
Water Trees During Drought
Woody Plants Under Stress
Penstemon, a Great Acreage Flower
Don’t Use Black Walnut Shavings for Animal Bedding
Are You Winning the “Fruit & Vegetable Bowl Game?”
Summertime Steak Salad Recipe
Top Ten Reasons to Eat At Home
President’s Notes — Alice’s Analysis …

Nebline, July 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Regularly Test Private Well Drinking Water for Safety
Approved Water Testing Laboratories
Nebraska Forest Service Expert Discovers Pine Wilt Treatment
Easier Gardening
Odorous House Ant
Chiggers Not a Health Concern, But Can Make Outdoor Activities Uncomfortable
Ants in the Lawn
Bats Under Porches, Patios
Prepare to Plant Alfalfa in August
Pesticide Container Recycling Program
Apply Manure Before Seeding Alfalfa
UNL Researcher Needs Alfalfa Fields With Pocket Gophers
Planting Vegetables for Fall
Methods of Drying Flowers
Measuring Distance
Caring for Animals When Gone
Spider Mites Common Problem on Trees, Other Plants
$tretch Your Food Dollar with Fruits and Vegetables
Red, White …

Nebline, June 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Bio-Fuels Can Help Bridge Energy Gap: Nebraska in Ideal Position to be Supplier of Biofuels
When to Harvest Bromegrass Hay
Sample Your Hay to Get Accurate Nutrient Analyses
Moving Round Hay Bales Can be Dangerous
Pumping Water for Ponds
Controlling Pests with Home Remedies
What Does Work: Boric Acid and Borates
More Home Remedies Debunked
Protect Stored Winter Clothing from Insect Damage
Getting Past the Nutrition Headlines
Bone Appetit Banana Smoothie Recipe
Walk Nebraska!
President’s Notes — Alice’s Analysis
Household Hints: Storing Summer Swimsuits
FCE News & Events
Summer Energy Saving Tips
Are You Ready for Sun’s Rays?
How White …

Review Of Making Outdoor Programs Accessible, Lynn Anderson And Kendra Liddicoat

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Making Outdoor Programs Accessible is short and simple, but provides a good deal of useful information to the outdoor educator in making inclusion a part of the facility and curriculum. The book, or manual, is only 62 pages, but within those pages are some wonderful ideas that could be easily implemented in many settings, from nature centers to schoolyard environmental education sessions.

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.

The City Wild, Adele Conover

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

It is an urban movement whose time has come. Although much of conservation remains focused on preserving unspoiled areas, an emerging view suggests preserving biodiversity in human habitats. With urban areas having become home to more people than rural areas, many scientists now argue that preserving human habitats is as essential to sustaining biodiversity as preserving the last great forests, grasslands and savannas.

Using Environmental Education Centers To Support Incorporation Of Environmental Education In Elementary Pre-Service Teacher Preparation, Beth Shiner Klein And Andrea Lachance

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Increasing pollution and global warming concerns, a deteriorating ozone layer, high levels of chemical toxins in soil and water, dwindling natural resources – concerns about our environment continue to grow as we struggle to meet the challenges of humans’ impact on our planet. If we are to have a citizenry who are environmentally literate to meet these challenges to the planet, then we must do more to integrate environmental education into the K-12 curriculum and to develop a force of teachers who can support children’s learning about environmental issues and stewardship of the earth.

Review Of The Soul Unearthed, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

There are so many well-written essays in The Soul Unearthed it is difficult to select just a few to include in a one-page review. And, of course, other readers will take different pieces to heart. What follows here are descriptions of some articles that “spoke” to this reviewer.

From The Editor, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

These thoughts, and examination of Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, have caused your Taproot editors to wonder how children in urban areas ever experience wild places. Are children in urban areas a forgotten population that rarely benefit from experiencing wild places? In pursuit of insights related to our question, this issue of Taproot leads off with an article by University of Cincinnati educators Linda Plevyak and Amy Mayfield. Like us, Plevyak and Mayfield are concerned that urban children do not get enough time to play and learn outdoors. Their solution – …

Review Of Hands-On Nature: Information And Activities For Exploring The Environment With Children, Laura Carey

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

In reviewing the second edition of this excellent resource, I was first struck by the finely detailed, crisp drawings that amply illustrate each activity. I found myself leafing through the whole book just to see the illustrator’s treatment of twigs, caterpillars, seed dispersal and rotting logs, among many other topics. I couldn’t resist comparing it with the first edition, which came out in 1986. I was pleased to see that the original format and sections (adaptations, habitats, cycles, and designs of nature) were maintained with the addition of a new section of more than 50 pages on earth and sky, …

Walking Into Wonder, Cynthia Macleod

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Observant walking is not the kind of walking that most of us usually do, and it may be an entirely new experience for some of our students. Yet learning to walk with awareness can open us to a greater sense of connection with our surroundings and enable us to find joy in the specifics of our life settings. For our students, this personal connection to their immediate place can jump-start a lifetime of care for the environment. Taking class time to help students observe with wonder the world around them can give them a way of seeing the ordinary as …

The Kids’ Guide To Nature Adventures: 80 Great Activities For Exploring The Outdoors, Josh Bochniak

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

If a colorful, activity guide geared toward children is your target, then The Kids’ Guide to Nature Adventures might be what you are looking for. The book’s seven chapters and appendices are full of color photographs and illustrations of 80 ideas that apply to the outdoors. Full of original (and some borrowed) ideas, it is sure to be helpful as kids venture into the outdoors or prepare to do so.

Review Of The End Of Suburbia, Josh Bochniak

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

What was once, and perhaps is currently, considered the rising star of the American life may be its ultimate undoing. The automobile suburb rose at the end of World War II and continues to ride a wave that seems nowhere near cresting. A pointed documentary film, The End of Suburbia looks at the automobile suburb as the heart of the American dependence on foreign oil and as a prediction of its downfall at the hands of rising oil prices and decreasing supply.

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: NOLS (the National Outdoor Leadership School) and Leopold Education Project.

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 "Widening Horizons: Diversity in Theoretical and Critical Views of Outdoor Education" and the "Working Forum on Nature Education for Young Children".

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: "The Return of Hetch Hetchy" and "Two Lost Worlds Give Us Hope".

Practitioner's Corner: Reflections From Vida Verde, Laura Dickerson And Shawn Sears

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

We provide outdoor education for 600 low-income students per year. We have a waiting list of teachers hoping to bring their classes every year, and there are thousands and thousands more that we cannot reach. Many days that feels like an overwhelming and impossible uphill battle. My hope is that we can figure out a way to help make outdoor education accessible to all children. At Vida Verde we watch these tough urban kids let down their guards for a couple of days. They let go of their baggage and they become children again. They paint their faces with mud, …

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: "TPWD’s Urban Outdoor Programs" and "Paris-Nature: An innovative urban ecology program".

Water Within Their World, Linda H. Plevyak And Amy Mayfield

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

With the fast pace of life today, many children do not have time to play outside and explore their neighborhoods. When outside, urban children often gravitate to the playground or basketball court not paying attention to the natural environment around them.

This fast pace of life doesn’t stop at the classroom door. Classroom teachers feel more pressure everyday to teach an increasing number of standards adopted by local districts. An unfortunate result of this is that science is too often the last content area to be fit into a busy week’s schedule. This means that more than ever we need …

Nebline, May 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Bed Bug CSI: Investigating Bed Bug Infestations in Lincoln
2006 Perennial Plant of the Year
Cannas in the Garden
Ornamental Grasses for the Landscape
Can People Treat for Bed Bugs Themselves?
Everything Homeowners Need to Know About Termite Control Workshop, May 18
Controlling Ticks
Spring Cleaning? Take Advantage of Household Hazardous Waste Collections
Building a Bat House
Fertilizing Grass Pastures and Hay Lands
What is an Acre?
Butterfly Gardens
Family Skills and Desires
Control of Perennial Weedy Grasses
Maintaining Your Birch Tree
$tretch Your Food Dollar by $pending $mart
Saucy Pasta & Veggie Frittata Recipe
Calories Expended in Common Physical …

Nebline, April 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Visioning Process Can Help Communities Shape Their Future
Bennet is First in Nebraska to do Visioning Process
Easter Egg-Handling Tips
Lemon Dill Egg Salad Recipe
Have You Tried Kohlrabi
Food Bank Needs Volunteers, Donations
President’s Notes — Alice’s Analysis
Household Hints: Benefits of Disinfecting Household Surfaces
FCE News & Events
Poison Prevention
Tease-Proof Your Child
Acreage Insight Clinic: Horse Nutrition & Management, April 13
Effect of Increasing Energy Prices on Farming Costs
Oats for Extra Pasture, Hay and Silage
Consider Burning Shelled Corn as an Alternative Heating Fuel
Tornado – Will You be Ready?
Financial Resources and Skills
Protect Woody …