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While September means the end of busy summer seasons at many botanic gardens, it also means the beginning of another busy school year. School programs at botanic gardens are among the most visible and popular, and the fall and spring seasons tend to leave botanic garden educators weary and in need of vacation! To make your job a bit easier, in this issue of Education E-update we include programs, tools, and information that will help you better connect with schools in your area and offer inspiration for your as-yet-undreamed-of programs.
Best wishes,
Brian Johnson
Education Officer, BGCI ( U.S.)
Editor, Education E-update
brian.johnson@bgci.org
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BGCI (U.S.) reaches out to community gardeners: In August, BGCI (U.S.) Education Officer Brian Johnson facilitated a workshop on gardening and conservation at the American Community Gardening Association annual conference in Minneapolis. The workshop, “Plant for the Planet! Raising Community Awareness for Plant Conservation,” highlighted BGCI (U.S.)’s Plant for the Planet! campaign and offered ideas and information for teaching plant conservation issues to gardening groups. For more information on the Plant for the Planet! campaign, visit http://www.plantfortheplanet.org.
Plant conservation discovery cart: Discovery carts are common education tools at botanic gardens around the world. BGCI (U.S.) is seeking a partner garden to co-develop a plant conservation discovery cart. Instructions, material lists, and information packets will be distributed to botanic gardens nationwide after pilot testing and assessment. If your garden is interested in co-developing a plant conservation discovery cart, email brian.johnson@bgci.org.
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School Garden Wizard: Do you need help getting a school garden up and running, or do you know of a local school that could use some assistance in starting a garden program? Chicago Botanic Garden and the United States Botanic Garden have teamed up to create the School Garden Wizard. The website takes you through a step-by-step process in building support for a schoolyard garden, designing and planting, and creating plant-based learning activities.
“Planning Sustainable School Gardens”: This article by plant-based educator Rory Click focuses on creating successful and sustainable school gardens. You can find additional articles and information on children and gardening on the kidsgardening.com website, created by the National Gardening Association.
Partnership for Plant-based Education: A consortium of five plant-based education institutions, the Partnership for Plant-based Education works to “support and promote the use of plants as a vehicle for learning across the curriculum in K-12 classrooms nationally.” On the website, you can download “Uses of Active, Plant-Based Learning (APBL) in K-12 Educational Settings,” a paper commissioned by the Partnership to outline the pedagogical case for plant-based education and highlight successful programs.
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Each month, we answer a plant conservation education question that you've always wanted answered. Send your questions to
e-update@bgci.org.
Q: How can I develop curriculum that will meet science standards for more than just my state?
A: If you’re like many botanic garden educators, you design your programs with local audiences in mind first and foremost, but with an eye toward regional or even national application. Designing school programs that meet standards for other districts and states can be a challenge. Let’s face it—wading through standards for multiple states is simply an impractical possibility for most of us. If you are looking to launch your curriculum on a wider scale, check out the National Science Education Standards. Released by the National Research Council in 1995, this document outlines a national standards system for science education, and many local and state standards parallel these guidelines. Organizations such as the National Science Teachers Association have endorsed and advocate usage of the standards in schools nationwide. Visit the National Academy Press website for a downloadable PDF version of the National Science Education Standards.
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Issue 4: September 2005 |
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In each issue of Education E-update, we shine the spotlight on an innovative plant conservation education program taking place at a BGCI member institution. If your BGCI member institution has a program that should be "in the spotlight," email a short description and contact information to
e-update@bgci.org.
In the spotlight this month:
The Holden Arboretum
It is widely recognized that many kids learn best by doing. The Holden Arboretum, a BGCI member institution in Kirtland, Ohio, is using that understanding to teach middle school students about invasive plants and their effects on local ecosystems. The program, “Invasive Plants: A Threat to Biodiversity,” begins with a teacher-led classroom session to provide background information and skills in identifying regional invasive species. In these activities, the students use dichotomous keys and herbarium specimens provided by Holden. Armed with this information, the students come to the Arboretum for a two-hour experience, during which they collect and interpret data relevant to one invasive species. Identification and data are not enough in managing invasives, however, and they are not enough in this program either! The kids finish their time at the Arboretum helping to eradicate the species they studied. For more information on this program, email sgraper@holdenarb.org. For information on The Holden Arboretum, visit http://www.holdenarb.org.
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Support the UN Millennium Development Goals!
World leaders will gather at the United Nations in New York Sept. 14-16 to discuss progress in meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. All 191 UN member nations have pledged to meet by 2015 these eight goals, including eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, ensuring environmental sustainability, and achieving universal primary education. Show your support for this worldwide effort by urging your member of Congress to co-sponsor House Resolution 172, which will officially commit the U.S. government to working toward these important goals. To see if your Representative has signed on as a co-sponsor, visit the Oxfam website.
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Do you have a curriculum, an activity, or a teaching tool that you’re particularly proud of? Let others know about your good work through Education E-update’s "Tools You Can Use" section. Send an email with information about your resource and how others can get a hold of it to e-update@bgci.org.
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Have you registered yet to receive email updates about BGCI’s Sixth International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens? To stay up to date on conference developments, sign up today. You can also get more information on the Congress, to be held in September 2006 at the University of Oxford (UK) Botanic Gardens, via the official website. |
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Please forward this email to education colleagues at your living institution or to others who have an interest in plant conservation education. |
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