Morning @ Highlands Elementary School

• Students presented on topics of their passion and how teachers facilitated their success
• Introduced the Project GREEN committee of volunteer planners and encouraged participants to network with each other
• Great presentation from Erica Hermsen, Director at EverWild Forest School: “Nature Nurtures: How Nature Connection in Childhood Promotes Positive Academic, Social and Physical Outcomes through Adulthood.” Erica discussed research that shows how nature immersion can improve outcomes in children that last well into adulthood, and further explained how the type and length of outdoor exposure imparts varying levels of benefits.
• IdEEA presented their Environmental Educator of the Year awards. Congratulations to Lynette Weller, Maggie Stover and Augie Gabrielle!

Afternoon @ Bogus Basin

• We met with the forestry team who headed up the afternoon:
  • Michelle Youngquist – Education Program Manager, Idaho Forest Product Commission and Project Learning Tree
  • Dirk Anderson – Environmental Education and Stewardship Coordinator, Bogus Basin
  • George Nuesse and Dan Gallagher – Idaho Department of Lands
• We explored “The Trees of Bogus Basin: Exploring Our Mountain Canopy”
• We learned about the Good Neighbor Authority and the forest restoration project that works to keep the forests at Bogus Basin healthy and reduce the impact of dwarf mistletoe.
• We took a hike with our forester guides to see the trees and learn about how the mountain recreation area aims to engage the community in outdoor and environmental education. We practiced ecological surveying, tree health assessments and learned tools and techniques to use in the school yard to engage students with their curriculum and the outdoors.

Breakout groups

• Danielle Marquette – BSU Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Geosciences. Presented K-12 wildfire education.
• Adam Lulu and Rachel Brummet with USFS Boise National Forest, Idaho City Ranger District presented Trees and the Stories They Tell.
• Cindy Busche, Environmental Education Manager at the City of Boise WaterShed presented on Teaching Climate Change with Project WET.
• Camille Platts-McPharlin from the Foothills Learning Center and Janice Alexander from Boise Urban Garden School presented Bringing the Outdoors In: Environmental Education at your school.
• Kristin Gnojewski, Community Volunteer Specialist with Boise Parks and Recreation. Kristin presented on Community Science Opportunities in the School Yard and Beyond.
• Michelle Youngquist, Education Program Manager for the Idaho Forest Products Commission and state coordinator for Project Learning Tree, presented Inquiry Outside the Classroom Door.

Place Based Experience (PBE) Activities

• Art Butts, the Fish Restoration & Conservation Coordinator with the IDFG did a fish shocking demonstration in the stream. We found several non-native game fish but no trout – not what we were expecting! Science is so cool! We also learned how to collect data including fish weight, age and size, and discussed fish habitats.

• Lori Adams, the Project WILD Coordinator with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, teaches workshops to teachers on incorporating wildlife education into their classrooms. Lori brought out an awesome collection of beaver materials set up next to an actual beaver dam. Beavers are our native ecosystem engineers, and she used them as one example of how wildlife can be incorporated into curriculum.

2021 Summit Recap

The 2021 Project GREEN Teacher Sustainability Summit was a great success! A big thank you to Treasure Valley Canopy Network and all of our sponsors and presenters. We have amazing teachers and students who are really making a difference. A big thank you to the Project GREEN planning committee that makes this event meaningful and successful year after year.