May 2008 Newsletter
Special Feature: 2008 Virginia EE Conference
Funding and Award Deadlines
Upcoming Events
Partner Updates and Resources
Your Virginia
Assorted Items of Professional Interest
Fun Fact
2008 Virginia Environmental Education Conference
- 2008 Virginia Environmental Education Conference- Call for PresentersProposals Due June 1, 2007Calling all Virginia Naturally Partners education staff and volunteers to participate in the annual professional development conference on September 17 - 18 at Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville, VA. The theme, Interpreting Virginia's Rich Natural Heritage, will highlight our state's natural and cultural resources. Another exciting feature will be local examples of community projects that will inspire you to "Think Global, Act Local."
The beautiful new Museum will be the site for session and various field sessions to nearby resources are planned. The conference strands for this year are: Outdoor Recreation and Field Activities; Environmental Education (EE) Resources Inside and Outside of the Classroom; Conserving Community Resources; and Leadership and EE. A major thread running through the conference will be getting children outdoors. Please submit your proposal directly on line at www.vanaturally.com/vanaturally/call_for_proposals.html.
Funding and Awards Deadlines
Stewardship Virginia offers certificates to volunteers
April 1- May 31
Register a project today to receive recognition certificates for your volunteers from Stewardship Virginia! The statewide initiative is held twice annually to help citizens with projects that enhance and conserve Virginia 's natural and cultural resources. Projects that enhance water quality,control invasive species, improve recreational resources, preserve historic and cultural resources,preserve natural heritage resources,educate people about recreational, historical, cultural, wildlife and water resourcesBonnie Phillips at 804-786-5056. and improve wildlife habitat are encouraged. Get involved! Visit www.dcr.virginia.gov/stewardship.
The Virginia Mini-Grant Program supports community-based efforts to strengthen environmental education and to promote stewardship of Virginia's waterways. These are intended to be one-time, start-up grants, and preference is given to modest local projects. Public and private schools (K-12) and nongovernmental, nonprofit community organizations in Virginia are eligible to apply for one-year awards up to $5,000. Local, state, and federal government agencies and programs are not eligible.
Upcoming Events
Take a kid fishin’ this summer. More than 30 Kids Fishing Days are being planned statewide by various organizations in partnership with VDGIF. These events are an enjoyable time for the family and a great opportunity to introduce kids to fishing in a fun atmosphere. There are events every weekend state wide through June. For details, check the Kids Fishing Days calendar.
Rachel Carson Sense of Wonder Intergenerational Poetry, Essay, and Photography Contest
Deadline: June 16, 2008
This US EPA Aging Initiative, Generations United, and Rachel Carson Council Inc., contest is seeking submissions on the theme of one of Rachel Carson's books The Sense of Wonder. Entries must be intergenerational involving a team of persons related or unrelated and describe the project and how this project brought the team in touch with the natural world. This intergenerational approach reflects Carson's desire to have adults share nature and discovery with children.
Contact: Shakeba Carter-Jenkins, 202-564-4355, or carter-jenkins.shakeba@epa.gov
http://www.epa.gov/aging/resources/thesenseofwonder/index.htm
Partner Updates and Resources
Welcome New PartnersThe Virginia Office of Environmental Education is looking for Community Educators who want to participate in specialized Water Education training as part of the Environmental Educators Leadership Program (EELP). Future training opportunities will include an orientation workshop for the EELP Self-Assessment, EELP Personal Tracking Records, and specialized water content training. The kick-off workshop will be “Water Quality in the Coalfields” with Jon Rockett in Wise County at the Powell River Project on Wednesday June 11th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
If you are interested in participating in the 2008 Environmental Educators Leadership Program focusing on Water Education, then please contact David Ruble at dnruble@deq.virginia.gov. More information about the Environmental Educators Leadership Program can be found at http://www.deq.virginia.gov/education/eelp.html.
 | Virginia Water Central is the newsletter of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center (Water Center). The mission of the Water Center, one of 54 water research centers or institutes in the United States and its territories, is mandated by Virginia legislation that established the Center in 1965. The Virginia Code (Sec. 23-135.7:8) states that the Center shall exist “for the purposes of developing, implementing, and coordinating water and related land research programs in the Commonwealth and transferring the results of research and new technology to potential users |
| Virginia Water Central is published four to five times per year. The newsletter typically includes the following kinds of information: feature articles on water-related policy or law; explanations of scientific concepts related to current water news; summaries of recent groundwater, precipitation, and stream flow conditions in Virginia; tips for individuals actions to protect water resources; brief accounts of water news items in Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay, and other states; notices about conferences, state government regulatory issues, publications, and other resources; and correlation of the main newsletter articles to the Virginia Standards of Learning for science and social studies. All issues of Virginia Water Central are posted online at www.vwrrc.vt.edu/watercentral.html. If you would like an e-mail notification when new issues are posted, please send your name, location (city or town is sufficient), e-mail address, and daytime telephone number to Alan Raflo at araflo@vt.edu; phone (540) 2321-5463. | |
Your Virginia
Travel this summer with Virginia Green
| Consider lightening your “footprint” this summer by staying at a hotel or visiting an attraction that hasbeen recognized as a “Virginia Green” facility. If you drive a hybrid, you might even get a discount from a Virginia Green B&B. | |
Virginia Green is a partnership program among DEQ, the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association. The program seeks to reduce the environmental effects of the tourism industry and raise environmental awareness. It started in September 2006 with outreach to hotels, bed-and-breakfasts and other lodging facilities by the DEQ Office of Pollution Prevention. Now the program has nearly 200 participants, including convention and conference centers, restaurants, attractions, travel organizations and even certified Virginia Green Events. According to the program, a good hotel recycling program can divert more than 50 percent of its solid wastes, and 30 percent reductions in water and energy are easily achievable through simple pollution prevention techniques. This work also spreads the idea that reducing an environmental footprint, an individual’s effect on the environment, is important. DEQ currently administers Virginia Green providing assistance, recognition and maintenance of the website and participant information. The Virginia Tourism Corporation includes all the Virginia Green participants in a searchable online application for accommodations and highlights participating restaurants. But plans are in the works to expand the promotion and scope of the program. In fact, the Virginia Tourism Corporation just made Virginia Green one of the focal areas of its new “Living Passionately” marketing campaign – www.virginiagreentravel.org. With this new emphasis, the program expects participation to increase fourfold in the next two years. | ||
Virginia Natural Resource Agency News
For the latest information about VA’s seven natural resource agencies visit www.naturalresources.virginia.gov/Agencies/agency.cfm and click on the agency link you need.
Assorted Items of Professional Interest
Virginia Naturally 5K Run
Through an engaging story format, Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Teaching memorably illustrates science concepts and reinforces the value of learning through inquiry. Each of the 15 mystery stories presents opportunities for students to form hypotheses, test their ideas, and create their own explanations as they seek answers to questions like: Why are there bugs in my oatmeal? The mysteries draw students in by grounding them in familiar experiences and then introduce concepts such as periodic motion, thermodynamics, and sound transmission. This technique allows students to take ownership of their learning and provides a foundation for classroom discussion. Each chapter includes a list of science concepts explored, targeted strategies for using stories at various grade levels, and a key that matches story concepts with corresponding standards.
Fun Fact
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