Kachemak Bay Environmental Education Alliance
Meeting Notes
Friday, October 27, 2006
Meeting Purpose:
1) Share information on new environmental education (EE) happenings in Kachemak Bay
2) Review and clarify direction of Alliance
3) Focus joint efforts
*notes note: These are pretty raw notes. What was I thinking? We’re very busy people and cover a lot of territory in a five hour meeting! I’m including attendee’s email addresses at the end of these notes in case I got something wrong or you want more information or clarification on what was presented at this meeting. Please contact the presenter directly for more information.
Thanks - Elizabeth
Updates on NEW or UPCOMING local EE programs
Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council
Linda Robinson
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Crab monitoring project
Crab models
Will help with aquatic invasives kits
Funding for discovery labs – oil, Oil spill curriculum
Film Festival, 1st – February 17
Contact Linda to recommend environmental films, up to 30 minute
Soliciting drawings for their coloring book, line drawings
3 projects
- Updating oil spill curriculum k-12
- Youth in Development mentoring project – recruiting youth onto committees/ with mentor (review draft and communicate with Linda – deadline January)
- DVD professions in oil trans, response and oversight, AK careers, free DVD
Kenai Peninsula Conservation Educators (KPCE)
Dan Pascucci Kenai Watershed Forum, Kenai River Center
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EE providers organizing in Soldotna
Building alliances
Kenai Watershed Forum grant from ACF
Alliance
Curriculum development
2 meetings so far
Id areas for EE
Group focus
See handout
Action Plan
Education Plan for Kenai Peninsula
Matrix developed (one pager) – to id curriculum and trainings for teachers – Dan please send
Teacher survey – funding and time to develop
Target audiences
Key questions
Needs assessment contact Shelly Renamin? – Ed Specialist with KWF see email
Dan – Adopt-A-Stream, made to order programs
Carmen has teacher questionnaire
Broader scope - Kenai Peninsula
(Anchorage Inservice)
Terry suggests looking beyond KP for program development
Carmen suggests including villages, homeschool
Bree suggests including KRC high school migration
Steve suggests including KPB personnel curriculum director
Demographic changes, voucher
AVO
Program evaluations – core questions, seasonal
Outreach to teachers – brochure, website
KBRR
ADF&G table top interpretation displays currently in development for the Alaska Marine Highway, will be using Catie’s illustrations (Catie)
Crab monitoring programs: Students from Otter Beach and West Homer are monitoring Kachemak Bay beaches for European Green Crabs using protocols developed by Judy Hamilton. (Carmen) Other communities also monitoring include Kodiak, Valdez, Cordova, and Tatitlek
Discovery Labs
Bugs collaborative lab and illustration class – modeled after Oceans and Arts (plankton) event
Planktonfest 3rd Wednesday in February 21
March – no Catie, no Carmen
Developing Education Kits for use in Homer/ANC: invasive, clams, salmon, plankton, before end of June
KBC collaboration – Marine Plankton Ecology Course, 1 cr February 17, 24 Scott Pegau, General public
Decreased staffing for spring/summer 2007
Increased programming trend Fall 2004 – 20 kids, fall 2005-120, fall 2006 650!
Budgets Terry – projects – statewide duties –
Producing PSAs on the benefits of sportfishing to AK, family fishing, fish safely with bears, sportfish aquatic ed web page
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
Marianne updated us on:
Simeon’s Guide to I&O employees
National Scenic Byways Ferry table top displays
Wildlife Viewing Trail – watchable wildlife
Draft corridor plan for Sterling Hwy Scenic Byway
Grant for Tustemena – interpretive plan, products on Ferry and communities, they plan to hire interpretive planner, contact Marianne with candidates
Ed specialist (Melonie’s old position) – GS 9 year round position, contact Poppy Benson (226-4606) for more information
Rat Reach pop-up display, brochure on invasive rats in the Refuge
VC Projects – holiday programming, highlighting community winter programs
Holiday open house Wed 12/20, discovery lab, live music
Cook Inlet Keeper, Ingrid Harrald
Participating in the Envirothon
helping Al Poindexter with his Natural Resource class
working on stream monitoring/bug stuff with Pratt
Pratt Museum
Ryjil Christianson is multitasking as Exhibits Coordinator and part time Education Assistant. Gale Parsons is still involved contributing her expertise as cultural liaison and exhibits director.
Lois Bettini is developing Beauty and the Bug: a celebration of insect’s opportunities to study insects, artists involved,
Lois is teaching Natural History of the Insect @ KBC
Pratt is Closed in January – reviewing 22 study kits, updating, revising, resource list
Pass at the Pratt a program serving struggling students, working with their teacher, Pratt as a place to study, waiting for funding
WHIZ Kids – Halloween kick off, Tuesday and Thursdays through April, no Jan, free weekly workshop, Tuesdays pre=-K , 1st thru 6th grade, sci, art, history, 3:30-4:30pm
Center For Alaskan Coastal Studies
WYNN – Beth Trowbridge
Winter programs
Fall programs
Winter ecology – unstructured, call ahead to set up, 2 hour, winter survival, Jan – March snow dependent,
Community – cabin open January
Snow shoes available to borrow at office, 6 adult pairs, 6 kid pairs,
Visually impaired trail installed next summer, rope, interp displays, Braille plant labels,
Moose education
**Climate camp – Monday open to the public, 5-7 reception Climate Change in Bering Sea focus, T/W workshops with scientists,
Inconvenient Truth @ Tues 7pm, please register
Sat 3pm, private showing
Lunch 8$ Monday
climatecampak.org
Bree Murphy
February 16-17– CACS is hosting AK Coastal Stewardship Workshop, AK, Forum on Env. – coastal issues, Homer – tool kit – monitoring techniques, action kit, invasives, marine debris, COASST, Otter
Marine Debris Challenge Grants - $2000 Challenge Grants offered by CACS
Summer – Aleutian Life Forum – Coastwalk presentation
COASST – University of Washington, beachcast seabirds monitoring, 3 trainings, ramping up Coastwalk
Summer ’06 Trainings – LNT with NPS, Project Learning Tree, Project WILD (25),
WYNN – developing new trail thru Cottonwoods, new habitat, comparisons of forest types, opens up to views of Kachemak Bay, Billy Fisher Cottonwood Forest Trail, ¼ mile with switchbacks, open guided only, volunteers trail
Kasitsna Bay Lab – Kris Holderied
Marine Studies for Science Teachers, see handout
Send Kris ideas for topics, Dave Christie UAF, science director for lab – passionate about education, lifelong learning, working with CACS,
Oster Learning sci/culture,
innovative business grants – sci/ed tours 60 people from outside Alaska, 48 beds @ lab
UAA course
Carmen’s Marine Invertebrates class was a great collaboration with KBC
High School Science Field Camp – UAF/ 4-HExtension, NPS, CACS, KBRR, PRATT, desire to repeat, field data collection for res management, youth development, needs more advanced planning, 2 next summer, outreach to underserved audiences, (Meg Burgett, COOP Extension Service),
NOAA Education office Mini Grants see Kris regarding application process, education on state or national level application, regionally collaborative program, AK is considered a region
***Richard Louv – KBC interested, videoconferencing, high interest in Last Child in the Woods, reinstating EE to FEDs
Glen Seaman, NOAA
Regional Natural Resource program, collaboration with Interior Aleutian Program, training people to work with Tribal councils
New shape, statewide curriculum, classes
Partnerships with KBC & PWS campus,
Intro to Tribal Natural Resource management, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, ADF&G
4 students from Tatitlek and 10-15 students from Chugach interested
Statewide efforts – AK Native Science and Engineering Program 75-80% success, headquarters at UAA, expanding to bio science, internships, mentoring, well funded
Recruiting k-12 career
Needs assessment in collaborations with tribal council, school product for to inform our collaborations, interest high in villages, January initiative
Contact Glen if you want to help out or have input
Spring presentation on his program
Kachemak Bay Campus – Carol Schwartz
New UAA provost coming to Homer today!
Fall Courses
Carmen’s Marine Invertebrates class – Kasitsna
Ed Berg’s Geology of KBay class, younger students HS,
1st time forensic exploration discovery!
Lois Bettini’s Insect Natural History class
New marine biology instructor, Debbie Tobin, specializing in river otters
Spring Semester Courses
Ed Berg, Global Climate Change, Lichen
Fly fishing class
New people certifying 1st aid CPR class each semester, register Monday
Chris Lopez, Boating Safety Navigation Basics, AK Water Wise, weekend class, March 31 April 1, pool practice, AMSI,
Birding Elderhostel 2 programs in May,
July Elderhostel registration open
Expanding Lifelong Learning / Elderhostel
Outdoor Education with Anders Gustafson
icebreaker – ice climbing class,
Spring Break – March 19
Backcountry skiing
Winter camping class
3 cr survival safety winter survival
3 outings Caribou Hills, natural history component, across the bay, Saddle trail, skill building in an educational context, risk management procedures
*May have opportunity for kid programs in conjunction with winter classes
Public info for School of Oceans and Science
2nd phase of remodel done in couple of weeks!
Art studio, 1100 sq ft
East campus Open house in a month or so
Steve Hackett – IDEA Homeschool Program
Participation increasing
Earth Science Week October packet
Earth as a system
Reports to the Nation
Earth Week activities in April
Matt Weaver, coordinator
Department of Natural Resources Project Learning Tree(PLT) 269-8481
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PLT new national program: Places We Live (PWL)
Fun training workshops with fun activities
New delivery system module with experiential lesson modeling
Overview of PWL module
PWL Rationale – change is inevitable
Changes affect aspects of lives, environmental, quality of life, community character
Choices make effects on future
4 purposes
§ Provide students with skills and knowledge to involve themselves in planning for change
§ Connect students to where they live – community characteristics developing sense of place
§ Changes in public health
§ Future impacts of choices
8 activities form a framework for teachers to lead students through community investigations
1 personal places – prompts id and report reflect on their connections to a special place in the community (tidal creek, tree fort, etc)
2 community character – framework to id unique attributes of their community, explore community response to growth the change
3 mapping your community through time – aerial photos of past and present, infer patterns, make predictions about future
4 neighborhood design – explore and detail their neighborhood – present, discuss eval development options, future change
5 greenspace – investigate and document green space and native plants, neighbor, common region, options for protecting
6 vision for the future – teams develop and present vision to class of HCOC, city council,
7 far reaching decisions – develop presentations, how individual decisions affect the local env. , measure eco foot print
8 case study – investigate regional issue, adopt role of stakeholders
Audience – secondary students, community
580 series credit
PLT
FIREWISE
PWL
580 PLT for mid/high school teachers could be turned into places module
Formal and non-formal educators, 2 choices credit – Friday night Saturday class, non credit classes,
Matt has not delivered a places module yet…estimates it as a 15 hour class…initiate in Homer…community fits the profile…Spring 2007…Matt initiating and collect source material, Kenai Peninsula focus,
Matt planning a trip down to collaborate
Discussion:Is it adaptable to lower grades?
Standards??? GLEs local issues, concerns
Adaptable to Native communities?
Most appropriate for upper grades
May be most applicable to non-formal educators
Girl Scouts / Boy Scouts, DDF debate club, NR class
Matt may come to Homer – late January to meet and plan Places module training in spring
KBEEA collaboration updates & discussion
KBay Science Conference education report (???)
2009
Get on planning group
Education: credit class for teachers
No students did posters
Teacher from Nanwalek > Sea Days in Nanwalek
USGS watershed forum had student congress component
Climate Camp student component
Science Bowl component
NOAA literacy grants potential? Research/k-12 public connection
Kris suggests creating a template – for organizing conference
EPA watershed template for meeting
CA sanctuaries have good models for science conferences
Teacher trainings for 2007 and beyond see above
UAF’s Marine Studies at Kasitsna Bay Lab
NAME Conference report (Carmen)
July 2006 poorly attended – ok
Crabs in resin
Homer 2010 KBEEA sponsor
Partners in Education > winter, spring events
Coastweeks 2006 report
KBEEA Day of Science for Seldovia & homeschool students
Sticky issue
No communication from principal
Feedback (complaint) from Seldovia – bringing “our” program, not incorporating local feedback
What now?
Seldovia Seadays – should we help them in their effort rather than bringing in our own
Community vs. tribal council vs. school culture
Tribe/school district
Identifying who speaks for the community
Join SeaWeek community collaboration?
Michael Opheim
Seldovia Chamber of Commerce meeting a good forum
Tribe, school, city
SeaWeek in Port Graham, Nanwalek?
Tide guides for Paul Banks & other schools (Elizabeth)
Crowd control
Sammy the Seal
Halibut
Classroom tidepool etiquette presentation
Terry – target low tide days in May
High School guides – tide guides
NR class
Senior citizens
Watershed model for KBEEA member use – grant ideas?
Grant ideas? Check Karen’s email
Mountaineers Foundation
Thank you to Kris got the Homer Field Trips website funded
Kasitsna Bay Lab use – training educators to lead programs at lab? Kris’ role as teacher facilitator? (Kris)
KBEEA listserve use (Carmen)
Sending messages out to address
Don’t reply to group, but check address and reply to that individual
No fundraiser messages
Steve suggests posting policy
Key Mission – promoting stewardship
Carmen drafting policy for February meeting
Bree has skits for beach etiquette goes to Paul Banks regularly
Tidepool display?
AD hoc committee – Terry, Elizabeth, Lois, AMNWF Marianne
April/May
KBEEA teacher listserve
Science opportunities for AK teachers
Website - Catie
K12 programs
Maps distances travel
Hcoc
Advertising
Do we want flyers?
Beach Etiquette
Pdf on ADF&G pdf for tidepool etiquette
Seas and Coasts marine mammal etiquette
New KBEEA Chair
See attachment on agenda
Possibly a shared position
Pratt / NPS
Catie – website
Carmen – kbeea listserve
Flotsam & jetsam
Wrap-up
Next meeting
February 23 Friday 9-2pm @ old reserve building
Planktonfest – 2/21
Holiday 2/19
Pass at the Pratt
Climate change education
SeaWeek curriculum
Kits community
Subject matter expert list
Bishop’s beach report
Members present:
Catie Bursch, Kachemak Bay Research Reserve (KBRR)
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Carmen Field, KBRR
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Terry Thompson, KBRR
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Simeon Smith, KBRR
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Marianne Aplin, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR)
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Melissa Apgar, AMNWR
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Ryjil Christianson, Pratt Museum
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Lois Bettini, Pratt Museum
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Ingrid Harrald, Cook Inlet Keeper
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Bree Murphy, Center For Alaskan Coastal Studies (CACS)
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Beth Trowbridge, CACS
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Dan Pascucci, Kenai Watershed Forum, Kenai River Center
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Glen Seaman, NOAA /National Centers for Coastal Science (NCCOS)
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Linda Robinson, Prince William Sound Regional Citizen’s Advisory Council (PWSRCAC)
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Steve Hackett, IDEA Homeschool Program
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Kris Holderied, NOAA, Kasitsna Bay Lab
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Carol Schwartz, University of Alaska, Kachemak Bay Campus
@uaa.alaska.edu
Elizabeth Wasserman, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve (LACL)
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Kachemak Bay Environmental Education Alliance 
