What an exciting summer @ Earth Explore. Students heading in all directions, from Alaska's Kenai Fjords to Hawaii's rain forest preserves, and lots going on here at the national office too. We've totally redesigned our online look...you'll find the web site easier to navigate, more interactive and fun. And it continues to grow, so check back often. Some of our staff...including myself, should be posting videos soon.
You know, one of the things we like the most is our ability to stay in contact through Twitter and Facebook. I know what you're thinking. But these tools, when used correctly, are very powerful ways to get people to think about important stuff...like the health of Planet Earth.
Another exciting development...lots of students taking Earth Explore for college credit. Getting insights about the environment and Planet, and getting credit for it that will carry into the future.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Families, Learning, and the Future
As parents we're always teaching our children something. Or at least trying. Sometimes the learning happens when we least expect it. That's because kids are always watching us. They take careful note of how we choose to live, and what we choose to value.
It is for those reasons that Earth Explore will be kicking off a whole new kind of Adventure program very soon...one that focuses on the family, and on learning together. Our new Global Family Adventures have a clear focus; to get all members of the family seeing, doing, touching, laughing and learning together in some pretty spectacular places. And experiencing the changing world in all of its beauty and complexity....together.
For years parents have been asking Earth Explore to offer family programs. And now we truly feel is the right time to move forward. With the global issues we now face, showing our children what we really value, and how important knowledge and experience can be, is vitally important.
Of course our programs will offer the same great balance of fun, learning, adventure and discovery as always. We will work with the finest field educators, in the most spectacular places, and learn about cutting edge subjects. But now we will also provide a way for families to experience all of this together.
Because we feel that a family that learns and plays together...makes the world a little bit better place to live.
It is for those reasons that Earth Explore will be kicking off a whole new kind of Adventure program very soon...one that focuses on the family, and on learning together. Our new Global Family Adventures have a clear focus; to get all members of the family seeing, doing, touching, laughing and learning together in some pretty spectacular places. And experiencing the changing world in all of its beauty and complexity....together.
For years parents have been asking Earth Explore to offer family programs. And now we truly feel is the right time to move forward. With the global issues we now face, showing our children what we really value, and how important knowledge and experience can be, is vitally important.
Of course our programs will offer the same great balance of fun, learning, adventure and discovery as always. We will work with the finest field educators, in the most spectacular places, and learn about cutting edge subjects. But now we will also provide a way for families to experience all of this together.
Because we feel that a family that learns and plays together...makes the world a little bit better place to live.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Let's Invent
As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. And right now, with the problems facing our country and the world, we've got a lot of inventing to do.
Truth is, necessity is a great motivator too. It gets us moving, gives us a boost to try an idea, and encourages us to find new ways of looking at old problems. And those are good things. Because it's clear that doing things the same way isn't working.
Let's take the way we look at our planet and energy. Drill, mine, extract and consume. Kind of easy, and also very of out of date. But our new necessity to find something better, not only to keep our cars going but our planet healthy, is the mother of a wealth of new ideas and increased support for aggressive action.
Would we have taken these steps without crisis? Probably not. The painful truth is that very often only an urgent (and scary) necessity can spur us to take real action.
The Earth Explore Foundation supports new ways of looking at the same old things. Our Adventures put student and teachers in places where they discover interrelationships between our living planet, and our living selves. Those connections, and finding new ways to confront old problems, will be the theme that dominates the coming 50 years. That's why it is so important that our teachers, and our young people find out about these things for themselves, and bring that knowledge, and some new approaches and new thinking back with them.
They will invent the future. And the world will be better for it.
Truth is, necessity is a great motivator too. It gets us moving, gives us a boost to try an idea, and encourages us to find new ways of looking at old problems. And those are good things. Because it's clear that doing things the same way isn't working.
Let's take the way we look at our planet and energy. Drill, mine, extract and consume. Kind of easy, and also very of out of date. But our new necessity to find something better, not only to keep our cars going but our planet healthy, is the mother of a wealth of new ideas and increased support for aggressive action.
Would we have taken these steps without crisis? Probably not. The painful truth is that very often only an urgent (and scary) necessity can spur us to take real action.
The Earth Explore Foundation supports new ways of looking at the same old things. Our Adventures put student and teachers in places where they discover interrelationships between our living planet, and our living selves. Those connections, and finding new ways to confront old problems, will be the theme that dominates the coming 50 years. That's why it is so important that our teachers, and our young people find out about these things for themselves, and bring that knowledge, and some new approaches and new thinking back with them.
They will invent the future. And the world will be better for it.
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Power of Active
It used to be that it was enough just to get outside. We remember it as kids. Get a little dirty, connect to nature a bit, and get back to your life. But today, young people don’t have it so easy. It’s becoming clear that if the onrushing generation is to turn around the myriad of global challenges we face, they must not only get outside, but also carry what they learn with them always.
We’re talking here about environmental education, and, no, I don’t mean tree hugging. It’s clear that no isolated movement, no fractional part of our global community getting on board, will be enough. These days we have a challenge to make it both cool and mainstream for young people to connect to nature, advocate for their planet, and not just view it from the window of an SUV.
The good news is that change is happening. An awareness is slowly emerging that "green" doesn’t have to be an extremist view. That what we need is everyone advocating in their own way for this small piece of cosmic real estate that we share.
We see the change every day when students take to the field. When they see a chunk of glacial ice fall from the front of the Exit Glacier in Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park, it’s no academic exercise. It’s a real experience of the importance of what is happening, and informs in a gut-level way that no DVD or textbook can. When students witness bleaching of pristine corals off the Kona coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, or hear about tundra changes in Alaska’s Denali Park, they know that this is real, that the world is changing, but also that they have the power to help shape the future.
Active is good. More than that, getting kids active is an essential part of what will help us turn the corner to make this generation, and future ones, different from our own. In the past two decades operating hands-on programs, we’ve found time and again that "doing" leaves a deeper, more lasting impact that hearing, or seeing. The old truism that "what touches the hand reaches the mind" is something that can’t be denied. And doing it is a powerful force for motivation and change. Maybe the best tool that we have.
I for one am optimistic about this generation. Inspiration and idealism is certainly not a thing of the past. Young people energized through active experiences in nature are a powerful force for real change. Among our students we’ve seen it inspire leadership, and advocacy. Our students have gone on to share their experiences with friends and family, and incorporate the knowledge gained into their lives.
There is an urgency now that never existed before, of course, but it is a challenge that I believe young people can handle. If I feel like getting inspired and hopeful, I know what to do. I join a group of young people mixing it up with nature. I always come back in a better mood.
We’re talking here about environmental education, and, no, I don’t mean tree hugging. It’s clear that no isolated movement, no fractional part of our global community getting on board, will be enough. These days we have a challenge to make it both cool and mainstream for young people to connect to nature, advocate for their planet, and not just view it from the window of an SUV.
The good news is that change is happening. An awareness is slowly emerging that "green" doesn’t have to be an extremist view. That what we need is everyone advocating in their own way for this small piece of cosmic real estate that we share.
We see the change every day when students take to the field. When they see a chunk of glacial ice fall from the front of the Exit Glacier in Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park, it’s no academic exercise. It’s a real experience of the importance of what is happening, and informs in a gut-level way that no DVD or textbook can. When students witness bleaching of pristine corals off the Kona coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, or hear about tundra changes in Alaska’s Denali Park, they know that this is real, that the world is changing, but also that they have the power to help shape the future.
Active is good. More than that, getting kids active is an essential part of what will help us turn the corner to make this generation, and future ones, different from our own. In the past two decades operating hands-on programs, we’ve found time and again that "doing" leaves a deeper, more lasting impact that hearing, or seeing. The old truism that "what touches the hand reaches the mind" is something that can’t be denied. And doing it is a powerful force for motivation and change. Maybe the best tool that we have.
I for one am optimistic about this generation. Inspiration and idealism is certainly not a thing of the past. Young people energized through active experiences in nature are a powerful force for real change. Among our students we’ve seen it inspire leadership, and advocacy. Our students have gone on to share their experiences with friends and family, and incorporate the knowledge gained into their lives.
There is an urgency now that never existed before, of course, but it is a challenge that I believe young people can handle. If I feel like getting inspired and hopeful, I know what to do. I join a group of young people mixing it up with nature. I always come back in a better mood.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Give your time, and the outdoors
Funny how we always run out of time at this time of year. We're pretty pushed and pulled. But it doesn't have to be that way. Really.
I try to slow down. Sit for a minute. Think. About what is really important. Then I usually grab a warm cocoa or tea, and head outside if it's nice. Oh, and I usually try to take someone along with me too.
Remember, whatever occasion you celebrate at this time of year, the best thing you can give is yourself and your time. Be present for your kids and others who are important. I mean really listen to them, talk about what matters, and take them on a walk.
When we're out of doors on a gravel or dirt path, surrounded by nature, our battle instincts fade. We're calmer, more instinctually happy. You don't have to go far. But do go, and take someone with you.
And while you're walking and talking, think about what else you could change. Like presents. Sure, get the kids the video games they like. That high tech cell phone if you must. But throw in something active as well, something they have to use outdoors. A walking stick is great. What you say? A walking stick? Yes. Really.
They take it along, use it to probe the mud, examine leaves or what's under a rock, and enjoy where they are. At the end of the walk, they can fold it down, put it in a day pack.
Ok. Pretty low tech. But not old fashioned. Because sharing time with someone, giving them calmness and the best of yourself, is a gift that never goes out of style.
I try to slow down. Sit for a minute. Think. About what is really important. Then I usually grab a warm cocoa or tea, and head outside if it's nice. Oh, and I usually try to take someone along with me too.
Remember, whatever occasion you celebrate at this time of year, the best thing you can give is yourself and your time. Be present for your kids and others who are important. I mean really listen to them, talk about what matters, and take them on a walk.
When we're out of doors on a gravel or dirt path, surrounded by nature, our battle instincts fade. We're calmer, more instinctually happy. You don't have to go far. But do go, and take someone with you.
And while you're walking and talking, think about what else you could change. Like presents. Sure, get the kids the video games they like. That high tech cell phone if you must. But throw in something active as well, something they have to use outdoors. A walking stick is great. What you say? A walking stick? Yes. Really.
They take it along, use it to probe the mud, examine leaves or what's under a rock, and enjoy where they are. At the end of the walk, they can fold it down, put it in a day pack.
Ok. Pretty low tech. But not old fashioned. Because sharing time with someone, giving them calmness and the best of yourself, is a gift that never goes out of style.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
We're all deciders, but the Environment is a unifier
People are beginning to get it. We're all in this together.
That realization is sinking in for millions across the United States, and hundreds of millions more across the globe. Global climate change, and its impact on humans and lesser life forms, can't be hidden, run from, ignored or denied any longer.
It's a big problem. But, lucky for us, an even bigger opportunity.
Through a decade and a half of taking students and teachers on journeys to explore the larger world, we at Earth Explore have found that the environment can be a profoundly unifying theme for we humans. That's precisely why we center our field studies around it.
When you set about to consider how the human community interacts with the larger global assemblage of living, and non-living things, you need all of the tools at your disposal. You need to know something about science, history, cultures and art. And you need critical thinking skills. Study of the environment forces us to come to terms with a supremely complex, multi-dimensional world.
But there's more to it than that. The environment is something we all have in common. A thread that runs through all of our lives, whether or not we like math, get jazzed by science, or are students of culture. The earth's environment is part of us, and we part of it. It shapes us, and we shape it. For better or worse.
Now back to the unifying part. In the same way it pulls our field studies together around a theme, the environment is a truly non-partisan, not polarizing issue around which humans can, and should rally. Yes, we can build our homes on hills, or behind locked gates, but all of us are ultimately the victims, or benefactors of what happens to our shared environment. In this case you could say we breathe...and therefore we are. Linked together that is.
The next ten years will be an opportunity for we as a global community, and most especially the United States as the leading nation of that global community, to recognize the power of common environmental action. Power not only to lift our planet out of peril, but to pull us together as a profoundly, inescapably linked human community, acting in common cause.
That realization is sinking in for millions across the United States, and hundreds of millions more across the globe. Global climate change, and its impact on humans and lesser life forms, can't be hidden, run from, ignored or denied any longer.
It's a big problem. But, lucky for us, an even bigger opportunity.
Through a decade and a half of taking students and teachers on journeys to explore the larger world, we at Earth Explore have found that the environment can be a profoundly unifying theme for we humans. That's precisely why we center our field studies around it.
When you set about to consider how the human community interacts with the larger global assemblage of living, and non-living things, you need all of the tools at your disposal. You need to know something about science, history, cultures and art. And you need critical thinking skills. Study of the environment forces us to come to terms with a supremely complex, multi-dimensional world.
But there's more to it than that. The environment is something we all have in common. A thread that runs through all of our lives, whether or not we like math, get jazzed by science, or are students of culture. The earth's environment is part of us, and we part of it. It shapes us, and we shape it. For better or worse.
Now back to the unifying part. In the same way it pulls our field studies together around a theme, the environment is a truly non-partisan, not polarizing issue around which humans can, and should rally. Yes, we can build our homes on hills, or behind locked gates, but all of us are ultimately the victims, or benefactors of what happens to our shared environment. In this case you could say we breathe...and therefore we are. Linked together that is.
The next ten years will be an opportunity for we as a global community, and most especially the United States as the leading nation of that global community, to recognize the power of common environmental action. Power not only to lift our planet out of peril, but to pull us together as a profoundly, inescapably linked human community, acting in common cause.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Lets get outside
There are lots of good reasons for staying indoors. We follow (and write) blogs, keep informed and entertained via the internet, TV and radio (remember that?), and in our hectic daily rush, just hunger to take a break, and sit down. That's all fine. But for young people, the message we adults are sending is at best, a mixed one. We want our kids outside, but we don't go there much anymore ourselves.
If you're over 35 you probably remember spending a lot more time outside than your kids do. For lots of young people, organized sports is their only experience in the outdoors. And once that's done, the typical young person can be found fleeing for the world indoors to get wired, or wi-fied in. Even when found outside, kids today tend to be in transport...going from one indoor appointment to another. And most of the time, they're wired up with earbuds, and oblivious to the world around them.
Part of the problem is that young people are so heavily scheduled. Their lives are broken into 15 minute blocks from an early age. Go here, do that, fill that free time with activity.
But, clearly, the issue is more complex. We live in an age of technological riches; endless gadgets and unlimited access. There are so many virtual choices available that today's kids are the best entertained generation in history. But technology can be a trap. Our virtual riches have led to a poverty of experience. We spend fewer hours outside, visit fewer parks, take fewer walks and have less connection with nature than any generation in our history.
Today's young people will face decisions on climate change, conservaton, land use, and energy. They need to know about how the world works. And not just from a video screen.
Let's all get outside, and become the example. And take the kids with you.
If you're over 35 you probably remember spending a lot more time outside than your kids do. For lots of young people, organized sports is their only experience in the outdoors. And once that's done, the typical young person can be found fleeing for the world indoors to get wired, or wi-fied in. Even when found outside, kids today tend to be in transport...going from one indoor appointment to another. And most of the time, they're wired up with earbuds, and oblivious to the world around them.
Part of the problem is that young people are so heavily scheduled. Their lives are broken into 15 minute blocks from an early age. Go here, do that, fill that free time with activity.
But, clearly, the issue is more complex. We live in an age of technological riches; endless gadgets and unlimited access. There are so many virtual choices available that today's kids are the best entertained generation in history. But technology can be a trap. Our virtual riches have led to a poverty of experience. We spend fewer hours outside, visit fewer parks, take fewer walks and have less connection with nature than any generation in our history.
Today's young people will face decisions on climate change, conservaton, land use, and energy. They need to know about how the world works. And not just from a video screen.
Let's all get outside, and become the example. And take the kids with you.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Tools for Teachers
I'm a great believer in giving teachers innovative tools. Like those found so abundantly in the outdoor classroom. Can't beat a coral reef, an active volcano, an excavated village site, or a living glacier for providing teaching moments about the world and how it works. That's the idea behind Earth Explore. But for those who can't get out of the classroom just yet...how do you bring an awareness and excitement indoors?
Give teachers cool and usable tools for one thing. Again this fall, Earth Explore is supplying thousands of "Cool to Care" posters for classrooms all across the country. They carry a planet friendly message, and ideas for taking it forward into the community.
It all began last fall, and has taken off. To make it easy for teachers, our poster and companion classroom handout are now available online as pdf printouts. Just go to earthexplore.com/poster.html to get yours.
Teachers have told us that our "ten easy steps to protect the planet" have blossomed into classroom discussions with environmental education themes, and have served as a jumping off point for EE curriculum development.
All of which makes us happy, and will encourage us to develop more tools for our nation's great teachers in the coming months.
Give teachers cool and usable tools for one thing. Again this fall, Earth Explore is supplying thousands of "Cool to Care" posters for classrooms all across the country. They carry a planet friendly message, and ideas for taking it forward into the community.
It all began last fall, and has taken off. To make it easy for teachers, our poster and companion classroom handout are now available online as pdf printouts. Just go to earthexplore.com/poster.html to get yours.
Teachers have told us that our "ten easy steps to protect the planet" have blossomed into classroom discussions with environmental education themes, and have served as a jumping off point for EE curriculum development.
All of which makes us happy, and will encourage us to develop more tools for our nation's great teachers in the coming months.
No Child Left Inside
We can't ignore it. If we believe in the value of outdoor education to unite and educate us, then this is a very important week indeed.
Amid the background noise of the revving up presidential contest, the fate of No Child Left Inside will likely be decided for the forseeable future. The US House of Representatives will vote on the 9th on whether to support environmental education in the schools...through teachers, curriculum support and funding. And in so doing, provide a nod or a nay to something virtually wiped out by the teach-for-the-test approach of NCLB.
Think of it. With glaciers melt rapidly in Alaska, polar bears swimming for their lives, high water lapping further up Pacific Island coastlines...we're having to battle to give kids the chance to learn about environmental education in US schools. Amazing right? Especially in that EE education provides many of the tools they will need to participate in and help solve one of the greatest planetary issues of the next century. Climate change anyone?
Environmental Education is a great unifier. Of ideas, disciplines and teaching. Its study draws in social science, physical and natural science, current events, geography and practically everything else.We support increased teaching of EE, and the goals of No Child Left Inside. Go to nclicoalition.org and send a message to your congressperson.
Amid the background noise of the revving up presidential contest, the fate of No Child Left Inside will likely be decided for the forseeable future. The US House of Representatives will vote on the 9th on whether to support environmental education in the schools...through teachers, curriculum support and funding. And in so doing, provide a nod or a nay to something virtually wiped out by the teach-for-the-test approach of NCLB.
Think of it. With glaciers melt rapidly in Alaska, polar bears swimming for their lives, high water lapping further up Pacific Island coastlines...we're having to battle to give kids the chance to learn about environmental education in US schools. Amazing right? Especially in that EE education provides many of the tools they will need to participate in and help solve one of the greatest planetary issues of the next century. Climate change anyone?
Environmental Education is a great unifier. Of ideas, disciplines and teaching. Its study draws in social science, physical and natural science, current events, geography and practically everything else.We support increased teaching of EE, and the goals of No Child Left Inside. Go to nclicoalition.org and send a message to your congressperson.
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