[1]

21ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

February 2012Prepared byJaime Gonzalez, M.Ed., Katy Prairie Conservancy

HOW DO WE EDUCATE OUR REGION ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT?The Houston - Gulf Coast Region is set for explosive population growth, dramatic changes in historic land use, and an increasingly complex environmental policy-making climate. HOW WILL WE RESPOND?

The first half of the 21st Century will bring big changes to the Houston - Gulf Coast Region. By 2035 our population density will double, putting increased pressure on protected nature preserves, transportation infrastructures and dwindling water resources and threatening to undo successes in improving air quality. The climate itself is likely to be in flux; native species and ecosystems will be assailed by invasive species, and our cultural touchstones are likely to shift with an increasingly rich cultural mix of peoples from across the globe. The future is also alive with bright green opportunities for rewilding urban areas, making smarter transportation and energy choices, growing

healthy food in new spaces and using technology to connect us in new ways to the outdoors instead of separating us from it.

So, as a community of environmental educators in southeast Texas how will we respond? We could try what we’ve tried in the past, or we could recognize the enormity and importance of our work and strike out on a new path - one of collaboration and interconnected excellence. This document details one idea for getting us to bigger and better outcomes together. It is by no means comprehensive or exclusive, but I hope it will be of help and interest as we move forward.

The Houston - Gulf Coast is one

of the fastest growing regions

in the nation.

035opulatioy 1-milerid

2pbg

that can st i l l be made abouc public pol i-

cies, parr icr,r lary abour transportat ion in-

fiastrucrure policy. As Merrostudy Presi-

dent Mike Inselnrann has said "The ciry

grorvs rvhere developers buy lanrl and they

buy lancl where nerv rransl-nrration corri-

dors ger dcveloped."

An example of rhis dynamic is evidenc in

rhe maps: rhey

Prolecr

ilew householdsneeded:

significant new developmenr happening

along the proposed Grand Parkway, rvhich

is shown on H-GA(,'s maps as a new rrans-

lxrmation corridor - althou.qh most of it

doesn'r exist.

Anothc-r observarion is tlrat only one-

third of nerv developmenr will rake place

in the rcsioni incorporared towns ancl

cit ies, wit lr the bulk of i t occurring in rhe

counties ourside thesc areas. Public pol icy

is harcl to bring to bear in these

areas with so ferv rools

granred by rhe/

Starc

Chartllousbn TomdrorvOah: H-@C

planning ancl regulat ing rhe bui l t environ-

ment irncl its impacr <ln quality of life.

Note: 'I'he co/or.s and ntruher range.t tt.red

bere dit'ide lattd rr.res into frtnr cdtegorit.t:

trban, sabttrbat. rtrral. and frontier, or

re/atircly ratnral drkt.r. Tbe cutagorirs rtrt

based r,u ltoprrlation lrer.rqilar( nile. Green

denote: Ji'onticr anl rnral densities, 1'el/ou's

are.tuhrrrban. arl reds are urban. u' i t / t

dark rtd the uost t/utse. 7'hi: st'tten brrt-

vide.s an edJ): u'd) to see bou, uclt

area is cxfected /o change. Be-

cat.sa regional grccn.rpacc i.r

closell' ticd to air, u'ater, anc/

footl. ir i: a luding indica-

tor of clualitl oJ' /ife and

place. IJ 'uc ta) 'u'e u,d,tt

to cr1p5s77,g anl inprot,e

greertspacc, u'c neec/ to

rrnderstand u'ltere u'e

tt i l l bat 'e

-t 0 rile.

.INADRE'SI U]{II{CORPORATED AREAS

1,400,000plus job sibs, storcs,schools, fre and police

facilities, roads, parking, andeverything else we need or want

Touts & ctTtEsns. GournEsAbout 2/3 of growth

would occur outsi.de

incorporated areas.

FOR THE HOUSTON-GULF COAST REGION

ST

5th Annual Environmental Education Summit

Saturday, January 28, 2012

University of Houston-Downtown - 8am-4pm

REGISTER AT Fee: $25 - lunch included

EnvironmentalEducator’s

sketch of Buffalo Bayou Master Plan

Houston Tomorrow 2035 projections

5th Annual Environmental Education Summit

Saturday, January 28, 2012

University of Houston-Downtown - 8am-4pm

REGISTER AT Fee: $25 - lunch included

EnvironmentalEducator’s

wildlife

MonkParakeet

M E E T I N G CENTURY CHALLENGES IN

[2]

A SAMPLING OF 21ST CENTURY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS

EDUCATION + RECREATION

LAND, AIR, AND WATER ISSUES

TRANSPORTATION ISSUES

CLIMATE CHANGEECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

FAMILIES + INDIVIDUALS

EDUCATORS + STUDENTS

DECISION -

MAKERS

TRADITIONAL LAND CONSERVATION

INSTITUTIONAL LEADERSHIP

BUSINESSES

AIR QUALITY POLICY

WATER QUALITY POLICY

LOCAL AGRICULTURAL ISSUES

GREEN JOBS

GREEN ENERGY

GREEN ENERGY

LAND USE CHANGES

QUALITY OF LIFE

WATER AVAILABILITY

MASS TRANSIT

NEW ROADWAYS

AIR QUALITY ISSUES

EQUITABLE USEURBAN SPRAWL BIOLOGICAL DISRUPTION

BIOCITY INSTITUTE

BIOCITY WEBSITE

GET OUTDOORS HOUSTON WEBSITE

DECISION - MAKERS ACTION TEAM

TCIN HOUSTON

DECISION - MAKERS ACTION TEAM

TCIN HOUSTON

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

DECISION - MAKERS ACTION TEAM

BIOCITY INSTITUTE

LEGAL ISSUES DONATIVE ISSUES

REGULATORY ISSUESREGULATORY ISSUES

FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES

LegendNEW INITIATIVE COVERED IN THIS PROPOSAL

COLLABORATIVE LAND CONSERVATION

COLLABORATIVE RESTORATION EFFORTS

OUTDOOR RECREATION

GET OUTDOORS HOUSTON WEBSITE

GROWING OUTDOOR REC GROUPS

BAYOU GREENWAYS INITIATIVE

SAM HOUSTON TRAIL

NEW INITIATIVE NOT COVERED IN THIS PROPOSAL

ECONOMIC SELF -SUFFICIENCY FOR

NONPROFITS

TESTING REQUIREMENTS

TEACHER PREPARATION

FISCAL CONSTRAINTS

FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES

ACCESS TO THE OUTDOORS

BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS

POLITICAL CONSTRAINTS

BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS

ECONOMIC SELF -SUFFICIENCY FOR

NONPROFITS

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENTS OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

NATIONAL SEASHORE INITIATIVE

HOUSTON WILDERNESS WEBSITE

OTHER FACTORS NOT COVERED IN THIS PROPOSAL

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

[3]

There are many reasons why the environmental community should work more closely together to educate our region (1) Staffing shortages at resource agencies have increased due to the current economic climate. (2) School teachers and home school educators represent a vast untapped reservoir of potential natural resource volunteers.(3) Professional educators are seeking meaningful, interconnected and relevant training which both meets their requirement for continuing education and provides useful, standards-correlated materials for their students. (4) Many educators would love to teach locally but either don’t know how and/or can’t find resources to do so.

(5) Natural resource agencies are actively looking to have a greater impact in their communities. (6) Collaboration is a process by

which we can strengthen each other and better serve our individual and collective missions. (7) Funders, including many private foundations, are also pressing the natural

resources community to reduce redundant programs and to work more closely together.

If we are going to spread the conservation ethic in our communities beyond the audience that we already reach, we simply need many, many more formal and informal educators involved than we currently have in our ranks. These new individuals would ideally interact on a regular basis with large numbers of families and students.

Our VisionWe envision an increasingly environmentally-literate Houston-Gulf Coast region by the year 2020. This vision will be accomplished by creating and nurturing new programs while strengthening traditional environmental education programs.Our Goals1. To better educate both formal and informal educators, executive directors, and volunteers in place-based,

interdisciplinary environmental education {the environment is much more than science}.2. To more closely connect our schools, our families and individuals to our environment.3. To make environmental educators more relevant and useful to decision-makers within current environmental and

conservation groups and the community at large.4. To erase perceived barriers that separate environmental educators.

BY 2020

WHY WE NEED A MORE ROBUST REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM?

New BioCity Institute + WebsiteA new model for teaching and learning about place and environment. Detailed information later in this document

Texas Children in Nature HoustonA new organization dedicated to getting more youth and families outdoors. Started in 2012.

New Decision-Maker Education TeamReal change will require us to systematically and consistently educate local decision-makers about environmental issues. A team of decision-maker educators can be trained and given high-quality tools to teach politicians, donors, etc. about the needs of our community.

A New Model for Collaborative Environmental Education for the Houston - Gulf Coast Region

Southern LeopardFrog

Traditional Environmental Education Programs: At Nature Centers, Schools, Zoos, etc.

New Community + Family InitiativesNeeds further discussion within the community.

New Houston-Gulf Coast Outdoors website will aid in this effort (online Fall 2012)

TO REACH THIS GOAL WE WILL NEED

[4]

What is Texas Children in Nature? Texas Children in

Nature is a movement and not

something we can easily organize, schedule and measure. It’s

more organic than that. It’s about igniting the love of the outdoors in a variety of ways for a variety of people. It’s about realigning people’s ways of life to slow down and connect—to the outdoors and to each other. We have to teach this generation how to do something that to other generations was just a part of life. Exploring nature must be integrated into education in all subjects.

What Are We Going to Do? It’s tempting to go to the largest pool of children and start making in-roads there with the hope that there will be change on a large scale. That’s what an institute can do for the children in our formal education system. However, a grassroots movement with a scope this large has to look at its various audiences. The audiences include every way that humans group themselves—in families, churches, schools, organizations, peer groups, blog-followers, etc. And all of these individuals and groups fall on a continuum of affinity and understanding of nature. It harkens back to Aristotle's rhetorical triangle where in any persuasive delivery, the SPEAKER—MESSAGE—AUDIENCE are all completely

interdependent.

For each audience outlined above, there will be different messages, different credible speakers and different delivery methods that will be the most effective. For example, if we want to reach those in the health community, we might sell our product Nature as a collection of walking paths and an interactive web map to find them. If we want to connect Nature to families, we might convince the parks board that we need more nature-based play areas in pocket parks. Or we might begin some Family Nature Clubs based on the Children & Nature Network model. Or if we want to reach the Hispanic community, we might find people within those communities to deliver the Nature message in churches. Or we might promote more family picnics in state parks.

Finding a single project is not going to work on the scale that we need it to. We need a varied system of pathways to where the children are, where the families are, and where the community comes together. This system of pathways does not mean that we should divide and conquer and

travel along separate paths. In a way, that’s what we’ve been doing. Together we can definitely do things that we cannot do individually.

How Are We Going to Do It? Collectively, we can focus our energy and expertise. Here are a few first steps: ★ Identify certain target audiences where

we feel that impact could be significantly meaningful.

★ Form collaborations with people within that audience to chart the path for the next steps.

★ Determine what the message or product is that will be the most effective for each audience and determine a means of delivering it.

The hope here is that we could create a toolkit full of different products or delivery methods that will be able to be modified for different audiences, like nature promo films, activity ideas, local ecology readers, speaker series, natural play area designs, etc. Then we will find the right messenger(s) to deliver the message (or do the work) and continue to fuel more and more people within these groups to keep that momentum going.

SPEAKER

MESSAGE AUDIENCE

Texas Children In Nature Houston

EasternPhoebe

[5]

Texas Children in Nature Houston A Client-Driven Model

The Natural Resource: Its Values The Natural Resource: Its Values The Natural Resource: Its Values The Natural Resource: Its Values The Natural Resource: Its Values

Ecological Economic Aesthetic Health + Quality of life

Historic + Future

The Human Audience The Human Audience The Human Audience

Those who seek out the resource and have understanding of the need for conservation

Those who have some knowledge of the resource and want more access and understanding

Those who have little to no knowledge or understanding of the value of the resource

WANT TO DISCUSS THIS PROPOSAL?Jaime GonzálezCommunity Education DirectorKaty Prairie Conservancy281.660.6683 jgonzalez@katyprairie.org

Scissor-Grinder Cicada

[6]

What is the BioCity Institute?BioCity Institute is a new collaborative venture between environmental/conservation groups in the greater Houston - Gulf Coast Region to develop a new corps of natural resource educators and interpreters both in private, public, and home schools and in private, state, and federal nature preserves both inside and beyond the city. To achieve this goal, the BioCity Institute would provide place-based, state standards-aligned trainings to inspire educators (both formal and informal) to tell compelling stories about our fascinating local environment. Trainings would involve teacher workshops, field trips, volunteer opportunities and in-school mentoring. Our environment is linked intricately to our culture, economic life, and history. So why not teach about the environment holistically?Good teaching and interpretation is not rooted in merely relaying facts or chunks of information {or teaching to tests!} - instead it should give learners tools and experiences that allow them to construct a meaningful, interconnected story about a subject in the context of the place in which the student lives. BioCity Institute candidates will receive the type of training and information that will allow them to tell compelling stories to their students that link our area’s environment, culture, history and economic life through the lens of focused study tracks such as wildlife, ecosystems, or environmental issues {see sample on next page}.

So, what do we mean by ‘stories’?Although narrative stories are a wonderful way of teaching about the local environment, we use story in a much broader context. Good stories could include any combination of scientific, historical or cultural demonstrations, biofacts, simulations, lectures or even digital applications. Good environmental storytelling can take many directions, yet telling the best stories requires that educators (1) build an interconnected viewpoint about a given environmental topic or issue and that (2) the story is true to the landscape, wildlife, people and/or environmental topic being taught.

Who would be the audience for BioCity?One of the principal aims of BioCity is to broaden the pool of environmental educators. Therefore, BioCity would be open to formal instructors, home school educators, informal natural resources educators, current Texas Master Naturalists, parents, high school student leaders, executive directors of environmental nonprofits or anyone interested in learning and teaching about our local environment in a place-based context.

Who would coordinate the BioCity Institute?There are multiple options for program coordination. The first option would be to identify a suitable non-profit umbrella organization to help administer the program. Some potential candidates could be Environmental Educators’ Exchange, Houston Wilderness, Houston Tomorrow, etc.

How would current environmental/conservation nonprofits participate in the BioCity Institute ?Nonprofit environmental agencies would partner with others in their community to coordinate training schedules, mentoring opportunities, etc. This will require a very important shift in thinking: we will have to start seeing all environmental educators, regardless of their employer, training or location, as one team charged with educating all of the citizens in our region.

How would current environmental/conservation nonprofits benefit from the BioCity Institute ?Our institutions have small education staffs (1/2 - 10 educators) and should welcome opportunities to partner with others in the conservation community to create educational programs with greater community impact without adding too much to their intense workload. Additionally, institutions could focus their educator trainings in areas in which they truly excel. Proceeds from teacher trainings would also stay with the institution or individual delivering the training; this would not impose a financial burden on participating institutions. Lastly, volunteers going through BioCity programming will be trained to teach deeply about the environment for participating institutions.

How would BioCity trainings differ from other environmental trainings?Organizations and individuals providing training through the BioCity Institute would

Bio City InstituteTRAIN. EMPOWER. MENTOR. BROADEN.

Green Anole

[7]

ENVI

RON

MEN

TAL

TRAC

K - 2

0 TO

30

HO

URS

ECO

SYST

EMS

TRAC

K - 2

5 TO

30

HO

URS

GRE

EN S

PAC

ES T

RAC

K - 2

5 TO

30

HO

URS

be asked to infuse their trainings with examples of local ecosystems, wildlife, history, cultural connections, etc. to root the content in southeast Texas. This would suggest the creation of some new material, but many current educator preparation courses could be augmented to include such material.

Who Who would teach BioCity trainings?Anyone with sufficient knowledge of the local environment and with educator training skills. Many green group educators would fit the bill, as would some formal educators and private individuals. In short, some process would have to assess whether someone’s program met the BioCity Institute goals.

What is the cost of training sessions?Participants would likely pay a fee to defray the cost of program administration but would not pay one flat rate for the entire program. Students would pay whichever institution hosted a teacher workshop, field trip, or other training session directly. This would allow participating institutions to cover their costs in line with the cost of materials, their staffing salary rates, etc.

*Introductory Class (3 hrs)★ Introduction to Place-based Education★ Environment of Greater Houston (including ecosystems)

Gardening for birds& wildlife

Capstone Volunteer Hours (20 - 30 hrs)★ Teach students about local ecosystem & environment★ Volunteer teaching at a local nature preserve or park

Using habitats for citizen-science

Gardening for nutrition & education

Prairie Training

Wetlands Training

Population Training

BioCity Certificate Awarded

Galveston Bay Training

Field Trips Field Trips Field Trips

Creating & Maintaining Habitats

Forest Training

Urban Sprawl Issues Training

Air Quality Training

Water Quality Training

* Trainings do not have to be taken in tracks; they can be taken singly, but students may choose to work up to a certificate in an environmental area.B

io

Cit

y:

On

e M

od

el

Using habitats to meet state field studies requirements

[8]

A Tale of Two WebsitesThere is an effort underway to create a variety of online venues to connect people to the outdoors through education or recreation. BioCity could be the education portal for anyone teaching and learning about the outdoors while the new Houston -Gulf Coast Outdoors website would meet the needs of those wishing to recreate outdoors in our area.

About Houston Gulf-Coast Outdoors WebsiteThis new 13-county website is set to launch later this year. The site (mock up at right) will

be a virtual trailhead for anyone looking to go outdoors in the Greater Houston area. Some potential features include:★ A rebranding effort for our area★ Maps of all hike, bike, paddle and equestrian trails★ Maps of all public parks, golf courses, greenways, etc.★ Suggested itineraries for families and individuals★ Contacts for guides and outfitters★ Listings of upcoming outdoor events

Bio City Website

What is the BioCity Website?The BioCity Website is a one-stop shop for learning and teaching about the environment of the Houston-Gulf Coast region.

What will be on the website?★ A searchable database {by grade,

subject, etc.} of standards-correlated lessons

★ Multimedia content {video + photos}★ Maps to outdoor educational areas

★ List of subject experts and mentors★ Recorded lessons★ Primers to local ecosystems and

environmental issues which interweave science, history, culture and economics

NEW WEBSITE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

MAPS OF OUTDOOR AREAS

RECREATIONAL EVENTS

COVERS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

TOURISM INFORMATION

Houston Gulf-Coast Outdoors

NO YES YES No YES

BioCity YES YES MAYBE YES NO