Oklahoma Environmental Education Summit

EcoRise, KidWind, Oklahoma Project Learning Tree, and the Oklahoma Green Schools Program are teaming up to provide a fun day of Environmental Education Professional Development. Hear from all four organizations and then choose two for a deeper dive.

Breakout Session Descriptions

EcoRise mobilizes a new generation of leaders to design healthy, just, and thriving communities for all. Re-imagine your learning space as a laboratory for applied environmental education! Explore how EcoRise lessons and grant funds can be used to increase student engagement and cultivate eco-literacy and student innovation, wherever and whatever you are teaching. During this interactive workshop we will dive into a variety of activities, access and explore the online lesson library, and check out examples of EcoRise-funded student projects. Oklahoma educators have free access to EcoRise curriculum and grant funds thanks to an EPA Region 6 Environmental Education Grant.

Project Learning Tree’s (PLT) award-winning activities engage students in hands-on learning about trees, forests, and the broader environment, both inside the classroom and outdoors. Our activity guides provide PreK-8 teachers with a set of comprehensive environmental education materials that supplement their curriculum and can be easily integrated into lesson plans, and are standards-aligned. This workshop will give educators PLT’s flagship K-8 guide as well as hands-on experience using it and accessing our resources and network.

Schools in the Oklahoma Green Schools Program are passionate about learning how to implement easy behavioral changes that can have big impacts on making their school a healthier place to learn while saving money on school utilities and reducing the amount of resources they use. Giving students a leadership role in “greening” their school, enables them to take ownership in the process and empowers them to reach out to their peers to improve the school environment. This workshop will provide each educator with a copy of the Green School Investigations and you will experience how we use technology, incorporating math and science skills, utilizing the Oklahoma Green Schools Toolkit to conduct an audit of school energy usage, lighting, indoor air quality, water consumption, waste generation and outdoor green spaces.

For the last 18 years KidWind has been focused on teaching the world about renewable energy. We have helped thousands of educators bring wind and solar power to life in the classroom, guided by its award winning curriculum, its unique tools and kits, and a deep passion for the subject matter. In this workshop, educators will engage in hands-on learning with a focus in wind energy. We help educators learn and practice ways to bring a growing workforce opportunity into their classroom. Participants will be introduced to the FREE KidWind Lesson Plans and KidWind Challenge. KidWind takes the students beyond the classroom.

Each attendee will receive approximately $100 in supplies and materials. Lunch is included.

A $20 deposit is required by the organizers (Oklahoma Green Schools Program) and will be refunded upon completion of the full day.

The event will be held at the University of Oklahoma in the Oklahoma Memorial Union (map). Parking is available to the public in the Union Parking Center is located on the north side of the building on Asp Avenue at a rate of $2 per hour or $14 per day. They accept cash and credit/debit cards.