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E-Mails to Coaches and General EE Notes To submit a message for general distribution to the Mass Envirothon community, contact Brita Dempsey. Critical messages for Envirothon coaches and teams are noted in RED. Updated
(6/10/10) To view the
job descriptions, visit the Human
Resources Division (HRD) at mass.gov and search for the position title. Instructor:
Ted Watt, Naturalist/Environmental Educator Cost: $450 for 35 PDPs only $900 for 35 PDPs and 3 graduate credits through UMASS Division of Continuing Education (awarded upon completion of course in May 2011) Course Description: Have you wanted to take your students outdoors but felt uncertain about your own knowledge of what’s out there? Have you been seeking to deepen your knowledge of plants and animals and the land? Most elementary and middle school students are very excited to be in nature. Being outdoors can be a tremendous motivator for learning in science as well as other disciplines. In this year-round, content-based course, we will study the natural history of western Massachusetts. Time will be spent building a strong foundation of natural history identification skills and knowledge of habitats and local ecology. The course will be held largely outdoors observing and identifying plants and animals and keeping a record of your observations. Some of our field time will be spent on the school grounds of participating teachers. Participants should be prepared to spend time outdoors in a variety of weather conditions, including light rain and the cold of January. Each participant will create an independent project where they explore more deeply one aspect of local nature of their choosing. This course is designed to be fun, engaging, and content rich. Three graduate credits through UMASS Division of Continuing Education will be offered in addition to 35 professional development points. There will be a total of 37.5 hours of instructional time over the school year. Ted Watt is a highly skilled naturalist and environmental educator with over 30 years of field and classroom experience. He has worked extensively with schools and school districts throughout the region to strengthen science education using the outdoors. His area of specialization is in birds and plants of New England. Ted has a a degree in biology and has continued his professional development, both informally and formally, through the New England Wild Flower Society, Massachusetts Audubon Society, Humboldt Field Research Institute at Eagle Hill, and the Great Smoky Mountains Wildflower Pilgrimage. Ted has worked at the Hitchcock Center since 1984 and, prior to that, at two other wildlife sanctuaries of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Over the years, he has mentored hundreds of people in their lifelong pursuit to become a well-rounded naturalist. SPACE IS
LIMITED FOR
MORE INFORMATION EMAIL TED AT ted@hitchcockcenter.org
1. many schools have contributed a 2010 Envirothon "story" - these are now available on the web, with more coming soon. If your team has not yet submitted a story, please consider doing so. In addition to sharing neat experiences with other teams, these stories help MA Envirothon to secure essential funding to keep us going. See attached flier for guidelines, but they can really be anything that your team wants to put together. Thanks! 2. Lynn Hillenbrand from DCR will be sending me seasonal job postings from her agency. I will put the links on the eenotes page but will not clutter your inbox with updates. Please check there weekly for new positions. To view the job descriptions, visit the Human Resources Division (HRD) at mass.gov and search for the position title.
18 March Spring Letter for participating teams Dear Massachusetts Envirothon Coaches & Teams: Here, in one place, are links to the essential materials your team needs to prepare for this year’s Envirothon! This letter and links are also posted on the FOR TEAMS page of the Mass Envirothon web site. Here are links to: General Information NEW Current
Issue information Items/tasks
to be completed and returned BEFORE the event Items to bring
with you to Envirothon Registration on May 13 Items to be
returned after the Envirothon Please contact me (413-532-0372 or massenvirothon@gmail.com) if you have any questions about these items. I look forward to seeing you on May 13th. 5
Feb Update for Coaches 5
Feb 2010 The Boston Sea Rovers
announce their annual Career Opportunities in the Marine Sciences (COMS)
Oceans Conference program for secondary school students and teachers grades
6-12. Join us for a dynamic series of programs about the world's oceans
and possible careers in the marine sciences. 26 Jan 2010 Water Issues video Water for Life: NOW AVAILABLE - create a link on your website to the rapid-fire overview of the award winning documentary Liquid Assets: The Story of Water Infrastructure. The 16-minute clip produced by Penn State Public Broadcasting is an excellent introduction to the infrastructure challenges we face http://liquidassets.psu.edu/index.html#overview.
"A video the Envirothon students should be aware of….so long as they can make the connection on how an aging water and sewer infrastructure and the design of existing stormwater collection and discharge systems affect groundwater quantity and quality. The video certainly covers all the bases: sewer and water mains, stormwater runoff, CSOs, towns without sewers, and watershed restoration but doesn’t say in any direct way how these affect groundwater. Nevertheless, it’s a useful video that addresses the local water-related issues cities and towns are or should be addressing and is helpful in identifying where to target their investigations for this year’s current issue." 22 Jan 2010 March Envirothon workshop scheduled hello! I'm
liking this 3 day weekend after only 2 weeks back... this should be standard
practice... I've been working hard on the website and we should be launching
the new format soon including an easier to use coaches page with all these
updates in one place. just a few today: WASHINGTON
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites the public to
submit creative projects to the 4th annual Rachel Carson intergenerational
“Sense of Wonder” contest. The categories are poetry, photography,
essays and dance. The contest seeks to instill a sense of wonder for the
environment among all generations and spur environmental stewardship. 8
Jan 2010 Groundwater activity: http://www.groundwater.org/kc/activity5.html Dear Envirothon
Coaches, Some updates for you 1. The UMass
workshops were a splendid success. We are working with your feedback to
make next year even better (yes, a longer lunch period...). Presentations
and handouts are now available on the website on the current issue page. 2. The first winter workshop (just on ecostations) will be held on Tuesday Feb 2nd at MA DCR Headquarters-John Augustus Hall at Wachusetts Reservoir in West Boylston from 9 a.m. to 2p.m. To register, please hit <reply> and let me know how many students you'd like to bring. More information is available on the website. I'll send a reminder closer to the date. Weather cancellations will be posted on the website by 6am the morning of and I'll email everyone who has let me know that you are attending. Please register by January 26, space is limited. 3. Please save March 6 and 12 for the 2nd workshop. We are working hard to get a location and firm up the date. 4. "Envirothon 2010 intent to compete" form is attached. Please return this form with payment no later than Friday, February 26, 2010. There will be a second form in April to confirm team member names. You can email, fax or mail the form back to me. Please let me know if you have questions or issues with this. 5. Registration fees: Team registration fee is still $125 for 5 team members and 1 alternate and 1 coach. Any additional folks will be $20 each this year. 6. If you have been, or will be unable to attend workshops or the event this year due to budget reductions, please let me know. If we document these problems this year we might be more eligible for funding for transportation and registration for teams in the future. Hope you
had a great winter break and thanks for all your hard work for Envirothon! |
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