Green Teacher educators lead virtual teaching green workshop
By Chadd Cawson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Learn how to teach green to elementary school students with educators from ‘Green Teacher’ on November 15 at 5 p.m. MST. This free virtual workshop is part of the outdoor learning virtual workshop seasonal series, which runs in fall, winter, and spring each school year. Green Teacher educators will be looking at practical ideas tested by kids to help develop a strong connection with the natural world. Educators will cover a wide spectrum of topics related to the environment while presenting practical project ideas and learning strategies teachers can use in their classroom.
“The focus of this workshop is sharing best practices and resources for outdoor and environmental education (‘teaching green’) for educators of students in the elementary-school age bracket,” said Ian Shanahan green teacher, general editor. “I and two fellow educators will be walking participants through kid-tested lessons and activities that engage learners in meaningful, hands-on learning.”
Green Teacher is a registered charity that serves the global network and is dedicated to aiding educators to bring environmental literacy to young learners in and outside of the classroom who live in the Columbia valley and on the unceded territories of the Secwépemc and Ktunaxa Peoples and the land chosen as home by the Métis Peoples of B.C.
“It is in these important formative years when core values are laid down… when we facilitate learning experiences that allow young people to explore that innate human connectivity to nature,” said Shanahan. “We open the door to all sorts of long-term benefits to mental and physical health that result from a person having a strong connection with nature. That’s to say nothing of the benefits to nature that come from an increasing number of people who value nature and recognize it as vital.”
Teachers looking to register can do so online at outdoorlearningstore.com/workshops/ and will then receive a discount code by email to access educator resources. That includes resources from the green teacher program such as teaching students about climate Changs and invasive species.
Shanahan also co-hosts the Talking with Green Teachers podcast. He has two goals set for those who attend the workshop.
“I hope they walk away equipped with ready-to-use activities that they can readily implement or adapt in their own teaching context, and (I hope) that attendees come away with additional building blocks for creating their own meaningful learning experiences with their students
