Beetles Project Tales from the Field Archives

Working with Large Groups: Interview with Korena David

February 19, 2021: Tales from the Field

Some program activity groups have 30+ students in them, plus chaperones. We’ve heard some folks say, “The groups I work with are too large to do student-centered BEETLES stuff.” We’ve heard other folks say, “Working with large groups forces you to make things student-centered, because it’s too hard to make it instructor-centered.” We interviewed Korena […]

Outdoor In-Person Learning: Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight Series

January 28, 2021: News | Tales from the Field

By Cristina Edwards and Emilie Lygren Over the course of the past year, the BEETLES team has heard many stories about how the environmental education community is adapting to the Covid pandemic. From Zoom classrooms to widely spaced outdoor stump circles, this community has shined with its creativity and flexibility in continuing to teach––both in-person […]

Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: Santa Cruz Outdoor Science School

January 26, 2021: News | Tales from the Field

By Cristina Edwards and Emilie Lygren Heather MacDougall Molloy directs Santa Cruz Outdoor Science School, a residential outdoor science program located in Santa Cruz, CA. She is also an active participant in efforts to develop and implement an environmental literacy plan focused on increasing outdoor learning opportunities for students across Santa Cruz County. We talked […]

Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: McCall Outdoor Science School

January 26, 2021: News | Tales from the Field

By Cristina Edwards and Emilie Lygren Karla Eitel (right) is the Director of the McCall Outdoor Science School, a residential outdoor science program located in McCall, Idaho. She also teaches a place-based education class to graduate students at the University of Idaho College for Natural Resources. Beth Kochevar (left) is the K-12 Residential and Outreach […]

Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: Portland Public Schools

January 26, 2021: News | Tales from the Field

By Cristina Edwards and Emilie Lygren Brooke Teller is the STEM Coordinator/Science Coach for Portland Public Schools, a school district in Portland, Maine. After 21 years as a high school science teacher, Brooke shifted to a role as the district’s STEM Coordinator. During the pandemic, she has taken on the role of Interim Outdoor Learning […]

Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: Sierra Nevada Journeys

January 26, 2021: News | Tales from the Field

Sean Hill is the Vice President of Education at Sierra Nevada Journeys (SNJ) in Reno, Nevada. He shared advice on getting the attention of school districts when there wasn’t an established partnership already. We spoke with Sean about Sierra Nevada Journeys’s Fall pilot of an outdoor, in-person weekly program at Incline Elementary School, located in […]

Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: North Cascades Institute

January 26, 2021: News | Tales from the Field

by Cristina Edwards and Emilie Lygren Jeff Giesen is the Associate Director at North Cascades Institute (NCI), a conservation organization focused on transformative learning experiences in nature in Northwest Washington State. Although NCI is predominantly a residential outdoor learning program, during the pandemic, they have partnered with several partner organizations to offer in-person outdoor learning […]

Partnerships in the Pandemic Spotlight: Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center

January 26, 2021: News | Tales from the Field

by Cristina Edwards and Emilie Lygren Joe Walewski is the Director of Naturalist Training at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Finland, Minnesota. We spoke with Joe about the ways his organization has partnered with two local charter schools to offer outdoor, in-person education during the pandemic. These […]

Offering I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of as a Tool for Social Emotional Learning

June 29, 2020: Tales from the Field

By Emilie Lygren At the North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE) Conference in fall 2019, BEETLES team members met Brianne Blom (Bree), a naturalist and educator with the Clay County Conservation Board in Iowa. Bree attended a BEETLES workshop at the conference in which she was introduced to the routine, I Notice, I Wonder, […]

Tale from the Field: Designing a Custom 4-Day Curriculum with BEETLES, Part 2

April 27, 2020: Tales from the Field

By Emilie Lygren, Kevin Beals, and Jedda Foreman In the spring of 2019, Waskowitz Outdoor Education Center hired BEETLES to develop a curriculum for their 4-day residential outdoor school program. The curriculum was to include BEETLES activities connected to the theme of Ecosystems, Matter, and Energy, that would engage students in science practices while building […]