Science and Teaching for Field Instructors

What’s New

Read the blog posts below to find out what’s new with BEETLES. We regularly feature new resources, promote upcoming events and news, and share “Tales from the Field”–stories of folks like you using BEETLES materials in interesting ways. If you’d like to contribute, just be in touch!

Tale from the Field: A Regional Network in Maine

October 5, 2022: Tales from the Field

From Drew Dumsch, Executive Director at The Ecology School, Saco, Maine. The five programs in Maine that do outdoor science school year programs (The Ecology School, Chewonki Outdoor Classroom, University of Maine 4-H Camp & Learning Center at Bryant Pond, and the University of Maine 4-H Camp & Learning Center at Tanglewood, and the Schoodic Institute […]

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Regional Networks Tale from the Field: Minnesota Collaborative

August 30, 2022: Tales from the Field

Minnesota is home to five accredited residential environmental learning centers (RELCs) that host overnight field trips for students from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and more. Our centers are independent entities that have no financial ties to one another. But despite this, we’ve long had a collaborative approach to projects, grants, fundraising, and reaching broader audiences. Therefore, […]

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Building Regional Networks: Lessons Learned in Collaboration and Community

December 9, 2021: Tales from the Field

In January, 2020, the BEETLES team sent out a request for proposals for a new funding opportunity designed to strengthen the field of environmental and outdoor science through regional capacity building. With the support of the National Science Foundation, BEETLES offered six small grants for region-building efforts among environmental and outdoor science organizations. In part, […]

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Regional Networks Tale from the Field: River Cities

December 9, 2021: Tales from the Field

By Jen Schnakenberg, Amanda Schuster, Camila Rivera-Tinsley, Heather Berenson, Eva Barinas, and Kim Smith-Woodford How does a group of 20 near-strangers in a Zoom room become a community of learners? How does a diverse group of practitioners in environmental education and allied fields begin to confront bias and center racial equity in their work? In […]

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Regional Network Tales from the Field: Forming Community Partnerships to Inform Curriculum Design with the Native Voices Project

December 9, 2021: Tales from the Field

From Rob Wade, Plumas County Office of Education, Quincy, CA. The Native Voices Project is a regional collaborative in the Upper Feather River Watershed between local educators and leaders from the Mountain Maidu community. The Mountain Maidu, the native inhabitants of this landscape, have suffered centuries of devastation due to American Colonialism. This project is […]

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Regional Network Tales from the Field: San Diego

December 9, 2021: Tales from the Field

In San Diego, there are over 50 environmental education nonprofits that work with school districts to provide outdoor science programming. As most of the organizations are non-profits, staff are busy managing their programs and often have limited opportunities for interactions with peers from other organizations despite sharing similar goals and challenges. Although there are a […]

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Regional Network Tales from the Field: Alabama Environmental Education Summits

December 9, 2021: Tales from the Field

Alabama Environmental Education Summits (AEES) – Building bridges and breaking down barriers in Alabama In our effort to strengthen the quality and quantity of environmental education in Alabama, AEES convened 1 statewide and 3 regional summits. Our initial thoughts were that leaders of informal environmental education were our primary audience, and our goal was to […]

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Regional Network Tales from the Field: Philadelphia

December 9, 2021: Tales from the Field

By Erin McCool Philadelphia is home to a complex tapestry of neighborhoods, each with its own challenges and strengths. Philadelphia students represent some of the most diverse in the region. While we are surrounded by nature, with 400 community gardens, 80 neighborhood parks and acres of federally protected open space, there is still great need […]

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Introducing The Spring Cohort Of The Working Toward Racial Equity Workshop Series

December 1, 2021: News

  The Lawrence Hall of Science and Justice Outside (formerly Youth Outside) are proud to launch a new 2-year series, Working Toward Racial Equity, which will support environmental and outdoor science organizations to build capacity to foster equitable, inclusive, and culturally relevant work environments and organizations.  Participating organizations will engage in a 4-month series of intensive […]

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