University of Arkansas Teams with Botanical Garden to Offer Series of Environmental Workshops for Teachers

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Teachers can learn “Earth lessons” to use in their classrooms at a workshop March 29 presented by the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks and the University of Arkansas.

Lessons about the metamorphosis of butterflies will be the topic of a second workshop April 3 in a series coordinated by the garden and the Professional Development Academy in the university’s College of Education and Health Professions.

The Professional Development Academy supports in-service teachers, school administrators, health care professionals and work force trainers throughout the state of Arkansas. Its director, Judith Tavano, met with the garden’s education co-chairs, Cindi Cope and Gail Pianalto, last fall.

“We are truly pleased to be working with the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks,” Tavano said. “We saw our joining as an opportunity fill a need for area teachers.”

The first workshop in the new collaboration takes place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at the garden at 4703 N. Crossover Road in Fayetteville. “Earth Day for Educators: Teaching Earth Lessons” will provide Arkansas teachers student-learning-based, hands-on access to natural resource lessons.

Teachers will spend the day learning how to incorporate Earth’s lessons into their curriculum in ways that will capture the interest and imagination of students while meeting the requirements of Arkansas frameworks. Six one-hour lessons will be presented:

• “Demonstrable Effects of Global Warming,” Robert McAfee, Governor’s Council on Global Warming

• “Water Wonders to Teach About,” Kathy Teague, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service

• “Earth Science Instruction Outdoors,” Sarah Lewis, consultant, doctoral student, former teacher

• “Measuring Your Carbon Footprint,” Nick Brown, University of Arkansas executive assistant for sustainability

• “Waste-full Activities in the Classroom,” Ryan Finley, a teacher at Grace Hill Elementary School in Rogers

• “Teaching Sustainability,” Matthew Petty, director, Social Sustenance Center of Northwest Arkansas

Cost of the workshop is $59, and six hours of professional development credits and lunch are included.

From 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, teachers can learn how to bring the wonder of butterflies into the classroom. Instructors Cope and Pianalto, experts in the field with more than eight years of combined experience bringing metamorphosis and incomplete metamorphosis into classrooms, will be joined by area expert Robin Verble. Again, ideas for lesson plans will fit Arkansas frameworks for instruction.

Cost of the workshop is $29, and three hours of professional development credit and light refreshments are included.

Pre-registration is required for all programs and can be made by visiting coehp.uark.edu and clicking on the Professional Development Academy link.

Other workshops scheduled this spring at a cost of $29:

• “Sustainability Through Biodiversity,” 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 17

• “Lessons from the Hard Rot Café,” 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 1

• “Heritage Trail,” 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 15

• “Got Dirt?” 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 22