North Iowa Outdoors: Outdoor Education Workshops Scheduled this Spring and Summer

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is sponsoring workshops for K–12 educators on Iowa’s outdoors this spring and summer.

A Project WILD, Aquatic WILD and Project Learning Tree online self-guided module for teachers, naturalists and other K-12 educators is available February 19-March 26.  Participants will explore the three national award-winning activity guides. Materials are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and other Common Core standards. Upon completion of the required activities, participants will receive all three teaching guides.

A Field Investigations using Project WILD, Aquatic WILD and Project Learning Tree workshop for teachers, naturalists and other K-12 educators is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on June 8 and 9 at Jester Park Nature Center in Polk City. Learn how outdoor projects, exploration, and field investigations provide relevant learning opportunities for students that support STEM-based learning. Trainers will work with educators to incorporate activities from these resources into inquiry-based learning units, and to conduct real field investigations with their students.

Iowa educators can earn license renewal for both courses. Graduate credit is available for the Field Investigations course. Register for the above outdoor education courses through the AEALearning website at https://aealearning.truenorthlogic.com/. You will be asked to create an account if you do not already have one. After logging in, enter “Project WILD” in the course search to find registration information for each course.