SDW Environmental Education
December 2017 Newsletter
Welcome to the inaugural SDW Environmental Education newsletter! It is our hope that this newsletter will be a way help to highlight the wonderful environmental education programming that is going on in the district as well as share new knowledge and resources with you.
We wrapped up a great season of fall environmental education programming in November. Check out the pictures to see what students were up to!
6th Grade Outdoor Education
5th Grade River Biology Studies
4th Grade Soil Studies
In the News
Tips for a Greener Community: Holiday Edition
5 tips for a greener holiday season:
2. Brainstorm homemade gifts instead of buying new gifts from the store
3. When serving a holiday meal use real plates and silverware instead of disposable
4. Give your Christmas tree a second life by putting it in your yard for a bird habitat
5. If you decorate your house with lights, choose the LED variety to save energy
Meet an EE Teacher: John T
How long have you been working in the program? Only 4 short months
What is your favorite grade level to teach (so far)? 7th grade, they have so much fun, and they love the activities
What is your favorite thing about working with the EE program? Working with great people, teaching a variety of grade levels, being outside, helping the kids to learn about and enjoy the outdoors
If you could live in any ecosystem on the earth, which would you choose and why? It would have to be the northern forest AKA Boreal forest. The conifers are beautiful in the winter, and the animal population is so diverse.
Winter Words
The Snow Man
by Wallace Stevens, 1879-1955
One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;
And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter
Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,
Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
Wisconsin Nature Note
If you want to keep up to date on Snowy Owl (and other bird) sightings in Waukesha county or beyond, check out eBird, an online citizen science tool where people can submit bird sightings in their area or Project SNOW Storm, which tracks the migration routes of 10 Snowy Owls.