On July 24 & 25, 2019 TreePeople held a super fun and successful two-day Professional Development workshop for Los Angeles County Middle and High School teachers interested in engaging their students to be an active part of the solution to environmental issues through hands-on service learning projects.
Through Los Angeles County Public Works Generation Earth program, TreePeople is able to offer teachers expert topic information, project ideas, resources, and toolkits that will guide teachers to implementing a campus or community eco-project from A – Z.
Held at the fabulous Environmental Learning Center at Hyperion in Playa del Rey, activities for the educators included auditing and a beach clean-up at Dockweiler Beach, a tour of the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant, and networking opportunities with other community partners and providers. At the end of the second day, teachers were buzzing with excitement discussing the various projects they would like to tackle this school year. Everything from setting up recycling programs, eco-
clubs, and E-waste drives to designing multi-platform advocacy and education campaigns.
Generation Earth offers additional opportunities for teachers to get involved in our throughout the year at the following workshops:
1: Recycling and Beyond (Reducing Waste at School) – Teachers and students grades 6 – 12 are invited to learn how to set up or improve a waste reduction or recycling program on their campus and get project ideas that will help. (Next workshop September 7, 2019).
2: The WaterWise Campus (Addressing Water Issues in your Community) – Teachers and students grades 6 – 12 invited to learn and understand the dynamics of urban watersheds in Los Angeles and what kind of projects support water conservation, capture and pollution prevention. (Next workshop on September 21, 2019).
3: NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) by Nature (Using Nature as an Outdoor Classroom)- specific to educators only, this workshop invites teachers to discover the potential of their existing campus for incorporating science and engineering practices, cross-cutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas so they are able to address new Statewide Standards. (Next workshop October 19, 2019).
Attending our workshops qualifies teachers for mini-grants and a free bus for a project-related field trip.
Major kudos to all the teachers that are part of our Environmental Education family. Everyone has a memory of their favorite teacher that once played a significant part of their life by believing in them and empowering them through a special non-traditional experience outside the classroom. Our teachers will undoubtedly fall into this category for their students.
We invite all interested educators to get more information about how you can join our program at generationearth@treepeople.org or call Loyda Ramos at 818.623.4856.