GreenNotes
GSNN Partners with Chairigami to Bring Unique Booth Experience to Green Schools Conference and Expo
**This blog post was originally published at www.chairigami.com and is reprinted here with permission from Chairigami.** The Green Schools National Network, or GSNN, debuted their brand new Chairigami trade show booth at the 2016 Green Schools Conference and...
Time Out(side): Schoolyards Inspire Learning and a Sense of Place
I developed my first real connections with the outdoors long before assuming my present role as the executive director of the Green Schools National Network. As a child on my aunt and uncle’s farm, I was moved by the magic of nature in many ways, but one experience...
Growing Green Students in the Sustainable Schoolyard
By. Naomi Hershiser, Dean of Environmental Learning, Prairie Crossing Charter School (Illinois) Second graders pull carrots from the soil, comparing sizes and shapes with each other as they unearth the orange roots. They enjoy the fresh crispness of their...
The Bees’ Keepers: Students at a Virginia Beach High School Learn the Art of Beekeeping and Advocate for their Survival
By. Iris Galante and Alexis Brownlee, students at Floyd E. Kellam High School and Co-Presidents of Pollen-Nation With the hum of the bees surrounding me, I exhale and let my nerves slip away with a long slow breath. I am a senior member of the club and despite...
Space to Grow: Making Chicago Schools Healthier, One Schoolyard at a Time
By Rochelle Davis, President and CEO of Healthy Schools Campaign, and Jaime Zaplatosch, Vice President of Education and Community Engagement for Openlands What once was a sea of crumbling asphalt and broken benches at Chicago’s Morrill Elementary School on the...
The Outdoor Classroom as a Sustainability Education Tool: The Case for University Leadership in Education for Sustainability through Outdoor Classroom Design and Use
By. Charlene Briggs, Adjunct Professor, Temple University When I first meet my students, I like to ask them about their relationship with nature. How much time did they spend outside as a child? Did they climb trees, catch frogs, and disappear into the woods...
Moving Learning Outdoors: Embracing Schoolyards as 21st Century Classrooms
By. Herb Broda, Emeritus Professor of Education at Ashland University We were deep into the measurement unit. Although feet and yards were easy to visualize, the concept of an acre was troublesome. Oh, I dutifully wrote on the board that an acre equals 4,840...
Celebrate the Joy and Wonder of Schoolyards this May
By. Sharon Gamson Danks, CEO of Green Schoolyards America and co-founder of the International School Grounds Alliance **This article was originally published as a blog post for the Children & Nature Network in May 2014 and has been updated for the May 2016...
Continuing Education: What the Green Schools Conference and Expo Taught Me about Green Schoolyards
By. Carolyn Kolstad, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Schoolyard Habitat Program Coordinator A voice that pulls at your heartstrings can move you into action. “When a child gets to eat a fresh tomato that they’ve grown, a kid who’s never had a tomato,...
The School of Nature: Greening Our Schools May Be the Real Cutting Edge of Education
Originally published on childrenandnature.org. Reprinted with permission from the Children & Nature Network website. © Children & Nature Network 2016 About the Author Richard Louv is Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Children & Nature Network,...