Going G.R.E.E.N. Workshops

Going G.R.E.E.N. Workshop

Acronym: G.R.E.E.N. (Growing Regenerative Education Excellence Now)

WHY GO G.R.E.E.N.?

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of going G.R.E.E.N, you’re not yet sure if it’s for you, or you want more information on the broad base of research that supports it, these workshops are for you.

1. Greening the Curriculum:
Overview of research that confirms the social, economic, environmental, and educational benefits of, and the basic human need for, a curriculum built on environmental education methods, materials, and local outdoor natural experiences.

2. Greening Your Facilities:
Choosing regenerative designs and operations works for existing schools, new schools, and even better for whole districts: it helps the planet while producing significant, permanent benefits to the budget.

3. Health, Learning, and the Environment:
Overview of research that confirms the positive and negative impacts of various environmental factors in the classroom and the community, on the health of students and teachers, especially their abilities to learn and to teach. Information on the academic, economic, and social costs, and how to improve the situation.

HOW TO GO G.R.E.E.N.

Whether you need basic information to educate yourself about the environment, guidance on the best skills, methods, and materials for planning and implementing your own regenerative learning plan, or inspiration and information on specific programs or skills, there are courses here for you.

Basics of Environmental Literacy Series

These workshops are introductory overviews of basic skills, concepts, and content that every person needs to be environmentally literate. Research shows that most American adults think they know more about the environment than they really do; these courses are recommended for all.

1.  Basic Skills for Regenerative Learning
      Basic questioning, analysis, and interpretation skills.

2.  Systems Thinking and Dynamic Systems
      How to understand and conquer complexity and change;
      how to see patterns and hidden forces.

3.  How the World Works: An Ecological Perspective
      Basic processes and ecological systems that comprise the environment.

4.  Understanding the Links: Human Actions, Health of the Environment, and Human Health
      How human actions, human health, and environmental health are linked.

5.  Benefiting the Quality of Life for Today and for Future Generations
   How to understand the complex relationships between human beings, other living  things, and natural systems; how to master   environmental decision-making.

6.  Developing Stewardship: Acting as if the Earth Matters
   How individuals can act to care for natural resources and systems in local,
   national, and global contexts.

Planning and Implementing Regenerative Learning  Series

These workshops are designed to familiarize you with the tools, skills, and methods needed, and the materials available to you, to plan and implement a regenerative learning environment in your classroom, your school, or your school district.

1. Tailoring Instructional Approaches for Different Learners
This workshop is a survey/update of the research and theories of the different ways that learners may be categorized, the instructional approaches that are considered most appropriate for each, and relevant theories on learning and cognitive development.

2. Essential Instructional Methods for Regenerative Learning
This workshop is an introductory overview of those instructional methods that are particularly well suited to environmental education content and context.

3. Technologies to Assist Learning
This workshop is an introductory overview of the variety of tools for environmental observation, measurement, and monitoring and a range of technologies used to display, analyze, and communicate environmental information.

4. Local Resources, Materials, and Programs
In addition to the many national and statewide resources, each county in New Jersey has wealth of local resources available to help you adapt your curricula and your facilities so that they become regenerative; come explore your options. This workshop is customized for each county in New Jersey. (ongoing service available for an additional fee).

5. Using the Classroom, School yard, and Community for Regenerative Education
This workshop explores the benefits and the challenges of providing a safe and conducive learning environment in various indoor and outdoor settings for instruction.

6. Creating an Integrated Curriculum: Using Environmental Education for Regenerative Learning
This workshop provides an introductory overview of how-to and “how-not-to”, key issues, basic tips, pitfalls to avoid. Workshop will also address the range of national state and local standards in such disciplines as science, mathematics, social studies, geography, language arts, visual and performing arts, and technology, that can be satisfied with an integrated environmental education curricula. Ongoing service available to facilitate a customized solution for additional fees.

7.  Developing Stewardship: Service-learning Curricula and Programming
     How to create active and age-appropriate stewardship opportunities for all students.

Specific Programs and Skills

These workshops on more advanced skills and specific programs, several with student competitions involved, can be used to achieve more of your goals.

1. Local Resources, Materials, and Programs
In addition to the many national and statewide resources, each county in New Jersey has wealth of local resources available to help you adapt your curricula and your facilities so that they become Regenerative; come explore your options. This workshop is customized for each county in New Jersey. (ongoing service available for an additional fee).

2. Student-Driven Energy Audits
Help make the science and issues of energy real; empower students to make a difference for their home, school, and planet as they design and carry out energy audits. These are not “academic exercises” with predetermined answers based on packaged data. This workshop will teach you how to create a student-driven energy audit, for any age student, that takes them from basic energy facts to gathering real, comprehensive, data in their own home or school, to effectively presenting their results to their families or the school board and getting their recommendations implemented.

3. EIRC Environmental Fair
Check our website for all the details on how your students can participate in EIRC’s first environmental fair, a showcase for scientific research, social studies, geography and civics investigations, creative writing, and visual and performing arts projects on environmental topics.

4. Exploring Transportation Alternatives
America is still a country on the move, but how will today’s headline effect tomorrow’s transportation options? Students are fascinated with transportation, whether by plane, train, automobile, skateboard, bicycle or on foot. This workshop explores several of the programs and the project initiatives that make core curriculum content relevant to students’ daily lives and visions for the future. Opportunities range from examining the array of transportation options and their environmental implications, through the creation of new alternatives using student-designed models or full-size vehicles.

5. How to Write Green Grants
Learn key tips to writing effective proposals for environmental education grants. Discover the value of partnerships. Find out how to market your project/ program to potential funders within the local or national business community.

Future Workshops under development from Institute for Regenerative Learning:

1. Student-driven “Reduce/Reuse/Recycle” Programs

2. Schoolyard Habitat Programs

3. School yard food Gardening to Table/Nutrition Programs

4. (“My Father’s Garden”) - Service Learning – Student-run program to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and low-income senior centers. Students raise seedlings in school, “contract” with community volunteers to grow them in home gardens and return produce for student distribution.

5. Follow-up detailed workshops on Transportation Alternatives
  a). Junior Solar Sprint – workshop and competition
  b). EcoDrive – educational successor to Tour de Sol Competition – workshop and competition

6. Designing a Regenerative Future – House, School, Business, Industrial Complex, Community – workshops and competition?

7. “Project Sampler” and individual “Projects” (Wet, Wild, Learning Tree) for detailed follow-up on aspects of how to teach (above)

8. Certificates for completing “Series 1 – Environmental Literacy”, and “Series 2 –Planning and Implementing Regenerative Learning”

9. LEED for Schools: Building a Green Building with the maximum potential for use as a teaching tool

10. LEED for Schools: Coordinating the Building and the Curriculum through all phases of development

To coordinate a workshop for your district, contact

John Henry at:

856-582-7000 Ext. 146

Or email at jhenry@eirc.org