Looking for a boost to freshen up your teaching practices as you end the school year and look out toward the summer? Well, look no further! This online series will feature guest speakers covering a wide range of topics perfect to take into your outdoor classrooms and beyond. Sessions will meet once a month May - August. Can't make a session? No problem! A recording will be sent in post following each session. Read on for detailed descriptions of each session! 

A four (4) clock-hour certificate of completion will be issued at the conclusion of the course to any participants who attend all four sessions live. Check with your department of education to confirm if this course can be used toward continuing education hours in your state! 

SESSION DESCRIPTIONS

"From Narrative to Nature: Using Picture Books to Launch Science Inquiry" with Susan Richmond

Wednesday, May 27th from 7-8 PM (EST) [1 hr]

With rich language and imaginative illustration, nature-themed picture books provide ideal verbal and visual vocabulary for connecting children to their natural world. In this workshop, award-winning author Susan Edwards Richmond reveals how the inspiration of a single book can create a road map for weeks of scientific and multi-disciplinary curricula. Using examples from her Community Science Counts series, Susan will also suggest a step-by-step method for empowering students to gather and share data from their own hands-on explorations.

"Fostering Healthy Racial Identity in the Early Years" with Denisha Jones

Monday, June 8th from 7PM - 8PM (EST) [1hr]
Using a new framework, this session will explore how to foster healthy racial identity in the early years. We discuss the research on how children's racial learning develops and how early childhood teachers can create environments that affirm healthy racial identity development.

"Nature and Spirituality" with Laura Ritter

Monday, July 20th from 7PM - 8PM (EST) [1hr]

As children connect with the natural world they are developing a life-long capacity to be in meaningful relationships with the entirety of life around them. Consider a moment of awe of in nature, such as the unexpected sight of a rainbow or the fleeting brilliance of a shooting star. Moments like these capture our attention, filling us with a deep sense of wonder, beauty and reverence. As Nature-Based Educators who create opportunities for children to have awe-filled experiences daily, your work contributes deeply to a child’s spiritual health and spiritual foundation. This talk aims to affirm the depth and importance of your work highlighting that nature and spirituality go hand in hand in the developing minds and hearts of our youngest learners.

"The Yummiest Parts of Nature" with Alicia Garcia

Monday, August 24th from 7PM - 8PM (EST) [1hr]

Participants will be introduced to the philosophy and practices of Project Flourish Community while equipping them with practical, adaptable tools to foster essential life skills—like resilience, curiosity, collaboration, and ecological awareness—through food, gardening, and outdoor learning. We'll Identify essential life skills cultivated through food and garden-based learning, design a "food for thought" moment for your own setting and leave with a framework for integrating food + nature into your curriculum!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This course is ideal for anyone who facilitates nature-based education and outdoor learning, which may include: teachers and administrators in preschool, childcare, or elementary school settings; naturalists, environmental educators, or outdoor educators; wilderness survival enthusiasts; and parents.

MEET YOUR PRESENTERS

Week #1: Susan Richmond (she/her) - Children's Book Author and Sub Lead Teacher for Mass Audubon 

Susan Edwards Richmond is the award-winning author of The Great Pollinator Count, selected as an NSTA-CBC Best STEM Book of the Year. Her other picture books include Bioblitz! Counting Critters, Bird Count, and Night Owl Night, a Massachusetts Book Award Honor Title. Bird Count won the International Literacy Association’s Primary Fiction Award and is a Mathical Honor Book. Susan is also the author of Science Play, an activity book for preschoolers. A passionate birder and naturalist, Susan has taught preschool on a farm and wildlife sanctuary in eastern Massachusetts for more than a decade.

Week #2: Denisha Jones (she/her) - Executive Director of Defending the Early Years

Dr. Denisha Jones (she/her/ella) is the Executive Director of Defending and has spent 20 years working as a professor of teacher education. Her research interests include organizing activist research projects that examine grassroots movements to achieve racial justice in education, documenting the value of play as a tool for liberation with an emphasis on global approaches to play, and collaborating with parents and educators to foster positive racial, ethnic, and cultural identity development in the early years.

Week #3: Laura Ritter (she/her) - BCC, MA, MES

Laura Ritter is a nationally board-certified healthcare chaplain. She has spent the last 14 years supporting staff, patients, and families in hospital, hospice, and palliative care settings. Laura has a master’s degree in environmental studies and former experience in working in the field of environmental health. Her growing career aspiration is to bring support and inspiration to people engaged in environmental and nature-based work so that they continue to do their challenging and sacred work of caring for the earth.

Week #4: Alicia Garcia (she/her) - Founder and Living Arts Director of Project Flourish Community

Alicia is a Home Economics "Edupreneur" and Founder of Project Flourish Community. She is certified for nature-based education, holds degrees in Culinary Arts, Fashion Design and is currently completing credentials for Educational Sciences. Alicia empowers learners, families and school communities to create nourishing meals, resilient homes, and lifelong habits rooted in sustainability, creativity and community care. She considers her kitchen-classroom a joy space for life-connected learning.

*If you are unable to make a session, don't worry! We will record each session to share with all registered individuals.