record their observations of the natural world through pictures, measurements, and language. Nature journaling will augment the “Projects” lessons with an easy, take- anywhere, lifelong opportunity for the teachers and their students to engage with the natural world, demonstrate their learning, and develop their curiosity and passion. Turn-key Kits and On-Going Support: Finally, as a group we will determine which of the demonstrated lessons they are interested in adopting this year in their classrooms and eliminate any supply barrier by compiling a resource kit for those ones. Our 2 in- service sessions during the school year will keep the learning at the top of their minds to help ensure its use. Teachers will be connected to on-going support from the Shenandoah Valley Environmental Educators Alliance, for which the Arboretum will pick up the reins. That group incorporates formal and non-formal environmental educators from up and down the Shenandoah Valley, meeting virtually 3 times and in-person once a year for encouragement, best practices conversation, and resource-sharing. We will also connect them with the emerging Virginia Environmental Literacy Network (VEN), a statewide resource with similar goals. Desired outcomes for teachers include increased confidence in teaching environmental science, increased sense of connection to their local place, deeper understanding of local environmental systems, increased sense of community belonging and professional support, and empowerment for civic engagement through understanding of local issues. We hypothesize that their students will in turn be significantly more engaged and have stronger knowledge and better developed skills.
Benefit to JMU
This project enables JMU to be an innovative leader in environmental education and capitalize on its special resource, the Arboretum. A successful pilot would provide proof of concept for future developments in teacher training at JMU, including potential pre- service teacher cohorts in environmental education through the Arboretum, development of courses related to community-based learning, or replicating this model of in-service teacher development to other school districts as a possible revenue generation opportunity for the Arboretum.
Projected Budget
Development phase:
$5,200
Initial 2026 cohort:
$7,755
2027 cohort:
$7,755
SVEEA leadership:
$500
Total:
$21,210
Madison Trust 2026 Project Proposal
3
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online