Southern Urban and Interface Forests - What's New

In this issue of Leaves of Change you will learn about a project that engages 6th grade students from Westwood Middle School in Gainesville, Florida, in outdoor science learning activities in the nearby Loblolly Woods Nature Park. Spurred on by a grant from the US Forest Service’s More Kids in the Woods initiative, the school project kicked off in the fall of 2013. Through this project, students are learning outdoors while also gaining first-hand experience with the scientific method—developing hypotheses, collecting data, doing analysis, and drawing conclusions. Some of the main objectives of the project are for students to become more aware and connected to their local environment and exposed to careers in science and natural resources, as well as increased teacher participation in providing outdoor learning experiences for students. Over three hundred sixth graders and three science teachers are participating in the project this year.

Click here to learn more about this project highlighted in our latest issue of Leaves of Change.
 

By Erin Jester
Gainesville Sun

More Gainesville students are walking in the woods this year, thanks in part to a nearly $14,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service.

Westwood Middle School sixth-graders are spending this school year collecting data on wildlife and the environment in Loblolly Woods alongside scientists and teachers.

“There are a lot of benefits,” said Annie Hermansen-Baez, a scientist with the U.S. Forest Service. Students get out of the classroom and experience the woods that are right in their own backyard.

The entire sixth-grade class at Westwood is working in Loblolly Woods, which adjoins the school.

The project is funded through the U.S. Forest Service's More Kids in the Woods initiative, and was the project funded in Florida this year.

More Kids in the Woods seeks to connect children with the outdoors. This year, the Forest Service selected about 30 projects with that goal for funding.

Also lending a hand to the project are Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs; the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department; the University of Florida's School of Forest Resources and Conservation; and Camp Crystal Lake, which will organize a school camp-out and nighttime nature walk in the spring.

To view the full article visit: http://leavesofchangeweekly.org/2013/10/31/loblolly-woods-helps-teach-young-scientists/

InterfaceSouth and local partners, including the University of Florida’s School of Forest Resources and Conservation, the Gainesville Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs, and Alachua County Environmental Protection, received funding from this year’s Forest Service More Kids in the Woods (MKIW) cost share funding opportunity to engage middle school students in outdoor science learning activities in Gainesville’s Hogtown Creek Watershed. The MKIW program supports activities and programs designed to spark curiosity about nature and promote learning through applications of science, technology, engineering and mathematics principles.

Project partners will collaborate with Westwood science teachers to conduct outdoor science learning activities and service learning projects within the nearby watershed. Partners will also organize a school camp out and participate in career day events and science fairs. Science middle school teachers will be provided professional development opportunities through a train-the-teacher workshop. Project successes, materials and information will be shared locally, regionally and nationally through our combined partner networks.

To learn more about the Forest Service’s More Kids in the Woods program and 2013 cost share funding recipients visit:

www.fs.usda.gov/main/conservationeducation/about/education-themes/kids-in-woods

www.fs.fed.us/news/2013/releases/05/more-kids-outdoors.shtml

Come to the 3rd Annual Green Schools National Conference in West Palm Beach, February 22-24, 2013. The goal of the conference is to connect like-minded and passionate education, non-profit, corporate, and public sector individuals and organizations that help advance the national green and healthy schools movement.

To learn more about this conference click here.

In this issue of our quarterly bulletin, titled Leaves of Change, you will learn about a collaborative project that is creating a scientific framework for the ecological assessment and sustainable management of the Tampa Bay watershed’s trees and forested ecosystems along the urban-wildland continuum. You will also learn about the Centers’ recent training and outreach activities, recommended resources, and upcoming events related to urban and interface forestry.

InterfaceSouth will have an informational booth at the 2011 Kanapaha Spring Garden Festival, March 26-27, in Gainesville, FL. This festival features about 200 booths offering plants, landscape displays, garden accessories, arts and crafts, educational exhibits, and foods. Also featured are a walk-through butterfly conservatory, children's activities area, live entertainment and auctions, both live and silent.

For more information visit: http://www.kanapaha.org/calendar.htm.

InterfaceSouth recently developed a fact sheet about research conducted by the Southern Research Station and the National Institute of Standards and Technology that demonstrated that wildfire prevention education pays for itself many times over in the state of Florida. Wildfire prevention education aims to teach the public about the dangers of accidentally igniting fires, with the expectation that these activities will lead to fewer wildfires.

To view this fact sheet visit:
https://www.urbanforestrysouth.org/products/fact-sheets/economic-benefits/the-economic-benefits-of-wildfire-prevention-education/index_html