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Teacher Workshops
Discovery Boxes EE Links

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Partnership for Schools Summer Institute
Monday, June 4 through Friday, June 8 - at the Dyck Arboretum in Hesston
Learn to engage your students in the process of prairie gardening on school grounds, earn
three hours of graduate credit, take home an extensive curriculum, eat good food for a
week, and have a fun and meaningful experience at the Dyck Arboretum! This 40-hour
institute for school teachers and staff will train you in the award-winning Earth
Partnership for Schools (EPS) Program that you can share with your students and colleagues
for years to come.
For more information, or to request enrollment materials, contact Brad Guhr at
620-327-8127 or bradg@hesston.edu or visit the Dyck
Arboretum website.

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All the following workshops meet at the
GPNC.
Registration is either through Emporia State University or Friends University.
 | Great Plains Ecology for Teachers:
Learning and Teaching Strategies for Great Plains Naturalists
Instructor: Dr. Tom Eddy
Dates: June 4-7 Time: 8:00am-Noon
Course #: 4 different numbers, depending on graduate or undergraduate; 1 or 2 hours
credit
Tuition: varies from $197.00 to $722.00 depending on whether you are seeking
undergraduate or graduate credit, whether or not you are a Kansas resident, and whether
you are seeking one or two hours of credit. TO REGISTER,
visit the Emporia State Unversity website.
With the GPNC as our base for field expeditions, we will explore South
Central Kansas landscapes to identify plants and animals and learn their ecological
relationships within the prairie ecosystem.
An emphasis will be on interpreting prairie ecology to students and the
general public. A strong interest in nature is the primary prerequisite for the course.
Schedule of topics:
Monday - Finding the prairie's treasures
Tuesday - From Tilden to Martinez (interpretation in Theory & Practice)
Wednesday - Reading the prairie (a primer)
Thursday - The prairie as a teacher
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 | Water, Water, Everywhere
Instructor: John Richardson
Dates: June 4-5 Time: 9:00am-4:30pm
Course #: SCIE 2270-07
Grade Level: Elem-MS
Tuition: $145.00 Credit: 1 TO REGISTER, visit the Friends University
website.
The availability of an ample, consistent supply of fresh water has a
pronounced influence on the flora and fauna of a region. The workshop will focus on the
physical characteristics, forms and distribution of water, with an emphasis on the
influence of water on life in Kansas and the Wichita area. Related topics will include the
water cycle, plate tectonics, air and water currents, climate, and geographic regions.
Participants should bring a flash drive or lap top computer for the purpose of downloading
the course content and copies of the activities presented. The second day will include a
field trip involving some walking.
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 | Bees and Pollination
Instructors: Jim Mason & Michael Leck
Dates: June 12-13 Time: 9:00am-4:30pm
Course #: SCIE 2409-01
Grade Level: Elem-MS
Tuition: $145.00 Credit: 1 TO REGISTER, visit the Friends University
website.
This workshop will review the biology of pollination, five pollinators, and
ecological hazards to pollination. Discussion will include management of bees, aids to
study bees, and the economic risks that may exist if bee populations are significantly
reduced.
$23 material fee due to the instructor the first morning.
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 | Why Here? Not There!
Instructor: John Richardson
Dates: June 18-19 Time: 9:00am-4:30pm
Course #: SCIE 2209-09
Grade Level: Upper Elem-MS
Tuition: $145.00 Credit: 1 TO REGISTER, visit the Friends University
website.
Why do groups of people live where they do? The workshop will focus on
social, political, economic and philosophical patterns developed by groups of people in
response to life in geographic regions. Participants will examine geographic influences on
the Wichita area from the establishment of the city to the present. Related topics will
include the solar system, plate tectonics, air and water currents, climate, ecosystems,
and geographic regions. Participants should bring a flash drive or lap top computer for
the purpose of downloading the course content and copies of the activities presented.
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 | Prehistoric Kansans: Living off the
Land
Instructor: Terry Powell
Dates: July 9-10 Time: 9:00am-4:30pm
Course #: SCIE 2402-02
Grade Level: ALL
Tuition: $145.00 Credit: 1 TO REGISTER, visit the Friends University
website.
Imagine that stones become knives and axes; trees become bowls; deer bones
become hair ornaments; willow bark becomes string. That was reality for prehistoric
Kansans. During this workshop learn about the intersection of prehistoric people and their
environment. Try your hand at using prehistoric tools they used for hunting, fishing,
cooking, and building houses. In addition, you will make your own tool to take home.
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DISCOVERY BOXES
Discovery Boxes are
available for check-out within the Wichita area. Each box is full of printed and
hands-on materials. Boxes are checked out for two weeks. (Exception: The
Kansas Box may only be checked out for one week in the month of January.) Call Lee
Ann Sack at 683-5499 x107 to make a reservation, or email her at lsack@wichita.gov.
If you want to know what is in each box, you may
download the contents checklists by using the links next to each title. (On a
Windows system, download the file by right-clicking on the link and choose "Save
Target As" to save it to your hard drive, then open it from there.) Some boxes
have duplicates. The contents are slightly different for each one.
Boxes available are:

Check out the links to
Environmental Education web sites below!
RESOURCES AND WEB LINKS
Project Learning Tree
- A multi-disciplinary Environmental Education program, focusing on plants and trees in
particular as aids in environmental education.
Project WILD and
WILD
Aquatic
- Companion programs to Project Learning Tree, focusing on wildlife.
Project WET
- This program focuses on aquatic habitats.
Leopold Educational Project
- The Leopold Education Project is an interdisciplinary conservation curriculum based on
the classic writings of renowned conservationist, Aldo Leopold.
The State coordinator for PLT, WILD, WET and LEP in Kansas is:
Melissa Arthur
Education Programs & Outreach Director
Kansas Association for Conservation & Environmental Education (KACEE)
Phone: (785) 597-5452
Email: marthur@kacee.org
Kansas Association for Conservation and
Environmental Education (KACEE)
- hosts an annual training workshop in the fall. Wide membership from government,
the private sector and the E.E. community.
Write: KACEE, 2610 Claflin Rd., Manhattan KS 66502-2743
Call: (785) 532-3322
Fax: (785) 532-3305
Email: Laura Downey ldowney@kacee.org
Kansas Association of Teachers of Science
(KATS)
- Hosts an annual training workshop in the spring. It is a
state chapter of the National Science Teachers Association. Check the website for
current contact information.
Kansas Association of Biological Teachers
(KABT)
- Fall meeting, spring field trip, Internet listserve, newsletter, regional
workshops & seminars and The Kansas Biology Teacher journal. Check the website for
current contact information.
National Association for
Interpretation
- The professional organization for the interpretive field.
The web site for the regional section (Region 6) for the southern Great Plains area may be
reached by clicking here.
E E Link
- A website devoted to environmental education links on the internet.
It is maintained by the North American Association for
Environmental Education, with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has an online listing of EE resources.
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Last revision: 04/26/2012

Questions or comments? Send Email to Jim Mason 
Or write us at:
Great Plains Nature Center
6232 E. 29th Street North
Wichita, KS 67220-2200
Call: 316-683-5499
Fax: 316-688-9555
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