A key tenet of the Boxerwood NOAA presentation: build youth confidence (and ecological know-how) through action. As part of an afterschool program last summer, middle school youth from Maury River MS learned about protecting the Maury during a riverbank clean-up.
We may not have been out in the field this spring, but thanks to your support, Boxerwood leadership is alive and well:
Making Waves: The leading federal agency promoting watershed education (US NOAA/BWET) recently invited Boxerwood to participate as presenter in a national webinar for educators. The May webinar focused on how to create high-quality STEM experiences for youth in afterschool settings. More than a hundred EE providers from across the U.S. zoomed in for the opportunity, which also featured presentations by two other organizations. Education director Elise Sheffield reports very positive feedback for the presentation, which highlighted Boxerwood’s success in encouraging “youth voice and choice” in real-world action projects.
Fostering Connections: Early Education coordinator Jess Sullivan convened a June meeting of a half-dozen local preschool directors and teachers. The Zoom event enabled the educators to talk together for the first time about common challenges and strategies related to reopening this fall. New state protocols limit Boxerwood’s ability to provide direct programs with preschoolers this year. On the other hand, we identified new ways to keep the nature connection going. All the preschools plan to spend more time outside this fall. The directors asked Boxerwood to help them develop outdoor strategies, activities, and expanded play/explore areas for their children. We’re on it!
