The sessions have not been selected yet for the 2009 conference.  The sessions from last year's conference are provided below simply as a sample of likely sessions for 2009.  The list below is not for the 2009 conference. 

The following is a list of 2008 sessions in alphabetical order:

"These Boots are Made for Walking..."

Kristin Libberton, Bluff Lake Nature Center

Feet are neat!  Find out how toes and feet make life possible for creatures large and small, feathered and furred! (This workshop is hands, er, "feet-on"!)

All About Leaves

Angela Overy

Without plants the world as we know it would come quickly to an end. Find out why, about the role of leaves in our ecosystem, and why leaves sometimes stop breathing.

Assessments FOR Learning: Let the Feedback Flow

Donny Roush and Marcia Fulton, The Odyssey School

Assessments for Learning, a flow of descriptive feedback, help make students full-fledged decision-makers in their own learning. We’ve implemented this type of assessment throughout an environment-based charter school. We’ll share examples—tools, transcripts, and student work—plus results.

Better Than Money: The Path To Sustainable Investing

Richard Brown, Strategic Financial Partners

We live in two financial worlds.  In one, people effort to better the future for family and community.  In a second world we expect our savings plans to earn the highest possible return.  What if your money could make a positive impact and you didn't have to sacrifice earnings?  Even small investors can invest with conscience and participate in the booming renewable economy.

Certify Me?

Ali Goulstone Sweeney, CAEE

A CAEE committee has developed a draft plan for the certification of environmental educators.  Come find out - Who will be certified?  Who will do the certifying?  What is being certified? And for that matter HOW???

CO2 Cycling

Barb Hamman and Kathy McClintock, Plains Conservation Center

Global Warming is huge concept.  What it boils down to is how well you know CO2 (see-oh-too).  In this session you will learn who CO2 is, how he cycles and what you can learn to do to make a difference.  (This session was partially develeloped by Mary Ann Bonnell, but she's not able to attend the conference this year).

Colorado Weather: From the Mountains to the Plains

Stacy Wolff and Heidi Potter, The Colorado Mountain Club

Gain awareness of Colorado’s variable weather through investigation and observation.  Participants will recognize how CO’s landscape plays a role in weather and identify cloud types.

Coyote Trickster Tales

Dave Sutherland, City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks

Create a Buzzzzz in Your Classroom!

Liz Wickard, City of Aurora Parks and Open Space Department

Did you know every third bite of food you take you owe to a honey bee?  Join beekeeper Liz Wickard for a fascinating look at the beneficial honey bee and learn fun activities to create a buzzzzz in your classroom.

Creek Connections 101

Laura Tuel, Catamount Institute

Creek Connections offers middle and high school students hands-on, inquiry based investigation and study of local waterways. Instructed by field experts and mentored by college and university students (known as “Creekers”) they conduct basic water quality monitoring, design water-related research projects and share their knowledge, research, and concerns with others in the watershed community at a Student Research Symposium.    In this workshop, participants will study first-hand that importance of water quality and how they can have the program implemented into their school.

Dark Side of PowerPoint

Dave Sutherland, City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks

Dragonfly's Tale

Nicole Bickford and Kris Pohl, Butterfly Pavilion

What role did insects play in the lives of the First Americans?  Explore different Native American cultures through their stories, their art and the science behind the bugs!  Discover how Grandmother Spider inspired the Muskogee Indians to catch bad dreams and how mosquitoes (Tlingit) and butterflies (Papago) came to be. Create buggy connections between science, literacy, culture and art!

Earth System Science:  Engaging Youth Audiences

Jill Katzenberger, Sharon Unkart, and Tiffany Hall, Denver Museum of Nature and Science

We can’t teach kids about climate change until we teach them how to understand climate. When we focus on the scientific principles underlying environmental issues, we can foster the skills necessary to analyze information and data.  Learn the concepts of Earth System Science that every student should know.  Participate in activities and demonstrations developed by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  Share the fascinating ways that you are engage your students around the topics of and Earth System Science.

EE for EVERYONE: Meeting the needs of under-served populations

Ethan Billingsley and Brett Bruyere, Environmental Learning Center

This presentation will focus on recent research regarding challenges and opportunities in providing informal science and environmental education for underserved populations, including low income and minority families

Environmental Education through Storytelling and Puppetry

Shirley Stafford and Jeanne Mate

Storytelling and Puppetry are wonderful ways to incorporate animal knowledge, folklore and literacy into environmental education programs. We present several folktales, stories and puppetry as examples. Participants will then be actively involved making puppets and/or working on stories to use with children.

Environmental Education to Environmental Action

Lisa Bardwell, Ana Soler, and Tash Mitchell, FrontRange Earth Force

Service-learning and environmental education share many of the same tenets. What does it look like to align the best practices of both?

For Teacher, By Teachers

Kathy Fennell, Eaglecrest High School

A chance for K-12 teachers to meet other educators and hold non-formal discussions of pedagogy, activities, resources and best practices related to Environmental Science.  Bring questions, ideas, and electronic resources to share.

From "My Patch" to "One Square Inch"

Betsy Leonard

Workshop participants will learn about concepts associated with the story "My Patch" (books will be distributed) and will experience tending a small area of the environment. Also, participants will explore "One Square Inch" using a special template.

Getting Families Outside: Easy Activities to Help Parents and Kids Connect to the Land

Jennelle Freeston, City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks

In this day and age it is more important than ever to get kids outside. In this session we will briefly explore the benefits of getting children outdoors and then discuss and demonstrate how to create a program to get parents involved in their child's connection to the land.

Getting the Word Out ~ How to Talk to the Media

Lisa Coalwell, Loveland Reporter-Herald newspaper

You’ve got a great program you want to tell the world about, but the local media just doesn’t seem interested. Here are ways you can increase your chances of getting the word out in print or on air.

Green School: a Critical Link

Stephen Garretson, Aurora Academy

Presentation and discussion of health, academic achievement, and environmental literacy benefits of children attending school in green buildings.

Here Kitty, Kitty!

Suzanne Turner-Kloster, Colorado Division of Wildlife

Presentation will include an activity from Arizona Mountain Lion Lessons titled The Lion as Predator-Agile as a Cat comparing mountain lions to humans. Also, a powerpoint presentation and literature will provide background and content information on mountain lions.

Hooked on Nature:  Incorporating Reading Skills into Environmental Education

Sarah Schmidt, Aspen Center for Environmental Studies

Stories and reading contribute to a love of learning and are a part of environmental education. This presentation will provide educators with activities that will teach pre-reading and beginning reading skills with nature as the inspiration.

How to Avoid Volunteer Program Jeopardy

Vicki Leigh and Angel Tobin, Colorado State Parks

Join other participants in a fun, fast-paced energetic game while learning the basics for a successful volunteer program. Have the opportunity to learn the right game-plan to keep your volunteer program from falling into Jeopardy.

How To Grow Your Classroom From the Ground : Service Learning in the K12 Classroom

Sarah Bayer, Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning

When does service learning fit best in the classroom? How can you create a great and meaningful real world project that matches real world environmental issues?. Using the construction of the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning’s Xeriscape Garden project as an example, participants will gain insights on the how, when, and resources needed to make powerful real world connections to the natural world through and Expeditionary Learning approach.

How to Use GPS: Basic Instruction and Practice

Lisa Mason and Aubrey Rossiter, Colorado State Forest Service

This session will give a basic overview on how GPS works and how it is used in different applications. After learning how to use a GPS unit, you can get outside and practice your skills on a GPS course!

Implementing a Schoolyard Habitat

Toni Philips, Maureen Arredondo, and Julie Lewis, Denison Montessori, Denver Public Schools

Two teachers, a teacher librarian, and a dedicated parent will present hands-on activities and strategies on how to create and fund a Colorado, native, schoolyard habitat that inspires authentic inquiry and learning in all content areas.

Inquiry and Elementary Environmental Education

Teresa Higgins, University of Northern Colorado

In this session we'll explore the aspects of inquiry in elementary environmental education.  This includes inquiry from both the teacher and learner perspectives.

Long-Term Observations of Small-Scale Ecosystems

Cheryl Manning, Evergreen High School

Teaching science process skills, encouraging independent student research, and meeting all the content standards can be tough to do on a restrictive budget.  Using 2-liter soda bottles and materials from your local environment, small student groups can create amazing opportunities to learn ecology.

Making Climate Hot:  Effectively Communicating Climate Change

Susan Buhr and Sarah Wise, University of Colorado, 

This workshop will provide information and  practice communicating about climate change with students, the media, acquaintances and family.    The format is modular; stay for part or all of the workshop as your schedule dictates.    The first hour will be an interactive workshop on best practices in climate change and science communications, including strategies for handling controversy in the classroom.    During the second hour, participants will practice communications for a particular audience; students, the media, or acquaintances/family members.

Mysteries of the Ice Age

Steven Wade Veatch and Sally Maertens, Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc.

This workshop will investigate the Ice Age, explore climate change, ponder the question where “Native Americans” came from, reconstruct a life-size mammoth, experience how the scientific process works, and discuss activities that will engage elementary school children.

NASA’s GLOBE Program and the CloudSat Education Network

Teresa Kennedy, The GLOBE Program, Nandini McClurg, GLOBE North America Desk Officer, Deanna TeBockhorst, CloudSat Education Network

GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) involves primary and secondary students from 110 countries in research collaborations on inquiry-based scientific research investigations. Learn basic GLOBE atmospheric observations and connections with CloudSat Satellite activities.

Plant-Animal Interactions: Expanding the Box

David Armstrong, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Studies Program, and Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado-Boulder

“Plant-Animal Interaction” usually connotes two species at a time but the concept can be bigger than that. This presentation intends to “expand the box” from simple symbioses to the biosphere whole, starting from local examples accessible in the field.

Prairie Preschool Companions:  Bringing Nature Home

Katie Navin, Plains Conservation Center

How can non-formal educators bring families to their nature centers and help families bring environmental education home?  Explore how The Plains Conservation Center is developing relationships with preschoolers and their parents through weekly programming and email newsletters.

Recycling:  It's your Responsibility

Sarah Clark, Governor's Ranch Elementary, Katie Navin, Plains Conservation Center

Teaching issues can be tricky in the elementary classroom, but it can also be an opportunity to introduce an interdisciplinary unit that is relevant to your students.  Join us to find how a formal classroom teacher and a non-formal environmental educator teamed up to write and teach a civics unit on recycling in a 3rd grade classroom.  Go back to school with a copy of the unit and a few ideas for creating your own.

Rhythms of Life

Jon and Jennifer Crowder, Peak Rhythms Inc.

In this workshop, we'll develop the drum circle as a metaphor for the Circle of Life.  We'll explore and discover our relationship with universal rhythms that we experience in nature and our daily lives.  Through connecting with the rhythms of life, we develop harmony and balance-sustainability- with the Circle of Life.

So you need funding – picking the good guys from the bad?

Richard Jurin, University of Northern Colorado

The desperate need for funding has led to strange alliances with businesses that do not really the mission of the groups that accept the funds.  Identify the good guys you do want as partners and avoid green-washing the bad guys.

Spirituality and EE

Debbie Matlock, City of Boulder OSMP, Wild Rhythms

What role does spirituality play in EE?  How can we, as EE practitioners, be sensitive to and inclusive of people's diverse spiritual beliefs in our programs?  Come join the discussion, share ideas, and explore this important topic.

Teaching Styles and Strategies

Cheryl Johnson, Denver Public Schools (Thomas Jefferson)

Introduction, definitions, and Teaching Processes. Overviews of Mastery strategies, Understanding Strategies, Understanding strategies self-expressive strategies, interpersonal strategies and Meta-Cognitive strategies for "Four"-Thought.

Teaching With Roadkill

Skot Latona, South Suburban Park and Recreation, S Platte Park

Nests, feathers, feet and skulls can bring learning alive.  What can you do with that bird that hit your window?  What about roadkill you found but can't afford to taxidermy?  Examine dozens of creatively preserved items, learn preservation techniques, discuss salvage permits, and find out how to protect your collection.

The Art of Questioning: An Interpretative Skill

Joann Thomas, Department of Natural Resources, City of Fort Collins

A primer for first time volunteers in the field. Learn to incorporate strengths and weaknesses into a viable synthesis that creates a valuable shared experience for both participant and host.

The Mating Game

Karen Parker, South Suburban Parks and Recreation, Danell Mc Caslin, Park Interpreter, SSPR,

In a game show set-up, this interactive program will have everyone participating in the mating game.   Taken from the famous Dating Game of the 60's and 70's, bachelorettes will   be seeking the perfect bachelor that will court them and provide for their family.

The Wild Within - Success Stories of an Urban Wildlife Refuge

Kristin Libberton, Bluff Lake Nature Center

Bluff Lake Nature Center - an urban nature center, faces unique challenges due to its location in the city. Wildlife, and the attitudes accompanying it, provide some of the center's greatest challenges and wildest successes.   Visit with the animals and discover the wild within...

Tomorrow's EE

Ali Goulstone Sweeney, CAEE

What is your vision for EE?  Take a serious look at the future for EE as it is charted in this revised version of the Colorado EE Master Plan.  Dive into the new goals and find your place in the plan.  Help create the foundation of tomorrow's EE.

Understanding the mountain pine beetle among the red trees

Ingrid Aguayo, Colorado State Forest Service-Colorado State University

This presentation will cover the biology, ecology, signs, symptoms, implications, management, and current status of mountain pine beetle in Colorado. Inside classroom: covering the basics; outside: hands on activity recognizing infestation, and extracting larvae from infested logs.

Using Predators to Keep Students in School

Penelope Eucker, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Steve Johnson, Adams 12 Outdoor Education Coordinator,

Students drop out of Colorado High Schools at disturbing rates. We are using Estes Park and predators to renew their interest in school. Our strategies, how identified students, program of instruction and outcome of our intensive week in Estes Park.

Why more stuff and more money is making us unhappy – a reality check

Richard Jurin, University of Northern Colorado

Our quest for happiness has created a destructive consumerism, which is one of the root causes of environmental problems today.  To reverse this path to sustainability requires understanding and teaching people about the real factors that create happiness.

Wildfires: Fight, Flight or Coexistence

Meg John, Forest History Society

Helping the next generation to develop a strong environmental ethic and smart decision-making skills is a continuing challenge.  “Wildfires” is just one of 10 modules from a curriculum that encourages middle school students to explore human interaction with the natural environment.

Windy Gap Birding Excursion

Skot Latona, South Suburban Park and Recreation, S Platte Park

Wings of Wonder

Deanna Curtis, Wild Wings Environmental Education, Alan Curtis,

Did you know, without predatory animals, 1/3 of our world's grain supply would be lost within 6 months?  Join Wild Wings as they present live raptors, with classroom activities, to learn how winged animals provide important balances in nature.

Wood to Energy High School Curriculum

Lauren McDonell, University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation

Wood to Energy is an outreach program designed to foster informed community discussions about the use of woody biomass for energy production. Currently, a high-school curriculum is being developed based on this program. This presentation will provide an overview of woody biomass, present ideas for student exercises, and generate discussion among educators concerning the curriculum.

You've got great education resources - prove it!

Ali Goulstone Sweeney, CAEE

Become familiar with the Colorado Resource Review System and the Key Characteristics of EE resources that will assist you in developing, choosing, and/or evaluating quality materials to supplement your curricula and programs.