Southern Urban and Interface Forests - What's New

Proctor Creek snakes through downtown Atlanta and eventually works its way to the Chattahoochee River. Along the way it passes through both middle and lower income neighborhoods, including some of the most economically depressed areas of the city with high rates of poverty and crime. The waterway is plagued with illegal dumping, pollution, erosion, and high bacteria levels from regular stormwater flooding and sewage overflows. In 2013, Proctor Creek was named one of eleven Urban Waters Federal Partnership Projects, a project that aims to tackle the country’s most polluted city waters and reconnect communities with their waterways. The partnership works to improve coordination and focus among federal agencies on problems in the watershed, as well as promote community-led efforts at economic, social, and ecological revitalization. As a part of the partnership, SRS-4952 is conducting three interconnected studies that will provide valuable information on the links between urban greenspace, ecosystem services, environmental justice, and human health. This issue of Leaves of Change focuses on these three studies and Kids in the Woods outreach activities.

In 2014, Urban Forestry South developed and beta tested a new urban forest sustainability and management audit checklist and process (collectively referred to as an "audit system") at Agnes Scott College, a small woman's liberal arts college in Decatur, GA. Agnes Scott was a great location to try out this new system because it is a Tree Campus USA. This audit system is designed to provide a framework for internal (ad-hoc) audits by program managers or for independent evaluations by an external lead auditor and audit team.

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.
 

Check out our new Kids in the Woods blog for updates on our project with Westwood Middle School, the University of Florida, Gainesville Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs, and Alachua County Environmental Protection Department. We will also be providing information about other actvities related to children and nature.

http://kidsinwoods-interfacesouth.org/

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.

This video was developed by the NCLI Coalition to encourage increased environmental education opportunities at schools. The video celebraties environmental education and its impact on children's learning, health and leadership.