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Committee Updates
July 2007
Past Updates 2007
Advocacy Committee Update
Heath Packard, Advocacy Committee Chair
$1.5 Million in New State EE Grants!
Once again EEAW helped EE advocates increase state support for EE this past Legislative Session. Working with a coalition of teachers, EE providers and advocates, and conservation groups like Sierra Club and Audubon, EEAW helped to pass HB 1677—The Outdoor Education and Recreation Grant Program established under the authority of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.
The competitive grant program will be available to all entities, public or nonprofit, which are connecting at-risk youth and families with nature. The intent of the program is to provide a large number of underserved students with quality opportunities to directly experience the natural world.
With our coalition’s help, the legislature agreed that these programs improve students' overall academic performance, self-esteem, personal responsibility, community involvement, personal health, and understanding of nature. Further, they found such programs empower local communities to engage students in outdoor education and recreation experiences.
This new program complements the formal education EE Partnership Fund established at OSPI a few years ago.
Conference Committee Update
Frank J. Hein, Conference Committee Chair
Thanks to the efforts of Tolo Events and the entire conference committee, things are moving along nicely on the conference front.
We’ve chosen the name and byline for the conference and thanks to Regalis, Inc., there’s even a great new look:
The conference strands have been chosen and a call for proposals was issued with an extended deadline of July 27. We have created a sponsorship package and donor opportunities to support scholarships to enable students to attend the conference free of charge. We’re looking forward to a well-attended, innovative and exciting gathering of educators, students, ecologists, business leaders, NGO and governmental organizations. Watch the EEAW website for further news!
Finally, we’re close to finalizing our roster of guest speakers for the conference and while we can’t name names until we’ve got everything finalized, it’s looking like we’ll have some amazing speakers lined up to bring their unique perspectives to the challenges and accelerating opportunities in the environmental education field and beyond. While we’ll be promoting the conference and making announcements in many venues, your best bet is to log on to www.eeaw.org early and often for breaking conference news and updates.
Don’t forget to save the date and join us November 8-10, 2007, for the EEAW Conference Marriott Seattle Airport Hotel in SeaTac, WA. All events will be at the Marriott Seattle Airport Hotel in SeaTac. See you there!
If you have questions about this committee or are interested in helping, contact the Conference Committee Chair Frank Hein at 206-233-7276 or at Frank.Hein@Zoo.org.
Diversity Committee Update
Karen Matsumoto, Interim Diversity Committee Chair
With the departure of Diversity Chair Yolanda Sinde and Heath Packard’s leave of absence, Frank Hein and Karen Matsumoto are the only two members remaining on the Diversity Committee. We have not yet appointed a new board member to fill Yolanda’s position, so Karen volunteered to become interim chair for this committee. At the request of the Board at our last meeting, Saul Weisberg and Karen were tasked with drafting a proposal for a new Board Development Committee to explore diversity issues within the context of EEAW board development in the areas of assessment, recruitment, and training.
This proposal also includes a statement on Board diversity:
Statement on Board Diversity: EEAW is dedicated to eliminating institutional attitudes, practices, and policies that result in racial disproportionality. EEAW recognizes the integral connections between environmental issues and concerns and the wider context of equity, health, and social justice. The Board Development Committee will make every effort to identify, prioritize, and coordinate activities that bring a diversity of perspectives, experiences, backgrounds, and skills to the board.
This proposal was presented to the Board through an e-mail from Frank Hein on July 2, 2007; Frank also provided input to this proposal. A board conference call was set up to respond to this draft plan on July 11, 2007, with only five board members attending. We need to either convene another phone meeting or put this on the agenda for our next board meeting. We have recently lost two important board members of color. To be an effective board, we need better representation of diverse perspectives. We would like to move forward toward becoming a statewide model of an inclusive and diverse educational organization.
Membership Committee Update
Colleen Thumlert, Membership Committee Chair
We are steadily building our membership with about 75 new or renewing members since our last update.
A second round of membership brochures is now available. If you are interested in getting others to join, call the office for copies of the brochure. Or, save some paper and direct people to our web site where they can sign up online - www.eewa.org/membership
Be sure to check the web site for updates on new "members-only" events starting this fall!
Woodland Park Zoo—Teacher Professional Development Workshops