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Welcome!

Schoolyard Ecology Explorations seeks to increase student and teacher expertise in ecological research, natural history and sustainability. Through summer workshops, curriculum and schoolyard garden grants, teachers gain the skills and the tools to lead their student to investigate the natural world. Please click on the links on this page to learn more about our program, or email see@monarchlab.org to ask questions.

Objectives:

  • Study Ecology - Learn about the study of ecology at University of Minnesota's Long Term Ecological research (LTER) station at Cedar Creek, thus increasing teacher (and student) exposure to and interest in science.
  • Conduct Research - Learn how to conduct ecological research with their students in schoolyard nature areas using observation skills and practicing scientific inquiry methods.
  • Frameworks - Better understand the interconnecting framework between ecology, science and sustainability by utilizing the SEE curriculum.
  • Partnerships - Form partnerships between educators and the researchers at Cedar Creek LTER station.

To learn why outdoor education is so important, click to view two articles from our 2007 MITC Newsletter ("Kids for a Sustainable Future" and "Schoolyard Attitude is Key!").

Schoolyard Garden Grants

Applications for SEE garden grant awards in January 2013 are no longer being accepted. Please come back next year! Click here for more information on how to apply. Register or Login.

News and Updates

Monarch Biology and Conservation Meeting: Minnesota 2012

We invite your attendance at a 2.5-day meeting, June 21-23, 2012, at the University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum. This meeting will be an opportunity for monarch biologists, agency land managers, monarch conservationists, citizen scientists, and others interested in monarch biology and conservation to share information on monarch population trends, new findings in monarch biology, and successful monarch conservation efforts. It will include speaking and poster sessions, field trips, workshops, and plenty of time for informal sharing and networking. This 5th international conference on monarch biology and conservation is being planned and sponsored by the Monarch Joint Venture and the MonarchLab at the University of Minnesota. For more information, please visit the meeting website or contact Priya Shahani or Karen Oberhauser.

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