New Year, New Mindset: A Garden of Ideas

Summer always feels like an invitation to breathe differently. It's a good respite after 10 long months of teaching. It's a time and space to create life differently, reset, and refresh.

This time of year, teachers everywhere are doing what I am: reflecting on their summer, readying for the racetrack ahead. We all are taking in how the summer went, making mental notes of how we want to shape the school year ahead.

So, looking back: did I dabble in some back to school techno-babble, digging into the world of AI, lesson planning, sharpening skills through some professional development over summer? Of course I did... because that's what we teachers do. We grow our skills. 

But I'm happy to say it certainly wasn't a summer of "all work and no play." I made plenty of time for reading, pool-lounging, sleeping in, running around with my family, working out, road-tripping, appreciating my husband's gardening and the fruits his labor (or rather: vegetables), and more. 3 cheers for sun & fun, and R & R!

Stepping away from structure and slipping into the slower side of summer definitely includes travel, as I mentioned last week. Travel is the ultimate teacher:

• In Quebec City, I could see the connectedness of both history and people as I stood in this fortified city, gazing upon centuries-old walls that were originally designed to protect, but now serving as an embrace of the many who gather in this multicultural city. 

• In Montreal, I stood amongst the 1976 Olympic Park, now reimagined & "repurposed" through innovation to bring joy to visitors by way of the Biodome and surrounding sights that are now a concert stadium, a pool, a planetarium, and more. The same could be said of my experience at Bota Bota Day Spa, a former ferry boat turned health and wellness oasis.

• In the Midwest, I drove stretches of highway from Chicago to the center of the state to reunite with family... much in the same way I walked stretches of beach in Ocean City, Maryland. This opened time and space to think about pace: in life, in the moment, and even ultimately thinking forward to this fall's school year and how I want to run my classes.

The destinations changed, but the throughline stayed the same: 

Connection. Curiosity. Perspective.

These 3 guiding principles are the same things I want to bring back with me to the upcoming school year and to my classroom. 

Teaching, like traveling, is not about the destination, but rather the journey. It's about what grows and happens in between. It's what we take in when we slow down and let the unexpected shape us. Teaching too is like gardening. It is the roots that anchor everything down. They support the growth and harvest ahead.

Connection, curiosity, and perspective do all of this.

Before the first school bell rings, here are some nature-centric points to ponder while putting up bulletin boards, unpacking boxes, and setting up shop. Plant these questions like seeds in your mind. Growth comes from steady care and the courage to nurture what matters. 

🌱 How can I "grow forward" this school year ahead?

🌱 What connections can I make (to both people, students, and ideas)?

🌱 Where can I grow in my curiosity and shift my perspective?

🌱 How can I innovate and create when needed, shooting and rooting for potential not perfection?

🌱 How can I remind myself that "letting go" is part of growth: letting go of expectations, self limitations, fear of failure, control (always a hard one), the past and "how things have always been done." One thing I’m letting go of this year… 

🌱 How can I make it a year to stretch, branch, and bloom....as a person, as a teacher, as a global citizen in a partisan world, as an educator navigating this ever-expanding edtech world?

🌱 How can I teach smarter not harder, always aligning with these values?

🌱 This year, I want to feel more ______ in my teaching.

🌱 A student strength I want to notice (or encourage) more this year… 

🌱 A space in my classroom I want to reimagine or make more alive… 

🌱 One edtech tool I’m excited to try (or try differently)… 

🌱 One way I’ll bring more nature, climate awareness, or global acceptance into my classroom…

Images created at Canva.com

Unpacked: Summer's Travel Souvenirs

This summer I've been very fortunate. I've been able to see....

• The beach & waves of the Atlantic Ocean
• The small towns and coastal sights of the Eastern Shore of Maryland
• The mountains and quaint towns of New England
• The traffic of New York City and the New Jersey Turnpike via rental car
• The majesty of Canada's Montmorency Falls while hiking about
• The skyline of Old Montreal from the top of the La Grande Roue de Montréal (ferris wheel)
• The view of historic Vieux-Québec City & across-the-river Lévis by ferry, funicular, and foot 
• The quaint homes and busy life of DC's Dupont Circle neighborhood
• The Chicago skyline from the air, flying into Midway airport
• The flat farmlands of the Midwest prairie 

It's been a summer of planes, (metro)trains, and automobiles...not to mention ferries, boats, bikes, funiculars, foot traffic, Ubers, and pool floaties. I've been fortunate to have a teacher "summer off" of a variety of long and short trips, getting the opportunity to see a lot of unique sights and eat some amazing food along the way. I also got to try out my fr'anglais in Canada--which even after 4.5 years of high school and college French, it was not pretty. 

I'm finding in my reflection that my summer travel souvenirs tie in both with the richness of our trip to Spain over spring break and my recent read: Rick Steves' book Travel as a Political Act. The benefits from travel go on and on: it gets you out of your comfort zone, allows for greater understanding of the world, provides opportunities to interact with locals and embrace different cultures, changes your perspective, challenges preconceived ideas, gets you out of your routine, and gives you new insights to yourself while you see all these places out of the ordinary. I especially love that it shows you how many people and how many unique places are out there in this great big world. Feeling small on a big planet every now and then is a very good thing. 

There's still some summer ahead. Likewise, fall, winter, and spring. The beauty of travel is that it isn't season specific, and there's no time limit. Where it's out in nature or a version of (what I call) "urban hiking," you can go near or far, be extravagent or go on the cheap, and experience something new. Go find somewhere new to explore!

Images from https://www.adventureinyou.com/travel-inspiration/best-travel-quotes/ and my own camera compiled at https://www.canva.com/design/DAGuwRFlXdk/spkLrRbLBRagSQIXgO4mNw/view

Coral In Crisis

Right now, coral reefs across the globe are undergoing the most severe bleaching event in recorded history. Warming oceans are to blame for pushing our already fragile corals to their limits. As the warming occurs, so does the bleaching: a loss of color, life, and balance to our ecosystems. 

Here are three tools to build your toolkit to help you learn more about coral in crisis:

1. Real-Time Coral Bleaching Tools

You don’t need to be a marine biologist to witness what’s happening. Use these free, open-source platforms to explore reef health and bleaching alerts across the planet. By zooming in and tracing lines on these mapping tools, you can explore the reefs to get a bigger picture on what is happening with coral communities.

• Allen Coral Atlas--this website tracks real-time satellite data on bleaching risk, reef habitat, and human stressors.

• NOAA Coral Reef Watch--this website shows weekly heat stress maps, temperature anomalies, and historical comparisons.

Want to take your coral curiosity further? Become a Citizen Scientist by using one of the following platforms to contribute live data:

• Reef Check – Participate in global reef monitoring efforts.

• iNaturalist – Record marine species sightings, tag reef health, and connect with a global community of observers.

• Marine Debris Tracker – Document plastic waste near coastal and reef areas.

2. Read Up on the Topic

Here are some good articles to show the concern, brought about by climate change.

• NBC News' article: 84% of the World’s Coral Reefs Hit by Worst Bleaching Event on Record
  
• The Guardian's article: ‘Catastrophic’: Great Barrier Reef hit by its most widespread coral bleaching, study finds
• Scientific American's article: Coral Crisis: Great Barrier Reef Bleaching Is "The Worst We've Ever Seen"

3. Play Coral Reef Jeopardy

Gamify your knowledge base with this coral-oriented Jeopardy-style game on Factile.com to learn more.

To go to a larger screen version, click here.

Explore more at Playfactile.
Jeopardy-style game, created by me at factile.com: https://www.playfactile.com/jeopardy-game/mcce2bax7w, Image from https://ejfoundation.org/news-media/corals-and-communities-ejf-report-highlights-devastating-impacts-of-climate-crisis-on-reefs

Easy Actions You Can Do To Tend Our Planet

"What can one person do?"

An environmental question for the ages. If you find yourself asking these same questions, here's a compilation I created from the visuals I found on 1 Million Women's Facebook page. Just as titled, they are "10 easy actions you can do to look after the planet this week." Click through to see all the slides.

Easy to do, and necessary to share. 

As you are going into the week ahead, which of the 10 can you do? 

1. Be a flexitarian 
2. Rethink your modes of transportation
3. Chill out your laundry
4. Go LED
5. Take action with your local/national leaders
6. Shop & use less
7. Eat why you buy--fridge-wise
8. Push away plastic
9. Eco-invest when it comes to your banking
10. Come up with your own solutions and share!

10 Easy Actions You Can Do to Look After the Planet this Week by Vicki Dabrowka--Slideshow created on Canva.com using the visual slides created using the social media visuals from the“1 Million Women” Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/1MillionWomen/posts/pfbid01T91VUhM715k5WQswHhVHJ7XawfKgSoUdeUZCiJiSXVjEuokxD1G2MEZwApiBfu1l

Wonderful Ways to Embrace the Summer

The heat and humidity are here, and we are knee deep in the middle of summer. I've already mentioned how this is my time to rebalance my equilibrium. I landed on the amazing Facebook page of Ordinary & Happy, where they have created a lot of lists on a myriad of subjects. I found my favorite 10 of their nature-minded, summer-centric, outdoors-oriented lists. These will help anyone who is starting to get into a summer rut by helping you figure out creative ways to beat the heat and embrace the outdoors, living in the moment with the chunk of summer we have left. I interspersed the lists with some classic summer imagry to give digital viewers a little eco-meditation between lists. How many creative ways can you still get outdoors these last 2 months of summer.

Wonderful Ways to Get Outside this Summer by Vicki Dabrowka

Images created at Canva.com, using Canva images and Ordinary & Happy's Facebook pages https://www.facebook.com/ordinaryandhappy Presentation link: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGrdlXbb1A/ubmcu_vGl5V24clXE88-mg/view?utm_content=DAGrdlXbb1A&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hb8637527c4

Plastic Free July

Stop. 🛑 

Set a timer for 60 seconds. 

Watch that minute count down. 

In that minute (not to mention every other minute), the equivalent of one garbage truck full of plastic finds its way into the ocean. With 525,600 minutes in a year, that amounts to over 8 million TONS of plastic pollution created each year. 

But that's just what ends up in our waterways. Compare that to the approximately 400 million metric tons of plastic humans globally produce each year. And of that, 91% is often still not recycled--hard to believe when recycling has been "a thing" for decades. 

Not to mention, a majority of this is single use plastic--used once, then tossed. 

We need to be "once bitten, twice shy" instead! And July is a great time to flip this script. Plastic Free July is the perfect time to ditch disposables, rethink packaging, and demonstrate that "plastic is not fantastic." 

Small behavior shifts can make a a difference in our consumption, our landfills, & our values. 

Grab your stainless steel straw, your reusable tumbler, your tote bag of tote bags to make moves to step away from plastic.

Here's an oldie but goodie--It's not me, it's you:

Places to check out:

• Plastic Free July's website:
• To learn, go to their Ideas & solutions 
• For inspiration from others, check out their What Others Do page
• Take their Plastic Free pledge where you can get inspired by their visual gallery of pledge cards
• The Story of Stuff's "Fight Plastic Pollution" page
• Plastic Bank's Facebook page

Videos from https://youtu.be/ByayHG5CscE?si=0WkLH0_YXsmmRhHA and https://youtu.be/-DEc16dEMns?si=SIOjks5X-RLzQHk1, images from https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/resources/assets/ and https://123timer.com/60-second

Independence Day & The Declaration of Interdependence

The summer is clipping along and the 4th of July is here. Our nation's birthday. Next year on this date, it will be our country's 250th anniversary of our country's birth.

Where are you on your Civics education? When was the last time you read the Declaration of Independence, written July 4, 1776? If it's been awhile, you can read it here at the National Archives. 

The 4th of July brings with it all the celebration of a national holiday and a day off of work: parades, pools, barbeques, and fireworks. Bigger than that though, it brings with it the ideas central to our nation: freedom, autonomy, self-determination. 

But, in a world growing more complex by the year with digital advancements, AI, social media, innovation, technological growth, environmental issues, climate change, and more--perhaps we're also on the cusp of needing more. Yes, we're celebrating our independence, but maybe there's also a need to celebrate our interdependence. Ways that we are all connected to each other and our planet, requiring not only life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but perhaps also an approach and vision toward shared responsibility. 

In doing so, we take note on how local actions ripple outwardly to our global community. How our stewardship of the Earth is tied not only to our greater purpose but also our greater connection. A vision toward sustainability and how caring for our shared home will impact everyone with the cleanliness of the water, air, the soil that grows our food, and the energy that powers this planet of ours. 

Knowing and understanding this interdependence is what environmental literacy is all about. 

Maybe this holiday as we are thinking about flags, fireworks, and freedom, maybe its time to think about freedom not about standing alone, but standing together. Maybe its worth create your own Declaration of Interdependence by filling in the blanks below, in the style of the Declaration of Independence's Preamble:

Creating a Personal Declaration of Interdependence by Vicki Dabrowka at Canva.com using Canva Code; Top image created in canva.com

The Environmental Cost of AI

I have been embracing AI and trying out a multitude of platforms: ChatGPT, Microsoft CoPilot, Claude, Google Gemini, Canva's "Magic Media Tools," and more. Increasingly, AI is integrated into existing platforms for teachers, students, everyone. I've used it for planning a trip to Spain, for the scrapbook commentary of my pics from that trip, for recipes, for lesson planning, for photo creation, for revising & summarizing, and  on and on more. Additionally, I'm planning a one-day teacher professional development workshop for one day this summer--so I've been living in it a lot!

Along my research travels, I ran across this infographic from Educators Technology that Med Kharbach, PhD. It describes the environmental impacts of AI. With us all on our computers all the time, we don't think that one more website might have as big of an impact as it does. But clearly, as it shows below, it's not just the website. There's the energy consumptions, carbon footprint, mineral mining & resource depletion, multiple levels of pollution, and transporation costs. It's a lot to consider here while technology's innovation solves many of our problems, it also creates new ones too... all of which highlights the importance of addressing environmental issues and making it a planetary priority!

Images from https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1092111519614816&set=a.558590699633570

Pride Month: Out In the Wild

June. Pride Month. A time to honor our right to joy, resilience, and a reminder

that we all have the right to be free and to be our own personal selves. 

Nothing in nature asks for permission to grow--nor should we feel like

we have to ask for similar permission.

 

Pride month is a month of identity. It's biodiversity in human form. It's a good time to grapple with deeper questions like: Who gets to feel safe? Who gets to be seen? Who gets to belong? The answer is--we all deserve that right. 

The waving rainbow flags are pretty and the parades and events can be entertaining. But more importantly, they are empowering. Just as the planet needs biodiversity to thrive, so do we as humans. There's no thriving in nature on sameness. We need the richness of diversity to keep our food webs and habitats healthy; in doing so, we keep our plants and animal species from becoming endangered or extinct. Our wild variety is what maintains our environmental resilience. Our communities and cultures, like our ecosystems, are the healthiest and most vibrant when varied and diverse. Skin colors, sexual/gender orientations, religious beliefs, and all the differences in between. 

Nature seemingly is neutral--and yet, that isn't always the reality. Politics have creeped into environmental issues in more ways than one--and with the onset of social media, there's certainly way too much politics.

Additionally, the outdoor world isn't as gender-non-specific as you'd imagine. A lot of the outdoor industry is geared to straight, white males. That can make it hard for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) folks to feel comfortable out in nature. Instead, they can feel more "outsiders" than "out in nature-ers." Outdoor spaces may not always feel safe--both physically and as a place to feel emotionally safe to be out and openly queer. Hate crimes are real, and sadly, LGBTQ+ people are at a higher risk of being victims of these.  People not only deserve safe places, but they want and need to feel included, represented, and like they are a part of a community of like-minded individuals...where they are surrounded by connection versus limitations, segregation, or exclusion.

Along those lines, representation and seeing yourself in certain circumstances matter. People matter. Everyone's uniqueness matters. The right to feel comfortable in spaces where you want to be...they matter. Everyone is entitled to the right to be comfortable in their own skin, living a life that works for them, being treated with kindness and respected for who they are. Outdoors or environmental education affinity groups can help to build a more inclusive outdoors, as can the knowledge, the acceptance, and the intersection of LGBTQ+ pride along with racial or environmental justice and outdoor recreation too.

There’s a growing field of study known as Queer Ecology.  Queer Ecology counters the assumption that nature is rigid or binary. There's a lot of fluidity out there in nature: species that change sex (clownfish and slipper limpets) and same-sex partner paired animals (penguins, bonobos monkeys), and male-birthing seahorses. Imagine if we had that level of openness in our human species and greater communities.

So maybe for the remainder of this Pride Month, now that schools are out and kids, teens, and grown-ups alike are all out and about, playing outside more than before, we can celebrate not only the healthiness of nature's biodiveristy but that of our human kind too. Inviting anyone to climb trees, hike trails, and find their space and place in nature, in a safe way, in a welcoming way, in an everyday way!

For more resources that embrace the intersection of pride, planet, environmental & social justice, check out the following:

• National Forest Foundations' article: These LGBTQIA+ Leaders are Creating Space for Pride Outdoors

• Sierra Club's article:  Out, Proud, & Outdoors: 5 Organizations that Help Members of the Queer Community Experience the Outdoors 

• Pride Outside's resource page: Organizations and Initiatives Connecting the LGBTQ Community and the Outdoors

• National Park Foundation's article: Finding Pride Outside: The LGBTQ Community is Overcoming Barriers, Finding Joy, Sharing History, and Creating Space Outdoors

• Children & Nature's Celebrating Pride Month (which includes links to many resources, organizations, and inspirational stories)

• Muddy Paddle Club's post: Why We Need Pride in Outdoor Learning

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Postscript:

This Pride Month post was already in the works when this past Wednesday's decision came out that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is closing the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program, effective July 17, 2025 (30 days after the announcement).

Timing, as they say, is always everything.

Given this, please take note if you or a loved one need these of a crisis lifeline service, the Trevor Project is here for you. The Trevor Project provides advocacy, affirmation, eduation, and crisis support 24/7 for LGBTQ+ youth. Crisis services include:  

• Lifeline—The only national 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention lifeline for LGBTQ+ young people under age 25, available at 1-866-488-7386.

• Chat—A 24/7 free instant messaging service for LGBTQ+ youth that provides live help from trained counselors, open daily.

• Text—A 24/7 free service through which LGBTQ+ young people can text a trained counselor of The Trevor Project for support and crisis intervention, available daily by texting START to 678678.

• To learn more, go to the Trevor Project's website.

"Biodiversity" image from https://www.muddypuddleclub.co.uk/post/why-we-need-pride-in-outdoor-learning; "Our Minds Matter" from https://ourmindsmatter.org/2022/05/31/lgbtq-minds-matter/, "It's Pride Month" image from https://www.nathab.com/blog/wild-about-pride-the-nature-of-belonging; Trevor Project logo from https://www.thetrevorproject.org/; Pride Month quote picture created at www.canva.com using their Magic Media tools

The Invisible Rights That Hold Us: Flag Day 2025

Today is Flag Day, 2025. There's a lot of fanfare going on in and around Washington, D.C. today to honor that and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. All of which has caused me to reflect on our the flag and the heart of some of our founding American documents:

❤️ Our 1776 Declaration of Independence and it's powerful theme: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 

🤍 Our 1777 adoption of the flag and how Flag Day was first formalized in 1916 by President Wilson then officially recognized by Congress in 1949 as an annual day of honor and celebration.

💙 Our Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791, naming the first 10 Constitutional Amendments and our fundamental freedoms worth fighting for: free speech, religion, due process, right to assemble, and more.

Embedded in all of this is the knowledge there are other freedoms that aren't printed in these doctrines, but they are equally important. Ones with environmental impact, ones without which we cannot live. Maybe they aren't etched in marble or housed in the National Archives, but they are necessary. Quieter, simpler, maybe softer, silent, and invisible. Yet, they are vital and hold us all the same.

Click through the slides below to see the 10 Invisible Rights That Hold Us (and that we should hold dear):

“The Invisible Rights That Hold Us” by Dabrowka, Ms. Vicki

So this Flag Day, while the flags are raised for our country--a country with a long, layered history based on principles, resilience, strength, and democracy while also flawed and imperfect--let’s raise our awareness too of these other rights. These invisible rights. Let's protect them, and in doing so protect each other. 

Sometimes that comes quietly in observation, and sometimes we need to speak up when it counts. Here are three places that can help you do that:

• Learn how environmental law protects invisible rights at Earthjustice.
• Explore how enviornmental rights & human dignity are intertwined at The Center for Human Rights and the Environment.
• See how businesses are rethinking their impact in protecting our shared future via climate action at We Mean Business Coalition.

Images created at canva.com.

Ahhhh, Summer! The Glory Days for Teachers!

I don't think I can fully put into words what it means to be a teacher who reaches summer vacation. No matter how much we love our job, summer is a sublime respite. 

By the time we get there, there's total truth to the statement: "There's no tired like end-of-the-year-teacher tired." 

This year, my school did a total box-up, prepping for the next school year in portables (aka: "educational cottages") as our school undergoes a major rebuilding project. So it takes the above statement to a new level: "There's no tired like end-of the year-teacher tired topped with packing an entire elementary school." The movers started in earnest, carrying away boxes and furniture the day after school got out this week. It's going to be a multi-day event! My room was already packed, so I was helping others with fully-packed rooms of instruments, art supplies, and science equipment. There's a lot of stuff in schools, that's for sure!

So as I'm sitting at the cusp of summer, with the glory of summer days, down time, pool fun, day trips, personal projects, and more ahead... I know a large part of summer for me (in addition to relaxation and recalibration) is also free exploration and time to soak in what I want to learn. I have my books I want to read (because "reading season is here"), but I also have websites and podcasts to explore. Maybe this is because my profession is me: I'm a teacher and a lifelong learner. The two go hand in hand.

One of my first stops is going to be a recent Facebook page/website discovery I've made: Educators Technology. (He's on all the other socials too--check out his About page.) In addition to the topic being the core of my being, Educators Technology has a wealth of resources, graphics, articles, and more to ponder, investigate, and dive into. It's a blog that was started in 2010 by Canadian educator Med Kharbach, PhD, and now 15 years later is highly acclaimed, referenced, and followed by K-12 educators. His simple yet detailed infographics drew me in from his Facebook page. 

Here are some great resources for my educator friends out there from Educators Technology. (If necessary, click images for clearer versions). Best part--learning happens on our schedule. Maybe at the pool, possibly the beach with sand between our toes, or between naptime and cocktail hour!  Cheers!

Intro image from https://www.secondaryenglishcoffeeshop.com/2017/06/schools-out-for-summer-teacher-challenge.html

Infographic images from https://www.facebook.com/Edtechandmobilelearning?_rdc=1&_rdr

Reading Season Is Here

Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, college kids are home, graduations caps & gowns have been donned, and many of us just have a couple of days of school left--or are completely done!

Summer is here! Longer days of sun, pool-beach-boat plans abound.... and life starts slowing down as June, July, and August heatwaves head our way. Sounds like reading season to me!

I read all kinds of books: mysteries, romance, coming of age tales, non-fiction, work-related reads, chick-lit, biographies, young adults/kids books, and more. This past year, I've become a big fan of audio books, especially when driving about the world or doing laundry. It makes for the perfect escape and travel mate!

If you are a bibliophile like me, you might be looking for a few good books for your lazy, hazy days of summer ahead. 

Here are 8 booklists where you can find over 120 books to inspire your eco-reading this season:

• Doing Good Together's Picture Books to Inspire Environmental Justice Seekers

• Doing Good Together's Chapter Books That Inspire Kids to Heal the Earth

• EcoLit's Books: The Best Environmental Books We’ve Read in 2024

• The Revelator's 20 Books to Inspire You in the Year Ahead 

• Earthwatch's 23 Must-Read Science Books About the Environment

• Piqosity's Environmental Literature for Earth Day--divided by genre

• Penguin Random House's Environmental Science Books--divided by topic

• Climate Action's Booklist--divided by reading levels

Images created at Canva.com

Black Birder Week 2025: May 25--May 31

It might seem odd that "Black Birders Week" 

is "a thing."  It is. 

It is an annual even that takes place the last week of May, this year on May 25--May 31st. The first was in 2020--a year we may all remember as being under the cloud of Covid. 2020 was also the year of the murder of George Floyd, which was perhaps watched by many more than perhaps would have seen it because of the pandemic quarantine and so many at home due to the lock down for health reasons. Additionally, this is the year that Christian Cooper, a black man in Central Park, New York City was out watching birds yet was falsely accused of racial discrimination and threatening a woman and her dog. 

It brought about an awareness of the issue that Black people can often face safety issues when out in the field in STEM professions. One wouldn't think that environmentalism would fall on racial lines, as nature and the environment are there for everyone to enjoy and celebrate ... however there are surprising number of social justice issues related to environmentalism. Representation matters, and historically black environmentalists have been underrepresented in outdoor spaces

So began the concept of Black Birders Week, created by TheBlackAFinSTEM Collective and supported by the Audubon Society, the NYC Bird Alliance, and the Feminist Bird Club (started in 2016 for similar representation reasons).

The mission:

"to support, uplift, amplify Black Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics professionals in natural resources and the environment through professional development, career connection, and community engagement."

This year's theme is "Grounded in Community."

To learn more, check out these resources:

• Black AF in STEM's Black Birder Week page
  
• Connor Prairie's Black Birder Week page
• NYC Bird Alliance's Black Birder Week page

Images from https://rtipress.scholasticahq.com/article/125415 and https://www.blackafinstem.com/

Yay or Nay to "No Mow May"?

I’m sitting outside, observing nature, weekend chillaxing, and pondering my words—not an unusual approach to my weekends here at this time of year. Especially as out school days are dwindling. It’s sort of my outdoor office. 

As I gander about at the flowers my green thumb husband has planted to beautify our yard, I’m noticing the heavy doses of rain from the week have made our grass shoot up. It’s time to mow…but it isn’t happening today.

All of which brought to mind the concept of “No Mow May” since we are still here in the middle of that month.

To mow or not to mow…that is the question. And a rather controversial one at that, I’ve come to discover. 

The benefits are striking. By skipping mowing, you …

• Allow your lawn to flourish with wildflowers (preferably native) to provide safe comfort and nectar for pollinating bees and butterflies.

• Promote biodiversity by creating a yard habitat for a variety of wildlife.

• Improve your soil health by letting your grass grow longer, which in turn aids in water retention. 

• Save your own time and effort by letting your lawn go “au naturel.”

• Reduce pollution by leaving your lawn mower in your garage.

• Can create a healthier, more resilient lawn that is more drought resistant.

But the downsides are also numerous:

• If not tended properly, you can inadvertently create an unwelcome pests: ticks, mosquitoes, and rodents, to name a few.

• You grow more weeds than grass or maybe some invasive species take root, which then takes up an unruly life of its own, overtaking the “good grass.”

• You may even get some unwanted tree seed growth that blow your way in the wind. Woody plants over time are harder to get rid of than weeds (should you change your mind later on with the no-mow business).

• Some home owner associations and local municipalities get a little grumbly over the overgrowth. Might be worth checking you HOA rules and bylaws, which might come with fines.

• Long grass gets heavy over time and the blissful meadow you were hoping for may come to look like a neighborhood eyesore and a no-mowed abandoned lot instead. (see HOA above!)

The short term benefits may not be worth the long term costs—to you, your home aesthetics, and the road back to a healthy lawn. So before you make the decision to finish off May in a no-mow-kind-of-way… or if you are pondering jumping on the band wagon for next year, it’s worth doing your research. 

Maybe creating a native plants garden patch in your yard is the best way to get maximum benefits with minimal side effects.!

These are good places to go to learn more:

• Niall Garden's YouTube Video: "No Mow: Yes or No? | Everything You Need to Know! | No Mow May"
• AP New's "No Mow May? Good intentions, bad approach, critics say"  by Jessica Damiano (May 2023)
• Monarch Gardens LLC's "Just Say No to No Mow May" (April 2023)
• Greenwise Team's "No Mow May: Pros & Cons of This Pollinator Movement" (April 2022)
• Rewinding.com's "The Surprising Downside of #NoMowMay" by Sheila Colla (May 2022)

Image from https://wildsight.ca/events/no-mow-may/ and my backyard, grass level

Happy Mother's Day 2025

This weekend is Mother's Day. It got me thinking about all sorts of motherhood as I sat outside watching springtime in action, with birds & squirrels frolicking amidst our flowers in bloom. Just as mothers tend their children, the earth tends us all. 

May all who tend each other out there (including you, Mother Earth), have a glorious Mother's Day weekend ahead.

To the human mother, rocking her child in the wee small hours, tending to knees and needs, always taking care of thankless deeds....

To the animal mother, shielding her young, whether furred or winged, sheltering the den, fiercely protective & guarding them time and again....

To Mother Earth herself, cradler of forests, keeper of ocean currents, arms wide to the sky where birds soar and fly high....

Thank you for your gift of giving, your love of living, your shelter, warmth, protection, guidance, and endless strength you share.

It is through your raising--whether by heart, hands, paws, wings, rain, sunshine, breath--that we are fed,  taught, and shown the path to grow, to heal, to take root, and to soar.

Today, we honor mothers of all kinds—

whether they gave birth to us or shared their hearts in other countless ways,

those who nourished us through laughter and tears, throughout the years, through shared wisdom, gentle encouragement, and unwavering patience,

Never asking for more than our the gift of carrying their care forward, out into the world.

Happy Mother's Day!

Image created using Magic Media tools of Canva.com

Hummingbird Are Heading Back

'Tis the season for hummingbird spring migration. The further south you are, your hummingbirds may already be back. This map and Accuweather's article "Hummingbird Migration Underway in the US: Here's When They'll Reach Your Garden" will help you know when you need to get your feeder out in your own backyard!

Image from  https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/hummingbird-migration-underway-in-the-us-heres-when-theyll-reach-your-garden/1753177#google_vignette

Science Resources for Everyone

Here in the days following Earth Day, as we are starting the roll to the end of the school year, you may still have science on the mind. What a great way to fill the end of the year timeline with some hands-on online student STEM/STEAM activities.

Here are some great science websites to check out:

• Smithsonian Science Education Game Center -- Here you'll find 12 STEM online games and 8 online simulations, all with grade level listings (ranging from Kindergarten to grade 8) with learning objectives & written by curriculum experts.

• Common Sense Media's Resources for Student Science Projects and Experiments -- These 23 online websites & apps lead to grade-level-listed tools where students can put their observation, analysis, data, and research skills to use in a fun way while investing the real world. Each site comes with a full review from Common Sense Media.

• PBS Learning Media: Videos, IInteractives, & Lessons Plans -- Free resources to "bring the world to your classroom" on subjects such as science, social studies, math, language arts, engineering & technology, health & PE, preschool, professional development, and world languages, sortable by grade level bands
  

Image created at Canva.com

Earth Day 2025 Resources

Earth Day is around the corner: Tuesday, April 22nd. 

Here are some ready resources for you...

• EarthDay.org is always has a wealth of information. In addition to a variety of resources, you can also find Earth Day activities taken around the world, ways to take action, Earth Day statements and imagery to add to your social media, lesson plans, quizzes-toolkits-fact sheets, on the Earth Hub, and more.

• Common Sense Media's "Free Activities for Earth Day and Learning About the Environment" has over 45 links to grade-level activities to investigate by yourself or with students.

• Common Sense Media also has a curated list of 27 climate education tools on their "Climate Change Resources for Students and Teachers"

• Columbia Climate School (from NYC's Columbia University) has a wealth of K-12 lesson plans & resources for teachers. Lots of good stuff here and on their whole website.

• Pick up the book Climate Champions: 15 Women Fighting for Your Future by Rachel Sarah. Written for young adult readers, even adults will learn a lot by these inspiring women. The book is divided into 3 categories: "Challenge the System,""Hold Fast to Science," and "Take a Stand for Justice." One of my favorite environmentalists, Katharine Hayhoe, is Chapter 6! 

• Check out PBS's Carmen's Eco-Farm Adventure interactive for 6th through 12th graders.

• Boom Learning's article entitled Activities That Inspire Environmental Stewardship has some great ideas and activities while also good reasons to start environmental stewardship while kids are young.

• For other resources, be sure to check out Earth Day archives here at Green Team Gazette.

Image from https://earthday.columbia.edu/

Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle: 3 Decades of Teaching Materials Go In the Bin

It's Earth Month, so what better time to get your declutter on and go knee-deep-in reducing, reusing, and recycling!

I recently spent about 11 hours over the course of a weeekend doing just that--tho maybe more like neck-high-in! 

My mission: to purge two 4-drawer file cabinets and a dozen tubs and boxes in my garage. Lighten up and make space. 

The contents: 30+ years of teaching materials. 

Having been a teacher since the fall of 1991 (with the exception of one year between schools where I was moving, pregnant, and having my first child), I've accumulated and created a lot of materials over the years. The majority of my career has been in homeroom classrooms in about 6 different elementary schools. Ten of the last 11 years, the majority of these teacher materials have been living in my garage--untouched as I moved from teaching 3rd grade (or 2nd... or Kindergarten... or 5th grade) to teaching Technology. 

In this day and age, files are definitely more digital than anything, and it was time to "let go." No, not retiring yet, but my garage certainly was getting out of hand--just ask my husband! Plus I was settling on the answer of "no" to these questions: "Would I want to go back to a regular homeroom classroom? Would I ever use all of this again, even if I did?"

11 hours of purging about 33 years of materials gives you a lot of time to trip down memory lane. Upon pulling open the first file drawer, I had a pang. Did I really want to do this? I was thinking about the blood, sweat, toil, tears, and lamination/creation time I was about to get rid of. Yes, I'm doing this. It's time to reduce, reuse (via donation), and recycle!

7 garbage bags, 2 filled large yard lidded-recycle bins, at least a dozen bags and boxes of paper stacks of files to recycle, 20 or more dead binders that housed teaching units, and a half a dozen boxes of books to donate, I was in a lighter place. 

Yes--I got to see windows into each and every school I have taught. 

Yes--there's a lot of money that I have put into my teaching career. 

The biggest yes--there's a lot of irony in recycling binders of environment and green school lesson plans a couple weeks before Earth Day. The "circularity" was striking, though maybe not picture perfect when describing the circular economy of true sustainability. But I did mentally hear the "Circle of Life" song from the Lion King going through my mind.

But, also yes--all of this served me at its time. It was there when I needed it. It all helped mold me into the teacher I am today. 

And yes--some of the items (ditto copied resources and even transparency overlays from my early days in mid-1990s teaching) should have already been long gone. Maybe, just maybe, I've been an organized hoarder--or at least compiler of teaching materials. I was "curating" long before Pinterest even thought of it. Mine was just the file cabinet version.

The true moment of circularity for me came when my mission was completed and I realized there were far too many materials to put all out at the curb. Boxes of paper won't weather well when setting them out the night before an early trash/recycling pick up the next day. Given that, I loaded my dozen boxes into the back of the car and trekked to the local recycling center. Up and over the ledge into their bin all the boxes went.

A neat field trip we once took at the Maryland Green School I used to work at was to the local landfill and recycling center. I definitely flashed back as my files when floating in the bin. 

Yes, full circle. 

Graphic from https://www.pactcollective.org/pactresources/circularity, other images from my camera.

Happy 91st Birthday, Dr. Jane Goodall

This past Thursday was Dr. Jane Goodall's 91st birthday. Born April 3, 1934, she is still going strong, living a long, remarkable life! Thinking about her timeline, imagine all that she has lived through in terms of innovation & inventions, world events, social changes, and more. Then, there's her own amazing career as a primatologist, author, speaker, and planetary giver-of-hope. She is an extraordinary woman. I feel lucky to have seen her speak in person. (April 4th, 2008, in fact--the day after her 74th birthday.)

I've written about Jane Goodall several times here at GTG (check out the list below). Given that, it should be no surprise my level of reverence to her as an eco-rockstar. Celebrating her birthday and accomplishments seems like the perfect way to start off the month we celebrate Earth Day! We need to honor and thank champions, and Dr. Jane Goodall is a great place to start! I hope she's having an amazing birthday weekend!

• Happy 80th Bday Jane Goodall!! April 4, 2014
• The Love of Books... And Jane Goodall, August 15, 2014
• Jimmy & Jane (Fallon & Goodall, That is!), Sept 23, 2017
• 60 Seconds with Jane Goodall, May 16, 2020
• A Trio of Messengers of Hope, Feb 9, 2022
• Jane Goodall's 90th Birthday--Environmental Champion, April 17, 2024

Images from : https://bayweekly.com/old-site/year08/issuexvi15/burtonxvi15.html and Eco With Em's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ecowithem/posts/pfbid02xs9W9DuKusEFd69iFbg4jppm66FZGzHKRK3RiXziypR42Z8qns2Jbu4Vt2dH3Rbdl