Rethink how you teach about humans and the natural world

[VanWyhe, Libby]

Hi SOREEL,

 

I wanted to share an upcoming virtual professional development opportunity happening Wednesday, April 15.

 

This session explores how language, framing, and facilitation shape what students notice and understand about their relationship to people, place, and living systems. Participants will revise a familiar activity and leave with practical strategies they can use right away, whether at outdoor school or right outside the classroom.

 

Registration information is below. Feel free to share with others who might be interested!

 

From: Outdoor School Program (OSU Extension Service) <outdoo...@email.oregonstate.edu>
Date: Thursday, April 2, 2026 at 8:01 AM
To: Rodgers, Lauren <lauren....@oregonstate.edu>
Subject: Rethink how you teach about humans and the natural world

View as a webpage     Photo by Crystal Nichols.   Hello, Lauren. With the rise in technology and complex social and ecological issues, engagement and relationship with the natural world has never been more important for students. In our upcoming professional development opportunity, we hope to explore the question, “What are your outdoor lessons teaching students about their relationship to the world around them?” Even well-designed activities can unintentionally send messages— about whether humans are part of ecosystems or separate from them, whose stories matter, and what students are meant to notice.  In this interactive session, you will take a familiar outdoor activity and revise it so students experience themselves as part of the ecosystem. When students feel connected to place, they engage more deeply, think more critically, and see their actions have impact. During the virtual workshop, you will: Look at an activity through a new lens Notice what it communicates about people, place, and systems Collaborate to strengthen the lesson Leave with one concrete change you can use right away This session draws on ideas from the Learning in Places project and focuses on simple, meaningful shifts you can apply across outdoor learning settings. Learn more about Learning in Places. Register for the virtual workshop   Join us to reflect, collaborate and strengthen your practice, OSU Extension Service Outdoor School   Let's get students out there! 2591 SW Campus Way 325 Ballard Extension Hall Corvallis, OR 97331 541-737-4391     Oregon State University is located in the traditional territory of the Ampinefu, or Mary’s River band of the Kalapuya. After the Kalapuya Treaty (Treaty of Dayton) in 1855, Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to what are now the Grand Ronde and Siletz reservations, and are now members of Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.   OSU Extension Service prohibits discrimination in all its programs, services, activities, and materials. This publication will be made available in an accessible alternative format upon request. Please contact OSU Extension Service Outdoor School. Occasionally, you will receive communications from OSU Extension Service Outdoor School Program about events and programming. If you do not wish to receive these communications, you can unsubscribe.   © Copyright 2026 Oregon State University Extension Service. All rights reserved.