The Earth Partnership for School began in 1991 as an outgrowth of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum’s focus on ecological restoration as a way to establish a positive relationship between people and the land. This K-12 environmental education program provides teachers and students hands-on activities designed to construct and/or explore ecological planting projects on or near their school site. In 2006 a team led by IUPUI’s Center for Earth and Environmental Science engaged in an effort to bring the Earth Partnership Curriculum to Indiana. Empower Results was a key team member – contributing time and resources to convert Wisconsin’s supplemental materials into materials that were relevant to Indiana’s landscape, ecology, and natural history. The efforts culminated with the production and delivery of the curriculum to an initial core group of teachers from across the state at a Summer Institute workshop in 2007. Vision for the project included the establishment and improved use of outdoor laboratories, as well as the development of a terrestrial-based curriculum that can complement water quality based activities in the Project WET curriculum.

PROJECT TASKS

• Researched and compiled Indiana natural history references and materials for inclusion into the program
• Reviewed and recommended curriculum activities best suited to Indiana landscapes and ecology
• Coordinated curriculum elements with colleagues conducting state standards correlations for water education
• Collaborated on supplemental resource materials development for the program