The Eleventh Annual PA Science Leadership Dinner and Roundtable Disucssion
In conjunction with the National Science Teachers Convention

Event to be held at the Downtown Philadelphia Marriott – Grand Salon A/B
Wednesday, March 17, 2010  6:00PM-9:30 PM

You are invited to attend this informative evening of networking and discussion with science leaders and colleagues from across Pennsylvania and the nation.  It is an opportunity will allow you to discuss important issues facing schools and learn about the exciting things happening in Science education today.

 Our keynote speaker for the evening will be Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs.  Her topic:  Curriculum 21:  Upgrading Science Teaching and Learning 

Pennsylvania Science Leadership Dinner Information and Registration

PA CleanWays and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful are inviting all Pennsylvania schools and school districts to join in the exciting and renewed Pennsylvania Litter Free School Zone program.  Recently announced, PA CleanWays and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful have formally joined forces to promote illegal dump cleanups, anti-litter education, and beautification projects to make their work with local partners and volunteers more effective.  Litter Free School Zone

The Chesapeake Bay Program is happy to announce the launch of BayBackpack.com, an online resource for teachers and environmental educators to engage students in hands-on learning about the Chesapeake Bay and its local waterways. Bay Backpack provides educators with the necessary resources to give their students a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE), which are extensive projects that allow students to gain a deep understanding of environmental issues in the Chesapeake Bay and its local streams and rivers. To learn more about Bay Backpack, visit www.baybackpack.com . Interested educators can also follow Bay Backpack on Twitter @baybackpack to receive additional education-related news and resources.

In his landmark book Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv called the growing isolation of Americans from outdoor experience “nature-deficit disorder.” Louv's book explored how the destruction of natural landscapes by urban sprawl, community design that denies access to nature, and the explosion of electronic distractions are cutting contact with the natural world from American childhood.

In March 2007, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell convened a two-day conference to address these trends. This first-of-its-kind exchange on reconnecting Pennsylvanians with the outdoors assembled experts and organizations with various perspectives on the relationship between people and the outdoors. Leaders from conservation groups, government, business, health care, recreation, academic institutions, and local municipalities sought strategies to encourage meaningful contact with the natural world and physically active lifestyles.

Governor's Outdoor Task Force Report (PDF)