Expanding the classroom into the out of doors
The Mission of the
Outdoor Environmental Education Program is to
inspire a child's sense of wonder for the natural
world and enhance classroom concepts through
discovery learning.
"Children's natural curiosity leads them to explore the natural world. They should be provided opportunities to have direct experience with common objects, materials and living things in their environments...Experiences should provide students with opportunities to interact as directly as possible with the natural world..."
- The New York State Science Core Curriculum
Every day here on Long Island, teachers and school children are exploring the natural world around them through authentic discovery learning experiences.
The Outdoor Environmental Education Program utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to study our natural world and so promote effective and efficient learning. By employing direct observation and hands-on learning experiences, both in and out of the classroom, the OEEP supports and enhances the existing school curricula. The great diversity of on-site and field programs we provide, from marine science to Pine Barrens investigations, from language arts to math, creates powerful curriculum choices for school districts.
Recent large scale studies (see the Why Environmental Education? page) have demonstrated the remarkable benefits to be gained from environmental education. Through exciting inquiry and field science activities and teacher training and support, the Outdoor Environmental Education Program is available to strengthen and enhance the learning objectives of Long Island schools.
The program helps districts by:
- providing engaging lessons and activities that directly support the NYS Core Curricula for Science.
- integrating environmental concepts into the instruction of language arts, math, social studies, science and the arts.
- providing students with exciting, first-hand, interactive experiences with nature.
- utilizing natural resources in interdisciplinary projects where students observe, hypothesize, experiment, collect, analyze and interpret data, and draw conclusions.
- providing teachers with in-service training, curriculum development and mapping and ongoing instructional support.
All school districts participating in the Outdoor Environmental Education Program are eligible for BOCES Aid.
Paula Klingelhoefer
Executive Director
Division of Instructional Support Services
631-595-6815 or pklingel@wsboces.org
For more information and a fee schedule please contact the administrative staff:
Douglas Schmid
Program Administrator
631-360-3652 or dschmid@wsboces.org
Peggy Unger
Enrichment Excursion Coordinator
631-360-3652 or punger@wsboces.org
The Western Suffolk BOCES website can be found at
www.wsboces.org