Sierra Nevada Journeys (SNJ)(Sv2.1)

Welcome to our New Staff!

Louisa — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:54:22 +0000

Sierra Nevada Journeys has been fortunate to have had the amazing help of AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteers through a partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service. These volunteers devote a year to serve this community as they build the capacity of our educational programs. They are integral to the continuous growth of the organization as a leading provider of experiential and outdoor science education in Northern Nevada. We are excited to introduce the newest members of our Sierra Nevada Journeys families.

Lauren Robinson, Education Projects Coordinator and AmeriCorps VISTA

Lauren is incredibly excited about serving her VISTA term with Sierra Nevada Journeys this year. She is a Reno/Tahoe local who has grown up enjoying the great outdoor opportunities such as water sports, skiing, horseback riding, hiking and anything else below sun or storm available in this fabulous community! She graduated in May 2009 with a dual degree in Elementary and Special Education and is passionate about students learning through science. She looks forward to a year of combining science education with the outdoors for students in her own community.

Kate Simmons, Development Coordinator and AmeriCorps VISTA

Kate recently graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Business. She was born in Truckee, CA, then moved to Pennsylvania for ten years, and then moved to Oregon. Her family has lived near Portland, Oregon for twelve years. Kate moved to Reno in August 2010 to join Sierra Nevada Journeys as an AmeriCorps VISTA. She is thrilled to be joining an organization that shares her passion for the outdoors, youth, and education. In her spare time, you will find Kate hiking around the Lake Tahoe area, taking in a good book, staring at large bodies of water, or exploring Reno!

Darcey Lewis, Lead AmeriCorps VISTA

We are very excited to have Darcey spend a second VISTA term with Sierra Nevada Journeys! As the Lead VISTA, Darcey will work to strengthen the connections between VISTA volunteers and their respective organizations through the Reno and Carson areas. Darcey spent this last year as the Community Outreach Coordinator creating volunteer programs, organizing community events, and developing and facilitating education programs. She is a recent graduate of UC Davis, and her intense passion for all things literary understandably led her to obtain her degree in English. She has lived in Davis, CA for most of her life, but has enjoyed living much closer to the Sierra Nevada’s.

To learn more about the AmeriCorps VISTA Program please visit www.americorps.gov.

Best of luck with the new school year!

Campers partake in care flight education!

snjadmin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:32:45 +0000

After team building and making friends the first couple of days of Camp, day three was packed full of outdoor activities and experiences.

Each Camper had signed up for their own specific pursuit for the day, this included kayaking and fishing on the Campus pond, scoring bulls eyes at the Archery range, nature Arts & Crafts and a giant game of ultimate Frisbee on the lawn.

Also during the afternoon we had a visit from “Care Flight” an emergency response helicopter. All campers where under close supervision as the helicopter touched down on the upper lawn and a presentation was made by the crew. Campers had the chance to check out the inside of the Helicopter before it took off again.

In the evening after dinner, everyone had the chance to make their own ice cream sundaes.

Under the beautiful Sierra Night sky campers headed back to either their cabins or teepees to dream about the day ahead.

Teepee Takeover!

snjadmin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:17:37 +0000

Session Four has started with some of the most beautiful weather of the summer! To change up the camp scene the boys have taken over the Teepees and the girls are located in the Blue Village!

After first day opening night hike, day two was spent building team spirit and making friends. During the day all campers spent much of the day working on group initiatives and the Challenge Course, working through the “Wall of Adventure”, zooming into the air on the “Flying Squirrel” and speeding through the tree tops on the “Zip Line”. All campers achieved their own personnel challenge goals for the day. Mathew aged 12 “Today was Awesome! It was all about conquering our fears, working together and feeling good about ourselves” Tonight will be shelter building and and counselors and campers will continue to work on building those relations.

snjadmin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:01:41 +0000

Man, was it hot at camp today! However, a slight breeze made the temperature bearable. Campers had a very eventful day with lots of activities and learning. The day was filled with hiking, identifying local plants and trees, along with archery, arts and crafts in the activity center, and a campfire once the sun went down. One game that was introduced to the campers is called Life and Death in the forest. Campers learn about the life cycle among animals, and how to identify the different types of “eaters”: carnivores, omnivores, herbivores, and producers/decomposers. Each camper starts as a carnivore, omnivore, or herbivore, and tries to survive while being chased by other campers. It resembles freeze tag, but with some much more educational components!

I caught my first fish!

Louisa — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 06:16:24 +0000

Today was one of the hottest days of the summer, but the breeze was amazing and the pond made the heat seem non-existent. Students were able to go fishing and kayaking in the pond today. For many students, it was their first time fishing and, for even more students, their first fish!

On the other hand, there were some students that challenged the weather and headed out on a hike through the campus forest to try and summit a local peak. Students reported the hike to be “awesomely awesome!”

To wrap-up the day students had a pizza dinner and the opportunity to relax and watch an evening movie. Ice Age was the choice and seemed to be a great complement to a rather warm day.

Summit camp session 3 is half-way through with already so many memories…don’t worry campers, there is still much more to come!

First Full Day of Session 3

snjadmin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:22:04 +0000

Today started off as the first full day of Session 3 of Summit Camp. Campers were yawning after a night hike exploration last night and had a huge breakfast waiting when they arrived at the dining hall at 8am. The day started off with kickball, and swimming. Campers learned about outdoor living skills where they took creek water and turned it into drinking water by making a fire and boiling it. Since it was so hot campers loved pouring water over the heads. The afternoon activities were kayaking, fishing, and making art out of clay in the activity center. Tonight campers look forward to making their own ice cream! What a full day of fun for Sierra Nevada Journeys Campers.

Professional Development “gets their hands dirty” and goes biking!

Louisa — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:47:18 +0000

Last week Sierra Nevada Journeys’ professional development staff got “their hands dirty” with science and did some biking while spreading scientific experiences and inspiration to a gaggle of our local educators! On Wednesday, a group joined us at our office for some VERY hands-on science. Everyone got messy doing tie-dyeing, making paper, and shooting rockets! We had a handful of younger attendees, as teachers were encouraged to bring their own children to participate. Lou Loftin was the guest facilitator, impressive as always with his knowledge and colorful personality and clothing! (CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES FROM LAST WEEK’S WORKSHOPS) With summer progressing and the weather just perfect, the outdoors beckoned and the Pedal Your Watershed workshop was undertaken outdoors and on bicycles. With the theme of cycles in nature, the day began at Oxbow Nature Study Park and a presentation of Project WILD activities by Jennifer Cassady. Bikes were mounted and the group ventured along the Truckee River, making occasional stops to study the water cycle by taking The Incredible Journey and doing some water testing; as well as learning about the geophysical history of the river and the Washoe Valley at Rock Park. Thank you to Jennifer, SNJ’s own Joanna Furgiuele, Lou Loftin, Lynell Garfield, and Melody Hefner for their terrific presentations. Thank you to Project WET and the Division of Environmental Protection and Project Learning Tree for sponsoring the curriculum guides for the day. Join us for the next round of our unique workshops in July (Ropes of Ecology! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO) and August (Kayak Your Watershed! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO) CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES FROM LAST WEEK’S WORKSHOPS

Full day of fun.

snjadmin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:01:01 +0000

Today the weather could not have been more beautiful at Grizzly Creek Ranch. Sun with a light refreshing breeze. In a learning session kids discussed where their food came from, and what why food was healthy. One boy told his friend “Do you know how much energy went into making that apple you are about to throw away?”. The boy decided to finish his apple after all, making the counselor’s smile at a simple gesture of positive peer influence. Campers went swimming, climbing, fishing, and kayaking. The pool was very cold, but did not stop campers from jumping in, playing around with pool toys, even attempting a game of water polo on tubes. The fishing was uneventful but hopeful campers cast their lines out anyways. Pictures are posted at the bottom of our website page or our flickr account for all interested parents! Campers had a full filling and eventful day, and even have fun night activities to keep them even more busy!!

Wow Factor: Summit Camp Update!

snjadmin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:19:04 +0000

Yesterday was a full day on the challenge course including a night program where we pretended we were lost and needed to spend the night outside. What are the basic needs that all living things need to survive? Campers were challenged to come up with basic survival answers that included water, food and shelter. Monday night consisted of finding water for hydration, apple trees for nutrition and shelter where students built forts and explored the forest. The morning breakfast crew presented the campers with hot chocolate and the world’s largest pancake! Three boys proceeded to finish off the pancake in order to get ready for a full day of kayaking, hiking, and archery. The outdoors provided an amazing environment for the campers to learn and explore: Campers could be heard proclaiming “WOW!! Come look at this!” which resulted in a stampede of students running around. The next question remains: what will we see tomorrow?!

Wrapping up Classrooms Unleashed

Louisa — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:43:20 +0000

Over 500 students experienced hands-on science learning in the classroom without walls this spring! Classes from Washoe, Carson, and Douglas Counties participated in a variety of field adventures including forest and desert ecology, animal adaptations, and water quality testing, both on foot and by snowshoe.

Field-based programs are exciting as they allow students to make connections between their in-class science lessons and the ecosystems right in the backyard. 4^th grade students from Roy Gomm Elementary School were able to take the lessons they learned through the “Walking Our Watershed” unit and experience their watershed with a trip to Pyramid Lake. Sierra Nevada Journeys instructors, Kristen Ashbaugh and Joanna Furgiuele, met students at Popcorn Rock directly across the lake from where the Truckee River empties into Pyramid. After quick introductions, students split into smaller groups and headed to the water’s edge where they worked to hypothesize whether or not the lake water is healthy. Real experimentation was conducted with water quality tests including pH and dissolved oxygen, and the results were then compared to the data from water sampling along the Truckee River earlier this spring. Students were thrilled to collect and study macro-invertebrates!

Our most recently completed program was a two-week long GATE program with students from Carson Middle School, Seeliger Elementary School, and Empire Elementary School in Carson City. Students met for about three and half hours in the early part of the day to partake in various team-challenges and hands-on activities that covered topics like the solar system and plate tectonics. This program was particularly exciting for the SNJ instructors who had the privilege of facilitating because the students were so passionate about learning and eager to share their knowledge with others. Instructors Kylie Rowe and Darcey Lewis later exclaimed, with much enthusiasm, that the GATE program was as much a learning experience for the two of them as it was for the students, who offered a plethora of knowledge on subjects ranging from the Big Bang Theory to the fish living in Pyramid Lake.

These outdoor experiences have a significant impact on students, and Sierra Nevada Journeys looks forward to hosting many more schools for snowshoeing and other outdoor learning days in the future. If you would like to schedule any field trips or in class lessons for the 2010-2011 academic year we are ready to put you on the calendar. Please contact Joanna Furgiuele, Outreach Manager, at 775-355-1688 or joanna@sierranevadajourneys.org. Have a fantastic summer!

First day of Summit Camp Session 2!

snjadmin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:30:08 +0000

Summit Camp Session 2 is off to a fantastic start….wooooo! The energy at Grizzly Creek Ranch couldn’t be more positive as the students are excited and jazzed on the new location. Many of the students are returning from years before and are excited for new activities that include teepees, archery, a ropes course, and a swimming pool. It is truly wonderful to see returning students after a full year, listen to their stories, see their excitement, and to meet all the new campers as well. The morning started off with camp songs, followed by a wholesome breakfast. This being their first full day, the entire camp is up on the challenge course learning to work together as a team, take different leadership roles, make new friends, and of course have fun!!.

Summit Camp pics are here!!

Louisa — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:01:54 +0000

Hi all! If you are as excited as we are to see new pictures each week from Summit Camp scroll down to the bottom of the page on the left hand side of Sierranevadajourneys.org or visit our Flickr account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierranevadajourneys/

Hope you are having a wonderful summer!

Summit Camp Update!

Louisa — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:01:15 +0000

“This is the best ice cream ever!” one happy camper exclaimed after our messy, but very fun, evening program of making ice cream in a bag. With full bellies and sticky fingers, kids started to unwind, wash up, and get ready for bed. We knew it was going to be a cold and potentially stormy night, so we had all the students grab their bedding and get ready to camp out in the North Lodge. The kids were very excited to have a giant slumber party and spend the night with some of their friends from the other teepees. The next morning, many of the students had no clue that there had been thunder and lightning during the night! Everyone awoke to sunshine, hot coco, and the promise of a new adventure—a game of Kickball in the morning, and Wilderness First Aid and CPR in the afternoon with a great new company, “Summit Medical Training Solutions,” based in Truckee, Ca. After a quick lunch, students set out for another fun and educational afternoon of archery, kayaking in the pond, and splashing around in the swimming pool.

Due to technical difficulties, we will not be able to post new pictures to “Journeys Window” and our Flickr account. However, this should be resolved by the end of the day tomorrow. Thank you for your understanding!

The Zen of the Kitchen

Louisa — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:39:27 +0000

The alarm goes off at 5:15 in the morning. I am out of bed at 5:30, in the shower a few minutes later, and am trudging towards the kitchen by 5:50.

At 6:00 sharp we gather, hands washed, aprons donned, and eyes half open. The head chef, Mitchell Tufts, greets us with a warm smile and various jobs–assembling pans of bacon, cutting fruit, preparing the eggs–and I garner the honorable task of brewing coffee. I don’t drink coffee. So, I ask Steven how to operate the percolator and wait for the brown liquid to finish dripping into its pot while wondering what the world would look like without caffeine. I decide it would be a much simple and calmer place. With the coffee brewed, I join Stephanie in the dining room, where we place fourteen pitchers of water on the fourteen tables and set each with eight forks, spoons, and knives.

By now it’s 7:00. I return to the kitchen and set the biscuits out to defrost. Courtney starts making the eggs, and Stephanie takes the two hundred and twenty pieces of bacon out of the oven. This is when my morning really picks up. As someone who has chosen a life in education, scrubbing ten large pans scorched with bacon grease was never one of my career goals. But, here I am, happy as can be, scraping steel wool across aluminum pan, getting lost in the zen of scrubbing and grinding, leaving each pan as clean as polished silver.

Mitchell cooks a final batch of eggs while the first round of dishes comes in. I move over to the Hobart and start running through hundreds of dirty plates, cups, bowls, and utensils while Courtney puts the cleaned dishes away.

Well before the students are dismissed from breakfast–returning to their cabins to pack bags with everything they need for a day of outdoors school: extra layers, filled water bottles, and the ever-helpful positive attitudes and empty bladders–the kitchen crew has begun lunch. Stephanie finishes her batch of one hundred and ten cookies, and by 8:30 Carla and Curtis are well on their way to making one hundred and ten wraps. Courtney and I finish the breakfast dishes then return to the dining hall to prepare for dinner: setting out plates, cups, and utensils.

At 9:20 the students return, picking up the wraps, cookies, and apples for lunch. With the students gone, we sit down for a well-earned break. Much remains…preparing vegetables for dinner, making banana bread and two salads, taking the meat out to thaw, and washing the ever-present dirty dishes. But, for now we sit, resting our feet and enjoying a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, fruit, and biscuits.

Summit Camp Update!

Louisa — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:34:35 +0000

Summer is here and the students shining face are smiling. Students this year are staying in teepees, this is an awesome opportunity for students because they get to design and lay their beds in any way they like. The girl’s teepees are arranged in a large circle where they can lay and play cards. The guys on the other hand are not as organized and are just kind of everywhere. But to each their own! It’s their teepee and their week! With yesterday being our first full day, students had a great time on our challenge course where they learned about team work, leadership and communication. Many of the students will be talking about the flying squirrel for weeks to come! Today is the first student sign-up day. With 4 periods in the day student get to choose from a wide variety of activities from archery, kayaking, fishing, hiking, arts and crafts, field games, swimming and so much more! Tonight students will be making their own ice cream… but shhhh, don’t tell them.

PLT Conference Wrap!

Louisa — Wed, 26 May 2010 23:56:54 +0000

Last week PLT Nevada was pleased to host the Project Learning Tree Coordinator’s International Conference at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe! Over 130 PLT Coordinators from around the nation, and Mexico, made the trek to our beautiful locale to learn techniques in delivering environmental education more effectively to their audience, and increasing the environmental literacy of their state and region. Project Learning Tree is the educational arm of the American Forest Foundation, drawing on over 30 years experience to design curriculum for use in classrooms and outdoor classrooms alike, and by both formal and non-formal educators. It was a superb week that started with a western themed dinner complete with cowboy hats, boots, bandannas, and lots of leather where local buckaroo hosts welcomed the coordinators; and ended with a beach themed dance party on held on the MS Dixie on Lake Tahoe. Conference attendees celebrated AFF/PLT’s Senior Vice President of Education Kathy McLaughlin’s 25^th Anniversary with a ‘roast’ on Tuesday night, and socialized nightly in the very hospitable hospitality suite! The Conference raised over $3500 for environmental education here in Nevada, and PLT Nevada would like to thank all our local donors and coordinators who contributed to make that possible. One thing is true about visiting Nevada, we will show you a good time… “You Can Bet on It!” CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICTURES FROM THE AMAZING WEEK!

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Christopher — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 08:57:28 +0000

Summit Camp 2010

An enriching and exciting summer camp experience.

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Christopher — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 08:52:12 +0000

Grizzly Creek Ranch

Learn more about the campus of Sierra Nevada Journeys

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Christopher — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 08:48:56 +0000

In-School Programs

Bring science to life in the classroom with hands on learning and activities.

Environmental Competition For Youth!

Louisa — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:58:03 +0000

In response to Governor Jim Gibbons declaring April 23^rd as Global Youth Service Day, Sierra Nevada Journeys is offering a competition open to all youth between the ages of 8 to 14 years old. The event will promote the ideals of service – learning and engaging youth through community and leadership as described by the Governor.

The competition shall involve participants to draw/paint a picture and write two hundred words about how important the environment/earth is to them and what we all need to do to look after it. The start date of the competition is April 5^th and the competition will run until Global Youth Service Day on April 23^rd, with announcement of the winners by April 29^th.

All competition submissions will receive $30 off the price of attending Summit Camp. The winner will receive $230 off the Fee for Summit Camp with the addition of a further $100 off for another sibling to attend. Second place will receive $150 discount and third place a $100 discount. Submissions can be mailed or dropped off to our Reno office: Sierra Nevada Journeys, 1301 Cordone Ave, Reno NV 89502. All submissions need to be received by 5pm on April 22 2010.

There will be four sessions of Camp this summer. Session dates are as follows: June 13^th – 18^th, June 20^th – 25^th, June 27^th – July 2^nd, and July 5^th – July 10^th. All sessions are held at Grizzly Creek Ranch, Sierra Nevada Journeys’ “home away from home” in Portola, Ca a 40-minute drive outside of Reno.

We are looking forward to see what everyone comes up with!

Spring Break Camp Program!

snjadmin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:23:00 +0000

Looking for something fun and exciting to do over Spring Break this year? Come check out our SPRING BREAK DAY CAMP program! Here are the details:

Who: Students ages 8-12 years old
When: April 12-16, 2010 from 9am-4pm
Where: Rancho San Rafael Park
What: An enjoyable, educational week of engaging hands-on activities!
How much: $99

To sign up, please call our offices at 775-355-1688 and sign up today!

See Pictures from the GreenPower Schools Workshops!

Louisa — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:06:51 +0000

Emboldened educators get acquainted with their new productive classroom residents!

As the wind came up, teachers went outside to test their wind turbines with great success.

CLICK HERE to see all the photos from the two workshops! The photos only tell part of the story, in the most recent Journeys Window post below you can also read more about Sierra Nevada Journeys’ involvement with the GreenPower Schools program. If your school is interested in joining the GreenPower Schools program or you would like to donate a portion of your NV Energy bill each month to help fund the program, CLICK HERE.

GreenPower Schools Holds 2 Amazing Workshop Days for Nevada Teachers!

Louisa — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:47:05 +0000

A partnership between the Desert Research Institute and NV Energy has coalesced into the GreenPower Schools program helmed by the incomparable Fayth Ross. The program promotes educating Nevada’s students about “renewable energy and incorporating conscious living practices in their daily lives.” As part of the program there is an annual training conference for select teachers from the GreenPower schools, one each at the DRI campus in Las Vegas and Reno. The day is spent listening to presentations from renewable energy professionals, engaging in learning activities to better utilize the wonderful resources provided by the program, and even building a worm-bin to take back to their students! This year there were over 60 teachers and nearly 30 different schools that attended the workshops. Sierra Nevada Journeys is a proud partner of the GreenPower schools program, as we provide professional development workshops for the schools involved in the program. At both workshops Laurie Gray and Becky Burns provided an overview of the PLT Energy and Society curriculum and facilitated the Turning Turbines activity. This activity extends the curriculum to display how wind is transformed through mechanical energy to electricity, in the form of a wind turbine blade design contest. The actual wind turbine that comes as part of the program resource kit was utilized in the activity. We had an excellent time with all the teachers and are gearing up for next year’s training and perhaps a more official blade design contest as an attendee questioned whether the Northern Nevada teachers had higher readings on their turbine output than the Southern Nevada teachers! Some morning activities were captured by the Channel 2 News here in Reno (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE CLIP!) and one can spot former SNJ employee Josie Luciano, now the Executive Director of Urban Roots Garden Classrooms, leading the Circle of Life! Check back soon to view the photo album from the workshops.

Tourney for the Journey Second Chance Bracket

Louisa — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:58:22 +0000

Since North Iowa took us all by surprise, we thought a 2nd chance was in order for Tourney participants! Winner of the second chance pool will receive an REI gift basket, including a water bottle, carabiner, and other on the trail necessities. To create a second chance sweet sixteen bracket, click here. Sweet Sixteen starts soon, so sign up by Thursday, March 25th by 6:00 PM eastern!

If you haven’t had a chance to donate yet, remember that all new donations will be matched by the Stillwater Foundation, making this an excellent time to make a contribution to our youth. If you’d like to make a tax deductible donation, feel free to use our safe and easy paypal method by clicking the Donate button below.

Or, if you’d like, you can mail your donation in to us. Please make checks payable to “Sierra Nevada Journeys” and send them to Sierra Nevada Journeys, 1301 Cordone Ave. #200, Reno, NV 89502

In other exciting developments, we are down to the wire wondering who will receive the coveted last place Snuggie… Currently, in last place, we have a player with 11 points…Cornell will determine his fate…will he end with 11 or 15? Another player is maxed out with 12 points ….It’s all down to Cornell vs Kentucky….may the worst picker win!

Open House at Grizzly Creek Ranch Campus

snjadmin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:07:56 +0000

Join us May 15th, 2010 for our first annual OPEN HOUSE at Grizzly Creek Ranch Campus in Portola, CA.

All are welcome to come and enjoy a wide variety of planned activities such as:

Guided Hikes
Alpine Tower and Ropes Course Adventures
Service Learning Projects
Local Community Vendors
Raffle
Free Lunch

Please RSVP for the event by calling 775-355-1688 or click here!

Exceptional Educator Reception to Benefit Jaime Escalante

snjadmin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:52:19 +0000

Sierra Nevada Journeys invites you to join us March 16, 2010, to honor local exceptional educators and Jaime Escalante, the Los Angeles math teacher who was the subject of the famous movie “Stand and Deliver.” Jaime was diagnosed with cancer and is receiving treatment in Reno. Funds raised at the reception will go toward his medical expenses. For more information, see the invitation and press release.

2010 Tourney for the Journey

snjadmin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:39:31 +0000

March is upon us, which means NCAA March Madness and the 4th Annual Sierra Nevada Journeys Tourney for the Journey are here!! Fill out a bracket, and make a difference in the lives of students while competing for great prizes (full prize details are below). Even last place gets a worthy prize; a 2010 Tourney for the Journey Snuggie! It’s easy to get started, just follow the instructions below. Donations are not required to participate in Tourney for the Journey, however all new donations will be generously matched by The Stillwater Foundation, making this an exceptional time to make an investment in the education and future of our youth. Feel free to make a tax deductible donation using our safe and easy paypal method:

1. Register & Make your selections
To enter the Tourney, register using the Online Registration Form. The Tourney begins immediately after the NCAA Selection Show on March 14 and will continue for the entire National Championship Tournament. Register and make your selections by 9:00 AM pacific time the morning of March 18th.

2. Make your selections
After March 14th, revisit the registration page (link above) to make your selections and register if you haven’t already. If you pre-registered, we will remind you to fill in a bracket. Confirm your selections using the submit button at the bottom of the page. Please note, you will not be able to revise your picks after hitting submit. Follow all additional instructions listed on that page, observing all posted deadlines. All picks must be made by March 18 at 9:00 AM Pacific time. If you’d like to review your picks at anytime, click here.

3. If you’re feeling generous…
Donations are not required for entry into the Tourney, however, donations are welcome. $25 could sponsor an hour of experiential classroom learning for two students, $100 could sponsor one student’s 6-hour journey to understanding what a watershed is and why it’s important, and $250 could support an entire classroom of students engaging in a hands-on energy or earth science lesson. Donations can either be submitted online by clicking on the “Donate” button above, or via mail (checks payable to “Sierra Nevada Journeys”) at 1301 Cordone Ave Suite 200 Reno NV 89502. These donations ensure that students will have access to life-changing opportunities, despite any economic challenges their families may face. Your donation will have a direct impact on the lives of students in our community.

4. Game on!
Results will be updated here throughout the tournament, and on Journeys Window, so you will know exactly where you stand. Click here for 2010 Tourney for the Journey Rules and Restrictions. In addition to bragging rights, we have lined up some excellent prizes:

1st place will receive a travel adventure package including a $200 Southwest Airlines gift card, and a 2010 National Parks Pass
2nd place will receive a $75 REI gift card, to help fulfill athletic and outdoor aspirations
3rd place will receive a Reno themed box, including Atlantis Casino playing cards and dice, and items from Reno eNVy.

Last place does not go unrewarded. The last place prize is a 2010 Tourney for the Journey Snuggie to keep you warm and snug after cold, hard defeat.

Best of luck to you all, and thank you for playing! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Louisa.

Becky at the OPTS Conference – Final Report

Louisa — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:42:34 +0000

Saturday morning brought back the cool temps and clouds, and even some rain to the conference. Though the weather was gloomy the mood inside the Teacher’s Symposium was sunny. Richard Vineyard was again a highlight of Saturday’s session as he rolled out the GreenPrint to the educators attending the inaugural Symposium. Dr. Vineyard provided the background and overview of the plan, the connection with No Child Left Inside, and provided a framework for the future progress for the plan in an effort to promote interest and solicit input.

The day was full of content sessions, action studios, and round table discussions that provided teachers with tools, techniques, content, resources and practice for using the environment as an integrating context for learning. Teachers explored the story of Gil, the Iguana, as they learned about how to use graphic novels as a means of exciting students about wildlife endangerment; and then participated in a mock investigation unit that is being developed by the Public Lands Institute staff. Place-based study was a theme for many sessions, including topics such as: Plants of the Mojave, Geology of Southern Nevada, People of the Mojave, and Margie Klein’s engaging session on Animals of the Mojave. Teachers also had an opportunity to explore the hidden beauty of Southern Nevada as they learned how to use the visual arts as a portal to engage students and to help them reach a deeper understanding and appreciation of science, geography and social studies.

EarthForce staff presented a dynamic presentation on how to use service learning as a means for improving test scores and increasing student engagement and enthusiasm for learning. The day concluded with roundtable discussions on topics such as field trip opportunities and funding possibilities, the Desert Research Institute’s GreenPower Schools Program, opportunities available through CHOLLA, and a host of opportunities through State of Nevada agencies. Educators experienced the delicious food provided by Wolfgang Puck’s and the luckiest of educators left with wonderful door prizes and cactus gardens.

Overall if was a wonderful conference, and Sierra Nevada Journeys was proud to be a part of the planning committee, in addition to being an integral (especially Jonathan Mueller, and Laurie Gray) part of the writing and rolling out of the Nevada GreenPrint. Thank you to UNLV’s Public Lands Institute and their Southern Nevada partners who hosted everyone so graciously. And to the Springs Preserve for providing such an amazing backdrop to the week. We’ll miss you all, thanks again, see you next year! Until then – RLB out

Becky at the OPTS Conference – Friday Report

Louisa — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:28:54 +0000

Good Afternoon from the Our Places Tell Stories Conference in Las Vegas, NV! It is somewhat cloudy again today, and kinda crazy busy, but we are eating well and presenting handily. Laurie Gray and I presented Project Learning Tree Early Childhood curriculum and educational theory this morning to an enthusiastic audience. The definite highlight was the To be a Tree activity where participants used paper grocery bags and crayons to take rubbings of Springs Preserve tree trunks on the bags which were cut to form vests; they then made rubbings of leaves on paper which were connected in a ‘crown’ with pipe cleaners; after putting on their vests and crowns the group engaged in song to help learn what each part of the tree does! It was a lively group excited to be trees for at least a little while! It is always rewarding as a presenter and facilitator when you have a group that gets so excited to learn something new and takes pride in participating effectively so when they return to their own programs they have an accurate picture of how an activity will proceed instead of just learning a new activity to get their students excited about nature.

Today’s keynote speaker, Dr. Richard Vineyard Assistant Director of Curriculum, Assessment and Accountability with the Nevada Department of Education and an instrumental force in the creation of the Nevada GreenPrint elucidated upon the environmental literacy plan and the history of environmental literacy not only in Nevada but in the nation as a whole. Dr. Vineyard is an excellent engaging orator, who in addition to being informative on the GreenPrint for the conference attendees, took pleasure in sharing pictures of himself exploring the wilds of Nevada!

Sierra Nevada Journeys has one more presentation to go today by Jonathan Mueller, and Laurie Gray has two remaining presentations tomorrow for the OPTS Teacher Symposium. I’ll wrap up this blogging series next week with a thorough recap of the entire conference’s programming and our Las Vegas adventures! For now – RLB out

Becky at the OPTS Conference – Thursday Report

Louisa — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:38:43 +0000

Good Afternoon from the Our Places Tell Stories Conference in Las Vegas, NV! Today it is bright, sunny, and warm, the enormous desert sky reflecting beautifully off of the golden Trump tower in the distance. Being out at the preserve here has the feeling of being removed from the hustle and bustle of the strip, helping to get all the conference attendees into the right mindset to immerse in ways and means to improve environmental literacy and environmental education programs.

This mornings’ keynote speaker was Kevin Coyle, a leading proponent voice in the political landscape of environmental education, with many years experience. He spoke eloquently on the studies he has helped perform that gauge the average Americans’, and American students’, understanding of environmental issues and the crucial steps necessary to execute REAL environmental/conservation education instead of just attempting to inform the public through sound bytes. Another topic Coyle spoke on that proved memorable and influential to me and many other audience members, was the tendency of environmental educators to assume that their students have certain knowledge, leading facilitators to not explain adequately, or to explain perhaps in a condescending way, a concept or vocabulary term which then effectively turns their students off to the issue they are trying to educate them on. Therefore as environmental educators, and advocates, we must remember that in our communities those whom we are attempting to educate may not be as informed as we are and practicing patience as we share our passion will help us be successful in our pursuits.

Following Kevin Coyle’s speech I was happy to attend a session on Engaging Audiences in Stewardship where I learned about a successful collaboration between agencies here in Southern Nevada in the pursuit of restoring the Blackbrush population which has been decimated by invasive grasses and wildfires. Interestingly the partnership involves scientists (Josh Hoines), educators (Amanda Rowland), and volunteer coordinators (Dr. Elizabeth Barrie) to provide events where the public can help participate in seed collection, seed-ball making, and seed dispersion of the Blackbrush. Seed-balls are a method used to assist in germination, where a seed is surrounded by mud and clay then dispersed to germinate which can then only happen when the conditions are optimal as the rain/snow washes away the mud shell (and it also helps protect the seed from being eaten by critters!). The trio had lessons valuable to anyone who may need to collaborate and cooperate effectively with colleagues and partners! So far it has been another productive day, I am looking forward to a hike/walk through the grounds this afternoon, followed by another evening adventure… Until later – RLB out