#2005-04: August 12, 2005 Teachers Return to School with Lessons from Outdoor Classroom: Watershed Forestry Institute for Teachers As teachers return to classrooms for the new school year, nineteen of them will be armed with lessons learned in the central Catskills this summer. The teachers, representing both elementary and secondary, as well as urban and rural schools, recently spent four days learning about a variety of methods and resources to teach students about the delicate balance between humankind and the environment at the Watershed Forestry Institute for Teachers (WFIT). The outdoor consortium for teachers, presented by the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development in Arkville and funded by the Watershed Agricultural Council’s Watershed Forestry Program in Walton, drew on resources from federal, state and city governments, and area non-profits to impress upon teachers the profound impact human activities have on global ecology and the deep dependence of humans on the natural resources and systems that many never see. In addition to hands-on activities in the field that taught about the interconnections between plants, animals, and the water supply, the teachers also are returning to classrooms armed with learning modules such as Project Learning Tree (PLT) from the American Forest Foundation and the "Sense of Place" curriculum developed by the Catskill Center. The program engaged teachers on two levels, according to Aaron Bennett, Director of Education for the Catskill Center, "First, we immersed the teachers in the natural setting which awakened an awareness that would be absent in the classroom, especially for the teachers from the city. Once that awareness was heightened, we provided the teachers with tools they can bring back to the classroom." The presenters at WFIT included not only environmental experts and scientists but also artisans and a duo of musicians, Laurie and Ira McIntosh, to offer different perspectives on ecological education. In attendance were not only science teachers but teachers from other disciplines such as math and humanities who also learned of ways to integrate lessons into their classrooms. Teachers also learned directly from one another during WFIT, partaking of meals together, living in dormitory style accommodations in the forested setting of the Menla Mountain Retreat and Conference Center, and gathering around a campfire on several evenings. Although there is often discord between communities of the watershed and the city, urban and rural teachers connected in learning of both the differences between their schools and the interconnectedness of the distant communities. Ed McGee of Andes Central School, thought a lesson plan that involved taking students outside to study trees on school grounds would be easy for any teacher to implement. "I was surprised to find out that many of the city teachers would not be allowed to leave their school buildings (due to security concerns). Being able to use the natural surroundings on school grounds is something we take for granted." The watershed agreement forged between New York City and the municipalities of the watershed region underscored the contentious but essential nature of cooperation between human populations that may be distant and have few opportunities to interact. Teachers attending WFIT learned that this relationship is an apt metaphor for the global perspective, in which populations and nations that may be separated by oceans are still interdependent for environmental and quality of life issues. WFIT is one of several programs of the Catskill Center and WAC that allow both teachers and students to learn these lessons while immersed in the natural beauty of the Catskill Mountains.