Vivian Bowles fundraising for #KAEE2021

Last November, after frosts had finally frozen off the last of the honeysuckle leaves, Sam and I were able to explore the woods and cave next to my house.  On one walk, he brought along his magnifying lens and made this discovery while sitting on a fallen log: “Oh Bibbi!  I’m sitting on seaweed!”https://drive.google.com/file/d/113qxApW0VauLPvkJlXQ-WXxpSbqCJfRM/view?usp=sharing 

You and I know moss is moss, but how many children in KY have had the opportunity to experience it or observe where or how it grows? Or realize it provides ecological benefits, including stabilizing disturbed environments by absorbing large amounts of water and helping prevent soil erosion?  Fewer children than you or I can imagine.

One of the reasons I support KAEE is because of PreK-12 curricula, such as Projects WET, WILD, and Learning Tree, which provide lessons that include hands-on experiences for learners to make observations, collect and analyze data, and then draw their own conclusions about natural phenomena, such as moss. Through a network of KAEE-trained facilitators, formal and non-formal educators-from preschool teachers to forest rangers- receive professional development and resources to tailor environment-based lessons to their audiences.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qvmJTCbgvLakc4c58rMWMtAPI3pIs7TE/view?usp=sharing  

My mantra as an elementary teacher was, and is, to make learning experiences “real-world, hands-on, with immediate feedback”.  As a grandmother to six curious young children, and as an educator to at least a couple of thousand, I invite you to support KAEE along with me so that children across the state receive the benefits of real-world, hands-on environmental experiences that provide them with immediate feedback.