In 2018, your donations to the Glacier Conservancy funded $652,738 in educational programming in the park. This year, your continued support is expanding existing education programs and continuing others, like our partnership with the Glacier Institute, to provide teacher training and development opportunities for educators across the country.
Providing Resources For Teachers
In June, middle and high school teachers gathered in Glacier National Park for the park’s multi-day STEAM teacher workshop, funded by your donations. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Several staff members from the park, including scientists, education technicians, and Blackfeet educators led training for teachers throughout this collaborative workshop.
This year’s workshop theme was “Melting Ice.” Teachers participated in an ice breaker activity before learning about climate change and Glacier’s changing landscape. They also got to experience Glacier’s landscape and geologic history firsthand by hiking to Scenic Point in Two Medicine, as well as learn about sustainability practices from Treyace Yellow Owl of the Blackfeet Nation.
Glacier As An Expanded Classroom
Providing opportunities for teachers, both locally and nationally, has not only raised the Glacier Conservancy’s visibility in the community, but also strengthened the idea of public lands as America’s best classrooms. The knowledge that teachers gain from these workshops can be incorporated into their own classrooms and shared with their students.
In addition to the STEAM workshop, the Glacier Institute recently hosted another local workshop focused on place-based education. This workshop, entitled “Flathead Watershed Through The Seasons”, helps teachers learn about and connect to the Flathead Watershed through ongoing field experiences. This workshop will bring K-12 educators together four times during the 2019-2020 school year to connect with natural and cultural resources in the watershed.
“We’ve had teacher workshops before, but they’ve reached a new level through partner collaboration,” says Laura Law, Glacier National Park’s Education Program Manager. “In the past, the workshops have always been one-time events, but the fact that we have all of these partners and funding from the Glacier Conservancy has allowed us to offer more workshops throughout the year. I couldn’t even think about doing this program without their support.”
