The Development of a Handbook of Outdoor Environmental Activities and an Inservice of the Hilbert School District's K-6 Teachers to Increase the use of the District's Environmental Site

Abstract

In 1998 a project to increase the use of the HSD environmental site began. The site is located at Hilbert High School in Hilbert, Wisconsin. The purpose was to find out if developing a handbook of outdoor environmental activities for the Hilbert School District's K-6 teachers would increase the use of the districts environmental site. An advisory team was formed to develop and evaluate the handbook. An environmental day/inservice was held at the environmental site to expose the teachers to several of the handbook's activities. High school ecology students led the teachers and their students through the activities. The day was designed to familiarize the teachers with the handbook and show its use in conjunction with the environmental site. The results of the project have led to an increased use of the HSD environmental site by the K-6 teachers and also an increased awareness of using EE in their every day curriculum. 100% of the K-6 staff surveyed indicated a desire to increase their usage of the district's environmental site.