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Conservationist lands role in education
(by Sue Hoffman - April 15, 2009)
Conservationist lands role in education
By SUE HOFFMAN
Every parent has heard of No Child Left Behind. For Katherine Nainiger, of the Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District, today's additional mantra is "No Child Left Inside."
Since 1995, Mrs. Nainiger has been involved in educational programs for students of all ages that encourage study of the great outdoors. As conservation education coordinator, she designs natural resource education programs and aligns them to the Ohio academic content standards. She's also involved in conservation programs ranging from grants for schools to teen competitions and preschool activities.
Now, Mrs. Nainiger has a new task that will use her expertise in environmental education. She recently was selected as one of 20 Ohio educators to serve on the science range finding committee for the Ohio Graduation Test. The committee's role is to make recommendations to the Ohio Department of Education to ensure all constructed response test questions are scored accurately, fairly and consistently, and serve as an appropriate measure for the state's academic content standards.
"It's a great honor and opportunity and it will help me have insight on changes in the content standards. I'm very excited to represent Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District and bring this insight back to our schools," said Mrs. Nainiger, a lifelong Lake County resident who lives in Madison.
Mrs. Nainiger's three-year commitment to the state committee involves attending a 2 1/2-day session in Columbus each year. "Prior to the meeting, information will be sent to us to review," she said.
As she looks forward to her new assignment, Mrs. Nainiger continues her active role in several environmental programs locally and statewide. At the conservation district, she invites schools and organizations to submit applications for the conservation district's outdoor education grants. The grants are distributed each year for programs that enhance appreciation for the environment and conservation. The 2009 grant winners, just announced last month, are science teachers Michael Sustin, of West Geauga High School, and Kathleen Ritts, of Ledgemont High School.
In addition, she works with others in coordinating the Envirothon, an annual, international competition that has proven to be an exciting and useful tool for incorporating environmental education into high school classrooms.
"It sparks a flame for future stewards of our natural environment," she said, praising Chardon High School's participation at the national level. This year's event for Area 2, serving 17 Northeast Ohio counties, takes place April 29 in Portage County.
Mrs. Nainiger, who started her career at the Lake Metroparks Wildlife Center in Kirtland, serves on a state committee that coordinates Food, Land and People, a nationwide program to educate youth from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade about the relationship between agriculture, the environment and human populations.
"We correlate each activity to academic content standards," she said. "We're working on publishing the material and getting it into the hands of educators."
Concerned about preschoolers being included in environmental education, Mrs. Nainiger is involved in field-testing activities for the new Preschool Project Wild, an activity guide for educators and parents of preschoolers. "They're activities any parent can pick up and do to help interpret the natural world to young children." More than 20 activities are included in the guide.
One of the activities is to study the life cycle of animals. "This time of the year is perfect," she said. For example, parents can show their children the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, with the caterpillar in the spring and the chrysalis and adult butterflies in the fall.
"The best thing you can do is give them hands-on experience," she said. "Give them an opportunity to explore."
Mrs. Nainiger, the mother of two children, ages 3 and 11, said parents also can learn from their preschoolers. "The little ones can teach you so much. They're low down and see a lot we might miss, and they're so curious."
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