Reshaping a Greater New Orleans

		Louisiana’s 15th Environmental Education
		Symposium – REGISTER NOW!

Attention K-12 Teachers and Informal Environmental Educators!
Join us for the 15th Annual Louisiana Environmental Education Symposium – “Our Environment…Our Future” at the Lafayette Crowne Plaza in Lafayette, Louisiana on March 9-10, 2012. Earn needed CLUs!

2012 is the Year of Outdoor Teaching! Join us for exciting concurrent sessions, presentations, and short courses with many emphasizing how to use the outdoors to enhance the classroom experience! We‘ll have the experts and the resources to help you educate your students!

And, what better place to hold our Environmental Education Symposium than Lafayette, LA – the heart of Cajun Country and the cultural center of Louisiana’s Cajun heritage. Lafayette is well known for loads of outdoor traditions and places such as Mardi Gras festivals, fais-do-dos, historic antebellum homes, lush tropical gardens, mysterious swamps, the Atchafalaya Basin, and the Lafayette Science Museum… just to name a few!

Early Bird Registration is $35 until February 10, 2012.
Registration fee includes all Saturday events, continental breakfast, and banquet-style lunch!
Lodging assistance is offered to those with significant drive times while funding is available so apply now!

Friday, March 9th
Optional Short Course sessionsheld at locations in and around Lafayette:

• Canoe, Explore… A Watershed Lesson & Tour!
  Take a canoe trip down the Vermilion River to learn about watershed issues & habitats along the way, & then return to Vermilionville http://www.bayouvermilion.org for some great watershed lesson activities.
• Get Your ROOTS On!
  See the Coastal Roots Program http://coastalroots.lsu.edu at work and get ideas on how to “Green Ribbon” your school through this schoolyard garden tour.
• Louisiana Coastal Wetlands – An Inside View of the Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math that Goes on Behind the Scenes
  Tour the National Wetlands Research Center http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov & talk one-on-one with the scientists involved in restoration efforts. Come home with TONS of information & freebies!
• Nature Lessons in Your Schoolyard
  Enjoy a fun-filled day at Acadiana Nature Station http://www.naturestation.org, exploring ways in which to engage your students in meaningful outdoor-based lessons.

Saturday, March 10th
Plan to stay busy with the following:

• Breakout Sessions – WOW! What a powerful lineup!!! Look for session descriptions on our website!
• Exhibit Hall – We will have exhibits that are educational in nature, exhibits featuring university research, activity tables, & an author’s corner for book signing! Our exhibitors will have TONS of lessons, activities, information, and freebies to give you!
• Keynote Address – Highlighting the day will be the keynote address delivered by Colonel Ed Fleming, Commander & District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District, and Dr. Nancy Rabalais, Executive Director, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). These leaders plan to discuss the 2011 mighty Mississippi River flooding event and other complexities involving river flowand how these waters affect waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Lots of door prizes, a teacher-share area, and other freebies!

Symposium registration forms, lodging assistance forms, short course descriptions, and other symposium information can be found on our website at www.wlf.louisiana.gov/eec.

For more information: Venise Ortego, EE Coordinator, 337-948-0255, vortego@wlf.la.gov. This event is hosted by the Louisiana Environmental Education Commission and the Louisiana Environmental Education Association.