Teachers/Educators

• Check out the Making Ripples Education Newsletters:
  • NINTH ISSUE - August 10, 2011 Issue 9 - Soils (PDF)
  • EIGHTH ISSUE - November 22, 2010 Volume 3, Issue 2 - Service Learning (PDF)
  • SEVENTH ISSUE - October 1, 2009 Volume 3, Issue 1 - Insects (PDF)
  • SIXTH ISSUE - January 21, 2009 Volume 2, Issue 2 - School Gardens (PDF)
  • FIFTH ISSUE - August 27, 2008 Volume 2, Issue 1 - Invasive Species (PDF)
  • FOURTH ISSUE - January 10, 2008 Volume 1, Issue 4 - Sustainability and Outdoor Education (PDF)
  • THIRD ISSUE - August 8, 2007 Volume 1, Issue 3 - Local Programs (PDF)
  • SECOND ISSUE - January 3, 2007 Volume 1, Issue 2 - Networking-Community Partnerships for Natural Resources Education (PDF)
  • FIRST ISSUE - August 23, 2006 Volume 1, Issue 1 - Introduction to the Newsletter and Our Offerings (PDF)
  
  
• Grants for Educators:
  • 2011 Round of Conservation Education Grants (PDF version) or (WORD version) is NOW OPEN!
    Benton SWCD Conservation Education Grant for funding major or minor efforts in Natural Resources Education. If you want to engage students in the study of natural resources, we want to help you fulfill your DREAMS! The deadline for application submission is 5 PM Monday October 3, 2011. Contact Heath Keirstead (hkeirstead@bentonswcd.org or 541-753-7208) if you have questions. Please Note: Corvallis School District educators must use the Grant Accounting Checklist and receive approval for the application prior to submission. FMI, contact (Cindy Dagesse).
    
    Corvallis Teachers Please Note:
    Here's a link to the Corvallis School District's Grant Accounting Check List for your convenience. The District grant packet has an easy to use checklist of the steps to take in preparing a grant to meet District processes. Once you've completed the grant application, please complete the first two pages of the check list and send with your grant application to Cindy Dagesse at the district office. The remainder of the Grant Accounting Check List Packet is for your information only. Please contact Cindy if you have any questions or need assistance.
  
  
• Workshops for Natural Resource Educators - No workshops scheduled at this time. More workshops will be posted for School Year 2010-2011.
  • Check our Calendar Page for details as they become available.
  
  
• Scholarships:
  • Continuing Education Scholarship: For Benton County K-12 Teachers. Benton SWCD has one Teacher Scholarship which pays to send a non-agricultural teacher to Session #1 of the Summer Agriculture Institute (SAI) program, a week-long clinic coordinated by Oregon State University. The program is designed to help non-agricultural K-12 educators use agriculture as a context for teaching.
    
    Summer Agriculture Institute Application must be sent in with the Continuing Education Scholarship Application. The Continuing Education Scholarship Application is available in PDF or WORD formats and should be submitted no later than Friday, March 16, 2012 by 5 pm to:
    

    Benton Soil and Water Conservation District
    456 SW Monroe Ave., Suite 110
    Corvallis, OR 97333  Phone: 541-753-7208, Fax: 541-753-1871
    Email: hkeirstead@bentonswcd.org

  • Natural Resources Scholarships - Benton Soil and Water Conservation District is taking applications for two $1,000 scholarships to fund students pursuing degrees in natural resources. Qualified applicants must have graduated from a Benton County high school OR the family or student must have lived in Benton County, Oregon for purposes other than attending college for at least one year prior to the application deadline.
    
    Benton SWCD Natural Resources Scholarship application form PDF format or Word format
    
    For more information, contact Benton SWCD at 753-7208 or email tmatteson@bentonswcd.org
    
    
    Read essays from scholarship recipients:
    

    Seth Sherry, 2009 OSU graduate, Crop and Soil Science "…real positive change regarding our natural resources and how we manage them can only really progress as far as the majority of the population wants it to go. Simple tasks such as power, fuel and water conservation have only just now taken hold on our population, after years and years of public campaigns, and we have a functioning infrastructure!"

    Kelsey Ward, University of Oregon freshman, Environmental Science "I still don't know exactly what I want to do with Environmental Science, so for now I'm trying to experience different possible paths- research, policy work, restoration, advocacy, law, politics, etc. What is most exciting to me is the prospect of being able to combine my skills and passions into work that I love, and work that will fulfill what I feel is my obligation to the planet and to the future. Luckily the interdisciplinary nature of the subject matter lends itself so well to this!"

    
    
  • Ben Meadows Scholarships - Ben Meadows has $2500 Scholarships for college juniors and seniors studying Natural Resources! Visit their website for details at: www.benmeadows.com/scholarships/
    
    
  
  
• Lessons and Class materials:
  • Soil Studies
    • Teacher's Guide (PDF) 23 pages
    • Influence of soil texture table (PDF)
    • Soil Texture Flow Chart  (version 1)(PDF)
    • Soil Texture Flow Chart
    • Soil Texture Flow Chart website
  • Water Quality and Macroinvertebrates
    • Lesson Plan (PDF)
    • Stream Invertebrate Illustrations(PDF)
    • Stream Invertebrates graph(PDF)
  • Invasive Species
    • Weed BINGO cards(PDF)
  
  
• Ecology Field Cards for the Willamette Valley, Oregon
  • $40/set includes Educator's Guide that:
    • is benchmarked to Oregon Educational Science Standards
    • addresses biodiversity, interaction of species, carrying capacity, food webs, limiting factors and competition
    • includes locations for use, pages to copy, key terms, glossary
  • Three sets are available:
    • Set 1 - Douglas-fir Forests
    • Set 2 - Oak Woodlands
    • Set 3 - Riparian Bottomland Forests
  • Ecology Field Cards:
    • can be used to increase you knowledge of local native species
    • contain fifty graphically rich 4" x 6" cards
    • include information on common plants, fungi, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians
    • are durably laminated for field use by youth and adults
  • Great gift for naturalists or educators!!!  --  Purchase Ecology Field Card Sets including a copy of the educator's guide for $40 at Benton County OSU Extension Office, 1849 NW 9th Street, Corvallis OR 97330-2144, phone: 541-766-6750. View Ecology Field Cards web page

Activities

See the Calendar/Events pages for information on local activities and events.

Educational Items

See the Buy/Rent/Borrow pages for information on educational items available for educational use and projects.

Conservation Education Links

• Natural Resources Education Links for Kids
• Institute for Applied Ecology - a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to conservation research, ecological education and native seed use.
• OSU Extension Learning Resources
• Agriculture in the Classroom
• For the Sake of the Salmon - Teacher Resources
• Communities by Choice - Sustainability Resources for Teachers
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Curriculum Resources and Activities
• Soil Biology Primer - USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service – Soil Quality Institute
• Earth to Kids - Environmental Defense Fund
• Watershed Education Resources - Global Rivers Environmental Education Network 
• Oregon Forestry Education Program (Project Learning Tree) - Environmental Education Links