For the past three summers, the institute has given a small group of primary and secondary school teachers hands-on environmental science training that shows them how to use their own school yards as environmental science classrooms. Steve Baker, Oxford biology professor and an institute faculty member, said the institute has attracted both teachers and funding because it's different from many science training programs. "We don't just sit in the classroom and tell teachers how to do ecology," he said. "We take them out in the field and let them participate."
Approximately 1,600 environmental programs are listed in the Envrionmental Success Index, which is used as a reference by government agencies, community organizations, businesses, environmentalists and the media. The candidates for the National Awards for Envrionmental Sustainability were selected by a national council of 60 envrionmental, community, government and business organizations. The awards will be presented on Jan. 31 as part of Renew America's Day of Celebrating Environmental Solutions.
The Oxford Institute for Environmental Education is held at Oxford's Oxhouse Science Center, a site near the Oxford campus that encompasses a small lake and 40 acres of forest and grassland. The 1995 institute will be held June 19-30.
-- Jan Gleason