The Bay Backpack e-Newsletter is a great opportunity to see what events, professional development opportunities, and funding sources are available to environmental educators around the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. New this time around is a section titled “Schools in the News” where we have shared the recently announced Green Ribbon School winners! Subscribe to the e-Newsletter by visiting baybackpack.com and navigating to the bottom of the homepage.

Whether you’re enticed by the strong community feel, the chance to get out in the great outdoors or simply want something fun to do with the family on a Sunday afternoon, The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Geocaching has all you need to know about one of our favorite activities. Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which players use GPS technology to search for geocaches which contain small knick-knacks and often log books so that Geocachers can see who else is finding the hidden treasures!

Project Learning Tree’s Teaching with i-Tree Unit includes three hands-on activities that help middle and high school students discover and analyze the many ecosystem services that trees provide. The activities can be used in formal classroom settings or with non-formal groups, such as scouts, students enrolled in after-school programs, and visitors to nature centers and parks. In addition, students can share what they’ve learned with family members to assess the trees around their home.