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Interested in connecting with fellow educators?
The Early Childhood Hoosiers Outdoors (ECHO) Network is designed to support education practitioners wanting to get students into outdoor learning settings. We meet on the second Monday of odd months at 4 pm by zoom.
Death, decay, and decomposition are normal parts of life cycles in the natural world, such as when leaves wither and drop, flower petals wilt, or we find a dead insect on a walk. What lessons are to be learned about, in, with, and for nature when we lean into death, decay, and decomposition in a natural context? Understanding death in nature can help build social and emotional skills and resilience as we get to know the natural rhythms of life in our settings.
Bio: Dr. Carla Gull is the director of the graduate program in environmental education and associate professor at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College in northern Indiana. She has over 20 years experience in the education field at the preschool, elementary, and college levels. Carla enjoys helping educators incorporate more nature in the everyday early childhood setting and in nature preschools. She hosts a podcast, Loose Parts Nature Play; facilitates an international group, Loose Parts Play; and presents workshops, keynotes, and academic research around loose parts, tree climbing, STEM, outdoor classrooms, and nature education. She is coauthor of the books, Loose Parts Learning in K-3 Classrooms and Loose Parts Alive: Inspiring Child-led Nature Explorations. She is the state coordinator for Indiana Children and Nature Network.
The purpose of this network includes:
- A group of peers: Connecting educators and administrators for support, guidance, encouragement, troubleshooting, etc.
- A common space for sharing resources and best practices
- Opportunities for professional development
- Shared advocacy and continuing education around nature-based programs
- Program observation
- and more!
The network was inspired by a surge of interest in program formats such as Nature Preschools, Forest Kindergartens, and Forest Schools; however, it is an inclusive group for those working with young children in any format. Our interests center on developmentally-appropriate educational opportunities for children in outdoor settings, whether in the woods, on the prairie, or in the schoolyard.
We want this network to be dynamic and responsive to emerging needs of participants. We encourage you to join us on this journey of mutual exploration and learning!
If you are interested in knowing more, sign up below to join. Participants will be added to a Google group to get email updates for monthly meeting times and to post question to others within the group. If you have previously registered for any other ECHO Network sessions, you do not need to register again as you will automatically receive the zoom link via the Google group.
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