“You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you and strive to be the best, however hard the path. Aim high. Behave honorably. Prepare to be alone at times, and to endure failure. Persist! The world needs all you can give.”
– E.O. Wilson
Transformative moments of discovery that guide our lives in a new direction are rare, and often happen when we are young and open to them.
Educators hold the power to inspire young minds and transform the future. That’s why Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassadors are so important.
The Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador program provides a platform for teachers to engage each other and their students in the grand ambition of Half-Earth, and to inspire and connect students with the natural world.
As part of the Educator Ambassador peer network, community members will have access to a rich set of educational resources, from compelling videos, to cutting-edge digital textbook content, to a state-of-the-art, data-rich interactive tool for mapping Earth’s biodiversity at high-resolution, and of course Ed Wilson’s own writings.
The Half-Earth Project has science at its core and our moral obligation to the rest of life at its heart. We’re working to bottle the inspiration and create the tools to get everyone to Half-Earth. With the grand ambition of Half-Earth as a moonshot, we’re counting on Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassadors to lead the way, guiding their students to be our next generation stewards.
Beginning with the “Half-Earth Educator Ambassador Institute” 2-hour workshop, Half-Earth: Pathways to a Half-Earth Future, featured several opportunities for attendees interested in education and citizen science to engage with experts. In addition to the Institute, the day featured “Engaging Next Generation Stewards,” a panel discussion addressing aspects of citizen science, experiential learning and other opportunities that kindle the passion for environmental stewardship and citizen action. Later, the “Environmental Literacy and Envisioning Half-Earth in Schools and Communities” panel discussed how understanding key environmental principles and concepts are the foundation to building consensus and taking action.
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“My week in Vermont and the effort the Vermont Friends of the Half-Earth Project put into organizing it felt like the Half-Earth Project in a microcosm. Vermonters are going through a process of getting organized to take action. They are a case study of how to rally and organize people, facilitate specific activities, and make use of our science and fact-based approach.”
“Several 8th graders have made it their mission to conserve half of their family’s property, whether it be less than an acre or for ‘the back forty.’ Their awareness about conservation and preservation of biodiversity has been greatly heightened due to the Half-Earth mission.”
How can we protect the wildlife and the wild places that remain? One of the foundations of conservation now being applied across the world began with the dreams of a young boy in Mobile, Alabama, and of all things, his love for ants.
“I’m a proud Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador. I’ve used the Half-Earth Map and curriculum in my 10th-grade lab class, and the students are incredibly engaged. It’s one of those times where all I had to do was watch them work. They were totally engaged.”– Selim Tlili, a high school science teacher at the Rudolph Steiner School
Here’s everything you need to do this hands-on mapping design challenge. Your students will work in teams to answer the challenge of putting half of the United States into protection for biodiversity, grapple with evidence, and become motivated to learn more about conserving biodiversity.
In his latest book, “Nature’s Best Hope,” released in February 2020, Doug Tallamy expands previous arguments explaining how private land-owners can be at the forefront of biodiversity conservation while also making their property more beautiful. Doug and Timber Press have given us permission to present Chapter One of “Nature’s Best Hope,” titled “The Dreamers.” This opening chapter is about Aldo Leopold and E.O. Wilson and why they are such important inspirational figures in the world of conservation. The chapter and a list of questions for classroom discussion based on the reading are supplied here.
Short conversation at left. Full video available here (24:00).
Inspired and led by E.O. Wilson, and created with a team of world-renowned educators and artists, this comprehensive and original standards-based curriculum tells the story of life on Earth, giving students a deep understanding of introductory biology.
This captivating and free iBooks textbook, presented as a seven-unit collection, extends students’ learning in and out of the classroom with reading and writing assignments and extension activities like field observation and moviemaking. Designed to prepare tomorrow’s scientists and environmental leaders, this curriculum inspires students to take responsibility for conserving and protecting nature’s biological treasures.
POSTPONED
April 17-18, 2020
Methow Valley Citizens Council Earth Day Celebrations, Twisp, WA – Dennis Liu will deliver a keynote address, participate in panel discussions as well as conduct Half-Earth Project Education Institutes with students and teachers throughout Washington State.
October 22, 2018
Half-Earth Day Educator Ambassador Workshop
American Museum of Natural History
Representatives: Amanda Briody, Michelle Duong, Paula Ehrlich, Dennis Liu, E.O. Wilson
November 3, 2018
Science Teachers Association of New York State Conference
Presentations at the Biology Institute
Representative: Dennis Liu
November 10, 2018
National Association of Biology Teachers Conference
Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador Workshop
Representatives: Amanda Briody, Jim Clark, Dennis Liu
November 30, 2018
California Science Teachers Association, Science Education Conference
NGSS short course
Representatives: Amanda Briody, Jim Clark, Samantha Johnson
February 18-22, 2019
Vermont Half-Earth Project Community Consortium
Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador Workshop, Presentations
Representative: Dennis Liu
April 11-14, 2019
National Science Teachers Association Conference, St. Louis
Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador Program presentation
Representative: Dennis Liu
April 22-24, 2019
North Carolina State University
Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassadors presentation at Science House
Representatives: Dennis Liu
June 11-14, 2019
University of Houston College of Education AP Summer Institute
Half-Earth Project Mapping presentation for Advanced Placement Biology
Representatives: Dennis Liu
June 24-27, 2019
Texas Christian University Advanced Placement Summer Institute
Half-Earth Educator Ambassadors workshop, AP Biology
Representatives: Dennis Liu and Robert Dennison
July 25-26, 2019
Environmental Science Summer Youth Institute
Half-Earth Educator Ambassadors presentation
Representatives: Dennis Liu and Jim MaKinster.
July 26-27, 2019
Knowles Initiative Summer Conference
Group Work to Maximize Learning
June 28, 2019
Legacy: Partners in Environmental Eucation Alabama
Mountains to the Gulf Educator Excursion
July 8-11, 2019
North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching
Science to Enhance Literacy
July 25-26
Environmental Science Summer Youth Institute
July 25-27
Knowles Initiative Summer Conference
July 29-August 2, 2019
Rice University Summer Advance Placement Academies
Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador program to AP Biology teachers
Representatives: Dennis Liu and Robert Dennison
July 29-August 2
Half-Earth for AP Biology
September 7-11
American Zoological Association
October 1
The Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach and Service Programs
October 7
UC Berkeley
Half-Earth Day Educator Ambassador Institute
Representing: Amanda Briody, Dennis Liu, Scott Rinnan, Jim Clark
November 1-4, 2019
STANYS
Half-Earth Eduator Ambassador Institute
Representatives: Dennis Liu, Caitlin Ullock, Mike Comet
November 11-15, 2019
National Association of Biology Teachers annual meeting
Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador Institute
Representatives: Dennis Liu and Amanda Briody
November 17 – Naperville, IL
Northern Illinois Science Educators (ISTE of NSTA)
Dennis Liu will present the Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador Program to attendees of the conference focused on the Next Generation Science Standards and curriculum Storylines.
Representative: Dennis Liu
November 20, 2019
IMSA Design Challenge
Dennis Liu presents Half-Earth Project Educator Ambassador resources to teacher-led teams of students competing in a design challenge focused on sustainability and conservation.
Representative: Dennis Liu
January 23, 2020
Southworth Library, Wisdom of Nature Series. Dryden, NY – Dennis Liu will facilitate discussion of Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight For Survival by E.O. Wilson, and present the project inspired by the book, the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation’s Half-Earth Project.
January 28-29, 2020
Revolution School, Philadelphia, PA – Dennis Liu is participating in a Project Wayfinder multi-school training hosted by the Revolution School. Project Wayfinder is dedicated to promoting learning experiences that foster a sense of meaning and purpose in students.
February 27, 2020
St. Croix River Association Youth Summit in River Falls, WI – Dennis Liu will be introducing the Half-Earth Project to general audiences, as well as conducting teacher learning institutes and student assemblies.
Join us and stay up-to-date on progress toward this grand goal.
