This March, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) will feature a special strand “Natural Resources, Natural Partnerships” at our 2015 National Conference on Science Education, in Chicago, March 12–15. Sustaining natural resources requires collaborative partnerships among many stakeholders, and science is the key to making smart decisions about resources. Educators and students can engage with environmental groups, agencies, and businesses to build and support a sustainable future. This strand will help teachers identify possibilities and potential partnerships.

Sessions organized around this strand include a featured presentation on Friday March 13, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 PM (“Beasts at Bedtime: Revealing the Embedded Environmental Curriculum in Classic Children’s Literature”) by Liam Heneghan (DePaul University: Chicago, IL). Not familiar with Heneghan? This blog on The Ecology of Pooh will give you a fun glimpse into his style! And there will be hundreds more sessions in Chicago to inspire teachers who love Natural Resources and see the wisdom of forming Natural Partnerships; below is a small sampling so you see what’s in store:

• Creating a Culture of Conservation Using the NGSS Practices
• Developing Partnerships: A Model of Outdoor Education
• Special Pathway Session: Building K–6 Integrative STEM Through Technology, Engineering, Environment, Mathematics, and Science (TEEMS): A Project-based Student-centered Approach
• Collaborative Conservation Through Birds and Citizen Science
• Sharing the Night Sky with Your Students
• Student Choice, Student Voice: Empowering the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards
• NASA and GLOBE Connect K–12 Students to NGSS with Big-Data Applications
• Making STEM Meaningful with Sea Turtles
• Watering the Grassroots of Change:  Integrated Outdoor Science and Community-based Water Resource Education
• On-the-Ground Stewardship + Great Lakes Science = A Five Star Place-based Education Program

Want more? Check out more sessions and other events with the Chicago Session Browser/Personal Scheduler, or take a peek at the online conference preview (pdf). Follow all our conference tweets using #NSTA15, and if you tweet, please feel free to tag us @NSTA so we see it!

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

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