MDC hosts training for teachers Feb. 14 in West Plains

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Published Date
01/18/2019
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WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will host Nature Unfolds and Nature Unleashed trainings at the Missouri State University Campus in West Plains, Feb. 14. Nature Unfolds is for teachers of grades K-2 and is from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nature Unleashed is specific to teachers of grades 3 – 5 and is from noon to 4:30 p.m.  All Missouri teachers who register in advance are welcome.

“We’re going to focus on how to bring the best of Missouri’s outdoors into your classroom and help your students become comfortable with the natural wonders of our ecosystems, plants and wildlife,” said MDC Education Consultant Mary Beth Factor.

Factor said the training will provide teachers the tools to capture student’s natural curiosity. Nature Unfolds and Nature Unleashed are two curriculums provided by MDC as part of the Discover Nature Schools program. The program supplies school wide classroom equipment grants from $500 to $1,000 as well as travel reimbursement costs for nature related field trips. The Nature Unfolds unit for grades K-2 focuses on the state’s natural plant and animal lifecycles, while the Nature Unleashed unit introduces grades 3-5 to three major Missouri ecosystems: ponds, forests and prairies.

“With the travel reimbursement, teachers can take students on field trips to areas that they are directly studying –streams, caves, forests, and other areas,” Factor said.

To register for training call Mary Beth Factor at (417) 256-7161, or email her at Marybeth.factor@mdc.mo.gov. For more information about DNS, go online to www.mdc.mo.gov.