Staff Development programs fall into one of two categories.

1. "Field Guide to your Schoolyard" One two-hour workshop customized for your school site. Participants will explore ways to use resources available on the school grounds and surrounding area—from blacktop to developed trails—to teach and reinforce concepts relating to the environment and the life sciences.

   Recommended Topics: Insects, Plants, Life Cycles, Animal/Plant Relationships.

   Is your schoolyard bounded by woods or near a flood zone? Are you studying the local watershed? NBTY can focus the workshop on a topic that will capitalize on your school’s natural features or meet a particular curricular need.

2. "Schoolyard Through the Seasons" Four two-hour workshop sessions scheduled 3-4 months apart. Participants will first map the schoolyard in order to evaluate how best to use it, inventory the available resources both natural (undeveloped) and artificial, and learn to use a dichotomous key to identify the plants and trees on the site. Subsequent sessions will focus on specific topics relevant to the current season so over time, teachers will learn to develop programs that support the curriculum in science, art, history, math and reading.

   Recommended Topics: Insects, Life Cycles, Plants, Animal/Plant Relationships, Habitats, Weather, Winter Ecology, Shadows and Light.

   In advance of the workshop series, Pam Newitt will visit the school and evaluate the school grounds as a field site for environmental education. During the workshop sessions, she will suggest ways to improve or enhance the site as a teaching tool.