Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Best Practices for Field Days Workshop Scheduled for Feb. 10th at UMC

CROOKSTON, Minn. – Making the most of a field day for students is the topic of a workshop slated for Thursday, February 10, 2011, at the University of Minnesota, Crookston. The Best Practices for Field Days workshop, which focuses on how to maximize the field day experience, will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Bede Ballroom, Sargeant Student Center on the Crookston campus. The $15 registration fee includes lunch.

Field days are community events that bring together professionals, volunteers and teachers with school children for a day of learning about their environment. In educational field days, students rotate through multiple presentations on environmental topics.

The Best Practices for Field Days workshop is designed to help organizers and presenters improve the field experience for students by helping them learn and retain important concepts, plan a comfortable and memorable setting, ensure the day runs safely and smoothly, create more useful evaluations, market an event and to employ designs that help connect youth with nature.

All workshop attendees will receive the Best Practices for Field Days: A Program Planning Guidebook for Organizers, Presenters, Teachers, and Volunteers and a companion CD of tools and templates. For more information, visit www.extension.umn.edu/FieldDays or contact Jolene Beiswenger at 218-281-8027.

The workshop is sponsored by University of Minnesota Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership and its partners University of Minnesota, Crookston, University of Minnesota Extension, Northwest Regional Development Commission, International Water Institute River Watch, Polk and Mahnomen Public Health Programs, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers 29 bachelor’s degree programs, 18 minors, and more than 40 concentrations, including several online degrees, in the areas of agriculture and natural resources; business; liberal arts and education; and math, science and technology. With an enrollment of about 1,400 undergraduates from more than 25 countries and 40 states, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree. “Small Campus. Big Degree.” To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.