Konza Environmental Education Program
Contact: Jill Haukos, 785-587-0381, konzaed@ksu.edu
Description:
KEEP educates students in tallgrass prairie ecology, enhancing the appreciation for the prairie and for the research and conservation efforts of K-State and the Nature Conservancy of Kansas. Students learn through outdoor, hands-on, real ecological science activities, giving them the opportunity to become the researches and collect real data for Schoolyard long-term ecological research (SLTER) databases for use in graphing and interpretation in the classroom. KEEP also offers teachers professional development, involving 41 long-term teachers as KEEP cooperators. Annually, KEEP impacts an average of 4000 students in local and statewide schools. Since its inception, 250 community members have been trained as docents who lead hikes, site tours, and help with student activities.
Website:
Program Partners:
USD 383 Manhattan/Odgen Schools; USD 475 Junction City/Fort Riley Schools; School districts participating in the "Prairies Across Kansas" program; Friends of Konza Prairie; The Nature Conservancy of Kansas
Institutional Impact Area(s):
K-State Division of Biology; K-State College of Arts & Sciences; K-State Secondary Education; K-State College of Education; K-State Division of Continuing Education
Audience:
Kansas students
Tags:
Education, Pre-Kindergarten through 12th Grade; Natural Resources, Land Use, and Environment; Science and Technology; College of Arts and Sciences; K-State Research and Extension