The Earthkeepers Leadership Workshop (EKLW) is a thorough analysis of the entire Earthkeepers program—from the pre-visit introduction to the 2 ½ days of Knowledge and Experience activities at the Earthkeepers Training Center to the completion of the program at home and school. This session will provide valuable program insights and key leadership guidelines for running a successful Earthkeepers program.

During the workshop each activity will be experienced in detail—set-up, leadership, application to student’s lives, etc.

For instance, with the activity that focuses on the interrelationships, called Connection Inspection, we will first head to the activity site and look at the physical set-up. Next everyone participates in the activity introduction followed by processing and examining important aspects to make this part successful. Then each person receives either an animal or plant role card, connection belts and gets connected to the appropriate energy/food source, water, soil, and other living things it depends on. In the end a giant web is formed. Once again, there will be breaks to process the details of the activity and answer questions. Finally, the activity concludes with a place-based Application Page so the students can demonstrate how the concept relates to the natural area where the activity takes place. There will also be time to plant the seeds for the actions participants can take to help the Earth and its life.

Follow this link to the registration page to sign up for this workshop >

Earthkeepers Program

Four keys for helping young people live in harmony with the earth

The Earthkeepers program was designed by The Institute for Earth Education so 9 to 11-year-olds could increase their understandings of 4 ecological concepts (energy flow, cycling of materials, biological interrelationships, and change over time) and to deepen their feelings for the Earth and its life through Observations, Solitude, Discovery, and Immersion in the natural world. As the participants complete the various components of the program for Knowledge-Experience-Yourself-Sharing they receive keys that unlock boxes to reveal the secrets to becoming an Earthkeeper.

An important part of the program takes place at home and school following the time at the Earthkeepers Training Center. The “Apprentice Earthkeepers” find ways to reduce their impact on the Earth in their own lives and continue to increase their positive feelings toward the natural world.

The Cooper Center for Environmental Learning (CCEL) is a partnership between the University of Arizona’s College of Education and the Tucson Unified School District. It is nestled in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains 20 minutes west of downtown Tucson and borders a Tucson Mountain Park—a large area of the Sonoran Desert protected by Pima County.