Bringing the Everglades to Your Literacy Classroom: Jennifer Diaz

→ How can we build literacy skills and environmental stewardship at the same time?→ What is the Everglades Foundation Literacy Program, and what resources do they offer classroom teachers?→ What is Everglades Ecoquest, and how can educators use this web-based platform to bring interactive, gamified learning to their students?Welcome back to the Teachers on Fire Podcast, airing live on YouTube most Saturday mornings at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern. My name is Tim Cavey, and my mission here is to warm your heart, spark your thinking, and ignite your professional practice.Today’s Teacher on Fire is Jennifer Diaz. Jennifer Diaz is the Vice President of Education at The Everglades Foundation, where she has dedicated the past 12 years to building and leading Florida’s only comprehensive, statewide Everglades environmental education program. Since joining the Foundation in 2014, she has guided the growth of the Everglades Literacy Program into a national model for place-based environmental learning, now adopted by 31 school districts and reaching more than 300,000 students and families annually.You can connect with the Everglades Foundation …On X @EvergFoundation,On Instagram @evergladesfoundation,On Facebook and LinkedIn, andAt their website, evergladesfoundation.org.Timestamps from This Episode0:00:00 - Welcome to Jennifer Diaz, VP of Education at the Everglades Foundation0:16 - The mission and vision of the Everglades Foundation1:07 - Everglades Foundation literacy resources are free to anyone2:02 - Building environmental stewardship through literacy skills4:13 - The Teacher Toolkit 41 lesson plans are curriculum-aligned6:03 - Resources for Spanish and Haitian Creole learners7:41 - What is Everglades Ecoquest and what does it offer students?10:35 - Hands-on learning experiences related to the Everglades12:59 - The Champion Schools program builds environmental leadership15:54 - A first step to take to build environmental literacy17:11 - How to connect with the Everglades FoundationVisit the home of Teachers on Fire at https://teachersonfire.net/.Song Track Credit: Tropic Fuse by French Fuse - retrieved from the YouTube Audio Library.