KAEE 2024 Conference

1. Restoring Ecological Function Through Pollinator Habitat Establishment: The Relative Efficacies of Several Pollinator Habitat Establishment Systems, Kristin Conrad, Kentucky State University
2. Comparing Accuracies of LiDAR and Multi-spectral Equipped Drones to Traditional Field Assessment for Determining the Spatial Extent of Amur honeysuckle in Central KY Forests, Kasia Bradley, Kentucky State University
3. An Analysis of Litter, Urbanization, and the Emerging Role of Citizen Science in Beargrass Creek, Louisville, KY, Ella Swigler, University of Louisville
4. Children's Access to Nature: A Comparison Study, Becky Johnson, Fayette County Public Schools
5. Understanding Misconceptions about Caves: Improving the Learning, Jeanine Huss, Western Kentucky University
6. Is Goat Browsing as Effective as Traditional Brush Management Methods, Jody Thompson, Kentucky State University
7. Assessing environmental education: evaluating the impacts on student knowledge and attitudes about Ohio River Conservation, Lillie Daniel, Thomas More University
8. Children’s Access to Nature: Central Kentucky, Brooke Crenshaw, Eastern Kentucky University
9. Branching Out: Cultivating Social Skills Through Play and Forest Schooling, Brooke Crenshaw, Eastern Kentucky University and Trail Tots

This poster session will discuss the research project, “Anthropogenic Litter in Urban Waterways: An Analysis of Litter, Urbanization, and the Emerging Role of Citizen Science in Beargrass Creek, Louisville, KY” and explore the significant environmental education opportunities presented through the results of the data. The findings support the incredible necessity of integrating community engagement, sustainability education, and effective technology together to reconnect neighborhoods with their urban waterways and restore these streams- so that all have equal access to healthy environments and outdoor recreation across the city.

To put research into action, the project addressed the ever-growing presence and persistence of anthropogenic litter (AL) in urban waterways. AL has been studied in marine environments, but research gaps exist in riverine ecosystems. Most of the AL that reaches the Earth’s oceans is carried by urban rivers, so understanding the relationship between these waterways and AL is critical in effectively fighting AL accumulation, especially for legacy plastic pollutants. This study explored fifteen sites throughout Beargrass Creek and recorded the quantity and type of AL present throughout the summer and fall of 2023. The National Geographic Marine Debris Tracker app was employed to successfully accomplish this analysis. This is a powerful tool designed to engage citizens with the streams running through their neighborhoods. The results of this project revealed the interconnected relationship between urbanization and AL accumulation in waterways, and advocates for the crucial change possible through participatory science.

The conclusions found from the project present endless potential for education in practice and exploratory activities that support students’ holistic growth. The human awareness and perception of a stream has an extraordinary impact on AL pollution and the overall health of the waterway. The more communities can engage with their local creeks and streams, the greater environmental change becomes possible. The study revealed the strengths of using technology like the National Geographic Marine Debris Tracker. This app makes data collection much more accessible to any level of scientific experience. It generates data tables and figures, collects geographic coordinates for spatial analysis, and creates an easy system for tracking the quantity and type of AL observed.

The purpose of this poster session is to give educators the background knowledge to plan and carry out effective real-world learning to encourage a sustainable future. Educators will be introduced to the National Geographic Marine Debris Tracker, a potentially powerful tool for classrooms. With the use of the tracker, thematic investigations could begin as simply as recording trash in the school site/school’s watershed area. Through teacher led instruction, students can develop and implement an action project in which every student can participate. The project can grow in complexity with the development of students over grade levels, as well as involving parents, civic organizations, and community leaders providing holistic learning experiences. This technological aid gives educators the platform to teach about the history of stream alteration, aquatic habitat health, land use/ land cover interactions within watersheds- in addition to giving students the opportunity to observe AL firsthand in their local streams, developing investigation skills, inclusion, teamwork, and engaging with the waterways in positive and meaningful ways that promote sustainability practices for the future.

With a spotlight on the current and worsening environmental crisis, a positive attitude toward the environment, and the skills and confidence to actively protect it are necessary to make progress in conservation of important ecosystems like the Ohio River valley. One tool well suited to cultivate these attitudes and skills is environmental education which allows students to explore, engage, and act on environmental issues. Through this active process, goals include increasing students’ awareness of their environment, comfort in being outdoors, empathy toward their immediate environment, and students’ skills in using environmental action strategies.
Thomas More University Biology Field Station offers several different environmental education experiences. The mission is “To educate and engage our visitors about the ecological and cultural value of the Ohio River and its watershed and to empower them to take action to protect them.” The purpose of this study is threefold: measure the cognitive impact of discipline related content, the psychomotor skills acquired, and cultivation of affective behaviors and attitude towards Ohio River conservation. There are two research questions for the study: do environmental education programs increase student knowledge on presented topics; and do environmental education programs positively shift emotional, behavioral, and attitude measurements on presented topics, conservation in general, and potential for future environmental action. Outcomes of the study provide guidance on best practice for deepening understanding and sparking a catalyst for change.

Forest schools, which come from Denmark and the Scandinavian principle of friluftsliv, offer children regular opportunities for nature exploration and most importantly, play-based activities in a woodland environment (Boileau & Dabaha, 2020). Forest schools offer a valuable alternative to traditional classroom setting as they provide a natural and stimulating environment for play and social interaction. The following research questions were used to guide this study;
· RQ1: How do parents’ perceptions of Forest Schooling aid their preschool-aged children with and without disabilities with play and social skills?
· RQ2: How does the type of play preschool-aged children with and without disabilities partake in during Forest School benefit their social skills?
This presentation will delve into how forest schools can foster the growth of social skills in preschool-aged children with and without disabilities. The research questions are explored through a mixed-methods case study that utilizes interviews, observations, surveys with the children’s parents/caregivers, and artifact collection. The child participants (N=10) attended a forest school in a local nature park. The Forest School was delivered in sessions ranging from 2 to 4 days a week for 3 hours over four months, August through November.
This study adds to the current literature on forest schooling in the United States. Prior research has focused in countries outside the U.S. and on developing the awareness and skills to be environmental stewards (Boileau & Dabaha, 2020). My study builds on this literature base by exploring how forest schools may develop children with and without disabilities social skills and play.
Overall, this presentation will identify the importance of forest schools in nurturing the social and emotional development of children with and without disabilities and provide practical strategies for integrating forest schools’ principles into educational settings. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of the benefits of outdoor play and nature-based learning in promoting social skills development in children.

This qualitative study conducted in the spring of 2024 by a graduate student in Environmental Education at EKU compared the demographics of the surrounding areas and quality of two children's play sites’ natural settings and affordances. The researcher gathered data from the two sites using LEAF School Grounds Site Inventories. The researcher also performed analysis of secondary analysis of additional data from various sources including:
*KAEE Landscape Analysis
*US Census data from 2020
*Lexington, Kentucky’s governmental website
*Rowland-Shea, et al., 2020
The Census County Division or Council District of each park was used to gather data for comparison between the two locations, as well as to compare them to state and national averages. This study is intended to identify the various resources residents can use to determine the accessibility and quality of parks and natural areas in Lexington, Kentucky. This can help residents maximize their nature exposure and reap the subsequent benefits.

Having access to nature matters. Rowland-Shea et al. write, “Simply having more tree cover in a neighborhood could account for as much as 13 percent of the variance in student outcomes; the study found the positive effect to be strongest in schools that faced the most external socio-economic challenges”. Just having trees in a neighborhood can change children’s outcomes. With the prevalence of technology in today's society, it is increasingly crucial to prioritize opportunities for children to engage with the natural world. However, not all children have equal access to green spaces in Central Kentucky. With this poster I investigate what are the factors that contribute to children's access to nature in Shepherdsville and Elizabethtown? I investigated this question through a qualitative study that utilized observations in local parks using the LEAF Inventory, analyzing data such as KAEE Landscape Analysis, Census Data. After examining the data, I hypothesize that young families are moving into Shepherdsville. Elizabethtown, an urban trail city, has many green spaces. Still, the park is more traditional and limits creative play. According to the Landscape Analysis, Elizabethtown also has no official environmental education opportunities. Both cities have high poverty rates, with Shepherdsville double the state average. Both Elizabethtown and Shepherdsville have parks for children to enjoy. Although they are very different in design, they have much to offer children and educators looking to utilize the spaces. .To support the growing population, especially in Shepherdsville, the area must implement environmental education opportunities or continue to develop new parks and green spaces that are accessible in the location. Environmental education opportunities should be provided in these areas to ensure young children can connect with nature and be the environmental stewards we need to protect our green spaces. Due to the high percentage of poverty, it is also recommended that these opportunities be low or no cost. Forest or Nature-Based Schools that focus on sustainability are also recommended.

Amur honeysuckle is one of the most disruptive invasive plants in Central Kentucky’s forested ecosystems and in the surrounding region. Its prolific spread and wide-ranging negative impacts on native flora including altered light regimes, resource consumption and allelopathy make it important to systematically monitor and implement management when possible. However, Amur honeysuckle infestations on public and private land are so extensive that most forested habitats are left untreated and even unassessed. Furthermore, assessments usually require experienced land managers and extensive time to accurately develop specifications leading to efficient management.

Because vegetation of different species can exhibit significant spatial diversity within a relatively small area, airborne multi-spectral and LiDAR data can be an important tool for surveying this complex environment. Additionally, drone-based tools can gather data many times faster than ground-based assessments. Therefore, this study was developed to investigate whether drone-based multi-spectral and LiDAR data can be used to assess Amur honeysuckle composition to develop accurate forest improvement specifications. Drone data were compared to field data gathered on 80 forested plots in Central Kentucky representing percent cover of Amur Honeysuckle in five vertical height classes.

Preliminary results indicate a high degree of comparability between the different methods, particularly in the shorter height classes. Drone-based multi-spectral and LiDAR data can accurately and efficiently map the composition of invasive plants in select forested situations leading to increased forest assessments and management. Results from this research will be used to refine this methodology and expand this technology as a forest assessment tool.

Pollinator habitat establishment is conducted in several different ways using different methods. This session highlights various methods using herbicide and provides recommendations based on preliminary evidence, as this is an ongoing project

Probes are a way of better understanding people’s metacognition (internal thinking). Page Keeley created several books based on research of misconceptions found in science. Her ideas were used to create three different probes to elicit student understanding about karst and caves. Three checklist probes about karst and cave misconceptions were created and tested on future elementary teachers. In addition, students write explanations about their reasoning for what items they checked. Understanding their reasoning helps to improve teaching. This idea can be recreated in other places where nonformal education occurs. This poster will discuss how to create probes to assess learning at places where nonformal learning occurs.

Environmental stewardship with opportunities for community involvement abound, but urban, community-based stewardship projects also experience high failure rates. Labor requirements, lack of appropriate experience, resources, and lack of long-term planning leads to low quality implementation and lack of continued interest. This session will describe two successful environmental stewardship projects with different levels of community involvement. Participants will be asked to describe their own experiences, and presenters will provide their formula for improving environmental stewardship projects.

The Frankfort/Franklin County Joint Task Force on Invasives was formed in 2021 with a goal to develop a structured invasive species plan and framework for regular community and agency activity on the issue. This community led initiative has resulted in an approved city plan, mapping of county-wide priority areas, fundraising, and planning for paid positions with partnering agencies to address task force needs.

Olmsted Parks Conservancy in partnership with Kentucky State University began a brush management demonstration trail in 2022 in Louisville, KY to address citizen and agency questions about whether using small ruminant livestock (goats) can be an efficient, sustainable habitat management tool compared to traditional, herbicide-based methods. Preliminary results and the methods used to address community interest have generated additional support toward expanding natural areas management while also addressing community concerns.

Successful, long-term environmental stewardship requires experience, evidence-based methods, and a structured process. Sustainable community engagement requires persistent efforts, immersive opportunities, and a focus on community needs. Although these two can be at odds, they can be effectively combined with a structured approach.

Conference Presentation Proposal: Inspiring Change Through "This is the Ohio: Life, Death, and Rebirth of our Beautiful River"
Presented by: Dr. David Wicks
Introduction
This session will explore the transformative power of documentary filmmaking in environmental advocacy and community engagement. We will delve into Morgan Atkinson's documentary, "This is the Ohio: Life, Death, and Rebirth of our Beautiful River." This powerful film not only captures the essence of the Ohio River but also serves as a catalyst for several significant initiatives aimed at preserving and revitalizing this vital waterway.

About the Documentary
Morgan Atkinson, an award-winning filmmaker recognized with the Governor's Award for the Arts, brings to life the story of the Ohio River through his documentary. "This is the Ohio" offers a profound narrative that intertwines the river's ecological history, current challenges, and the hopeful efforts to restore its health and beauty. Morgan also directed Wonder; The Life of Anna and Harlan Hubbard.

Segments Viewing
We will start by viewing selected segments from the documentary, which highlight key aspects of the Ohio River's journey. These segments will set the stage for understanding the various initiatives inspired by the documentary.

Initiative 1: Ohio River Way
The first initiative we will discuss is the Ohio River Way, a collaborative effort with the National Park Service to designate the Ohio River as a national water trail. This initiative aims to enhance recreational opportunities, promote conservation, and boost local economies along the river. By establishing the Ohio River as a national water trail, we can ensure its protection and accessibility for future generations.

Initiative 2: Kentucky Ohio River Regional Recreation Authority (KORRA)
Next, we will explore the formation of the Kentucky Ohio River Regional Recreation Authority (KORRA), which was officially signed into law by Governor Brashear in April of this year. KORRA's mission is to develop and manage recreational facilities and activities along the Kentucky portion of the Ohio River, fostering community engagement and sustainable tourism. This initiative highlights the potential for regional cooperation in promoting environmental stewardship and economic development.

Initiative 3: Ohio River Ecological Restoration
Finally, we will discuss the Ohio River Ecological Restoration initiative, led by the National Wildlife Federation and the Ohio River Basin Alliance. This initiative focuses on comprehensive ecological restoration efforts to improve water quality, restore habitats, and enhance biodiversity along the river. The documentary plays a crucial role in raising awareness and garnering support for these vital restoration projects.

Initiative 4: Payne Hollow on the Ohio
Payne Hollow, the home of Anna and Harlan Hubbard, is a new educational facility in Trimble County that focuses on the confluence of Art, Culture and the Environment. It has been made possible in part by Morgan’s early movie Wonder.

Conclusion
Through the lens of "This is the Ohio," we witness the power of storytelling in inspiring action and fostering community engagement. Each of these initiatives—the Ohio River Way, KORRA, and the Ohio River Ecological Restoration—demonstrates a commitment to preserving the Ohio River's natural beauty and ecological integrity.
As we conclude this presentation, I encourage you to reflect on how we can leverage similar storytelling tools and collaborative efforts in our own communities. Together, we can create a ripple effect of positive change, ensuring a sustainable and vibrant future for our natural resources.
Q&A Session
We will now open the floor for questions and discussions.

Harnessing younger students’ innate curiosity about the natural world and desire to protect it can be done with hands-on classroom activities that build STEM skills, increase environmental literacy, foster environmental stewardship and encourage creative thinking about sustainable paths forward.

In this session, the presenter will facilitate a series of interdisciplinary lessons that involve collecting and analyzing data, creating 3D models and concept maps, and working collaboratively on solving authentic problems related to human ecology. Activities support Kentucky Academic Standards, especially Earth and Human Activity (Disciplinary Core Idea - ESS3C). Participants will receive lesson plans and background materials in an electronic format, along with links to digital tools that can be used in and out of the classroom and environmental education center.

After a brief introduction on the ecology concepts to be presented, the presenter will lead participants in several hands-on activities. These include:
• an interactive story about a local river, how different communities have affected that ecosystem over time and strategies for taking care of the area.
• small groups will create concept maps connecting cause-and-effects relationships between people’s activities and environmental trends.
• participants play a game on sustainable research management

The presenter will lead discussion on how the activities can best be incorporated into classroom and nonformal education programming.

You put a lot of work into your newsletters, social media posts, PowerPoints and website -- but are they accessible to people with disabilities? Roberta Burnes will show you how a few simple steps can improve accessibility of your socials, email announcements, PowerPoints and more, to ensure that EVERYONE gets your message. Topics covered will include writing appropriate alt text for images, effective use of color and contrast, and using Microsoft's built-in accessibility checker. Bring your smartphone or laptop for some hands-on practice.

Nonformal education sites offer enriching educational experiences for students. The McDowell Farm School (MFS) exemplifies this by providing students with immersive encounters in a working farm environment. Despite their educational value, many nonformal education sites lack sufficient evidence of their impact. This session presents a research study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of MFS programs on visiting students. By utilizing pre-visit/post-visit surveys and interviews, this study provides valuable insights into program efficacy and offers transferable evaluation methods for similar nonformal education programs. This session will explore the study’s methodology, findings, and implications to contribute to a deeper understanding of program evaluation in nonformal education contexts. This will be done using results and survey responses taken from the visit to the MFS that document the program’s impact on participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. By showcasing the positive impact of MFS on students and providing transferable evaluation methods, the session advances our understanding of the value of experiential learning beyond traditional educational settings.
The research study utilized the EE21 survey as part of the program evaluation to document program impacts of the MPS on visiting students. The EE21 is available for other EE program providers to use. Researchers will share how the survey can be validated and used for program evaluations of conference attendees allowing them to include this valuable tool in their own program evaluations.

In Growing Gorillas: Building Capacity for Conservation in Community participants will learn to find and collaborate with local organizations that share their conservation mission, hear examples of how the Louisville Zoo is working with partners to increase their audience and capacity for conservation while promoting an accessible entry to global wildlife conservation. The project offers the perfect medium to connect local schools, community groups, and organizations to an international conservation effort through its involvement with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Western Lowland Gorilla SAFE Project and its associated partners. During the session participants will learn how to effectively connect global conservation projects to local issues, practice strategies for mutually beneficial collaboration, and brainstorm ideas to get diverse age groups excited in the same conservation project.

Environmental educators are light bearers in a world that can, at times, feel dark. Global and national events can feel overwhelming and make it seem like our work isn’t making a difference. Staff of the Kentucky Environmental Education Council will lead an interactive discussion about the strategies they use to stay positive and make meaningful impacts in local communities. They will share hopeful stories from the Environmental Education Leadership Corps, Professional Environmental Educator Certification Program, and Master Plan for Environmental Education in Kentucky. Participants can bring examples from their own work to share in this crucial conversation about how positivity, mindfulness, and seeking community can have a ripple effect in the work we do.

Join us for an interactive presentation that showcases fun and inspiring ways to encourage children to step outside and engage with the natural world. This session will feature a variety of hands-on activities designed to spark curiosity and foster a love for nature. Attendees will learn effective strategies to motivate kids to explore their surroundings, from fun nature scavenger hunts to exciting wildlife observation games. Additionally, the presentation will delve into the wonders of gardening, offering practical tips on how to involve children in growing their own plants and understanding the life cycle of a garden. Whether you’re a teacher, parent, or community leader, this presentation will equip you with creative tools to help kids discover the joys of outdoor adventures and the satisfaction of nurturing a garden.

Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) "explores sustainability and its educational responses in Early Childhood Education (ECE [Davis, 2022]). Through Environmental Education and incorporating nature in classroom learning, teachers enable children to have positive experiences in nature and encourage respect for our planet. Sustainability is an abstract concept for young children. How do we implement classroom practices that are meaningful to children and encourage them to engage in sustainability practices? This prospect becomes complex as Early Childhood Educators work with with children from increasingly diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and linguistic backgrounds. Participants in this session will engage in dialogue about what ECEfS looks like in practice for teachers of young children and in teacher preparation programs. We will engage in activities that can be easily replicated in classrooms with young children.

Are you interested in connecting with other educators in your area? Join us to network and learn more about what is happening in your part of the woods or holler. The tables will be marked by region. Feel free to break them down into smaller regions or by county—whatever makes the most sense for your area!

• East
• South Central
• Bluegrass
• Louisville
• Northern
• West

Ripple Effects is a photography contest designed to encourage young people from the greater Kentuckiana area to connect to water in their communities. This interactive session will describe the process contest organizers have developed for conducting this contest with the hope of encouraging others to establish similar projects in their own communities. One key aspect of Ripple Effects is the way diverse team members have come together to promote the contest, including staff from local governmental agencies, academic institutions, and arts and cultural organizations. In addition to the contest itself, photographers from the team offer workshops designed to teach strategies for creating effective photographs. Other members of the team have worked with members of the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission to create a Land Acknowledgement as part of our exhibit at last year’s Kentucky State Fair. And the team participated in a strategic planning process to create a shared vision and mission. There are also efforts to extend the project to other countries through the establishment of Ripple Effects International. The Ripple Effects team believes that by using photography to encourage young people to observe the natural world more closely they will be encouraged to develop a deeper appreciation of the importance of protecting local water resources and taking action to address environmental issues. Session participants will have opportunities to create similar collaborations in their communities and how to build on those connections to support youth in exploring local waterways through photography

Come learn how to bring America's best idea to your classroom or school! OutSCIder Classroom (https://www.youtube.com/@OutSCIderClassroom) is a web-based video series that teaches students science concepts and environmental stewardship through videos and paired instructional materials. Our goal is to Impact student science learning outcomes, increase student interest in STEM careers, inspire the next generation of scientists and conservationists. Participants will partake in a OutSCIder inquiry-based lesson and learn how to access instructional materials for implementation in the classroom.

This session will focus on multiple approaches to creating meaningful, engaging, purposeful, and joyful programs or lessons. Building off of the basic "fundamentals" of a quality lesson, attendees will think about ways to bring their lessons to the next level of success. Utilizing song and dance, rhythm and rhyme, kinesthetics and earworms, we'll approach topics from a joy building view with the final goal of attaining a higher level of comprehension, retention, and action from lessons.

Whether you’re interested in getting your foot in the door and/or being invited back for more, this interactive session will have you thinking about ways to ensure that your EE presentations are standards-based and include research-based best teaching practices. With pressure to address state standards during every lesson and prepare students for high-stakes testing, teachers want to know that your lesson meets the strict criteria expectations of their administration and is worth giving up a day away from the prescribed curriculum. During this session you will participate in a popular EE curriculum activity and practice using a tool to examine it, as well your own lessons, to see if they tick all the boxes for success. This session is appropriate for “Newbies” to EE, folks interested in becoming KY Green Schools mentors, and “Old Pros” wanting to examine the effectiveness of their current EE programming.

Description coming soon.

Be sure to stick around for the closing remarks and final reflections. Turn in your green bucks, Exhibitor Exploration, and Mystery Table sheets for prize drawings. Also, the losers of the dash for cash will receive their consequence!