The New England Science & Sailing Foundation (NESS) is hosting a free, virtual Experiential Learning in Alternative Education Workshop on Saturday, October 22, from 9AM-12PM. This virtual workshop and access to the NESS B-WET Tacklebox, is free to educational professionals, thanks to grant funding provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) and NESS. 

This workshop is designed to:

- GENERATE fresh ideas with the panel of experts and participate in interactive breakout rooms.

- LEARN how to apply experiential teaching tools and techniques to build social and emotional learning (SEL) skills and improve environmental stewardship with students.

- GAIN ACCESS to the free NESS B-WET Tacklebox, an educator resource toolkit including NESS lesson plans specifically geared for students using NOAA resources. 

"Our Virtual Workshop represents an important opportunity for educational professionals to learn and share how to incorporate experiential and environmental best practice elements into alternative education classrooms,” said Dr. Eric M. Isselhardt, CEO of NESS. " To that end, our teacher cohort, funded by NESS and the NOAA B-WET grant, has worked for the past year to understand and develop those best practices and to create a free toolkit that helps to inform and support any teacher who wishes to integrate environmental experiential learning with students.”

NESS will take participants on a deep dive into best practices for implementing meaningful watershed environmental experiences designed to help students within alternative learning programs explore and gain greater respect for their local environment and waterways.

The panel of speakers, led by the NESS B-WET Education Team, includes Keynote Speaker, Connecticut’s Congressman Joe Courtney, a champion of alternative education and the environment, Captain Chris Nolan, Assistant Professor of Nautical Science for the Sea Education Association (SEA), Molly Dushay, Education & Outreach Director with The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) and Science Teacher at Trumbull High School, and Jillian Bucciero, Education Coordinator with Hartford Healthcare Natchaug Clinical Day Treatment Schools. 

"The Hartford Healthcare Natchaug Hospital Day students and teachers have benefitted greatly from the NOAA B-WET Grant and NESS programming by engaging our alternative students on the water and in the classroom, while providing our staff at Natchaug and Rushford with professional development and the toolkit development that we are pleased to see being shared with the broader community,” said Shawn Cyr, Director of School Programs, Hartford Healthcare 

For more information on how you can attend the Virtual Experiential Learning in Alternative Education Workshop, please visit NESSF.org/NOAA-BWET or contact Kathy Allyn at [email protected] or 860.535.9362.