The Father of Earth Education is Coming to Town

For my first post, I thought I would share some great news related to science. My hero, the man considered to be the father of Earth Education, creater of one of the greatest international Earth Education programs, Master Earthkeeper himself Steve Van Matre is coming to Sandy Lake, PA on June 21 to do a workshop on Earth Education. I could not be any more excited about it.

Steve Van Matre is the international chair of The Institute for Earth Education. This man is a genius when it comes to creating programs that engage students in learning about the Earth and how to take better care of it. He will be hosting a workshop on June 21, 2010 at the Mckeever Environmental Learning Center in Sandy Lake, PA. The workshop is $60 and is worth 7 Act 48 hours. For more information, please contact info@mckeever.org.

I am seriously excited about this workshop. I have been wanting to meet Steve since I first learned the Sunship Earth and Earthkeepers program in March '08. The director of Mckeever sent his former student teachers all an email about it since he obviously knew how excited we would be. We were always asking questions about Steve, this mysterious man who wears a signature hat and carries a walking stick, similar to his beloved character, E.M. who we had all learned about in our Earthkeeper training. We had envisioned Mr. Van Matre as a man who work clothes made of hemp or other plant materials and who had a long beard with woodland creatures living in it. I pictured him as a hermit living deep in the forest in a house he built himself using only raw materials. Of course, these envisionments are, I'm sure, completely off base, though not unfounded. I have seen only one picture of him and he does have the long beard and slightly resembles the hermit I pictured. I know that I cannot wait to meet him. Plus, I haven't been down to the science center in awhile and it will be nice to see everyone again as well as walk the trails. :)