Since 1996 Association "Ecosystem" cooperates with different educational institutions,
like us specialized in field ecology and environmental education of children, students and
teachers. These organizations use such methods of education as field natural history
practices, educational excursions in nature, field trips and far expeditions to wild and
exotic places of their countries.
One of our partners in Europe since 1996
is Field Studies
Council - an environmental education charity committed to helping people understand
and be inspired by the natural world. Thousands of students every year experience the FSC
through fieldwork and cross-curricular courses at their network of 17 centres across the
UK.
We cooperates with Field Studies Council sending
groups of Russian school-children and teachers to different field centres of this
organization. According to our plan since 1997 we have sent already 7 Russian groups 12-28
participants each to 6 FSC centres all over the UK.
Usually the duration of such visits are 10-15 days and during these two weeks Russians
visit one or two field centres where they live, study, associate with the local children,
familiarize with unknown nature, new forms and methods of education, cultural and social
features of the Great Britain.
These visits are carried out on the commercial basis - local Russian schools and parents
are paying for the group transportation to the UK and their staying in FSC Centres.
One of our
partners in USA since 1997 is a non-governmental organization CreekFarm Education Associates
(Montana State, Bozeman).
Main projects of our cooperation with CreekFarm are: visits of Russian
ecology teachers to USA and visits of American teachers to Russia, joint educational
workshops and international expeditions of Russian and
American teachers and students through wild and exotic places of our countries.
The main goals of these expeditions are the intercourse of colleagues, their mutual
cultural and professional growth, familiarizing with unknown nature, new forms and methods
of education, cultural and social features of our countries.
The participants of these expeditions are practicing biology and geography teachers,
teachers of out-of-school Russian educational system, students of the Montana State
University.
Ecological
Field Techniques Course (USA) = details =
Our
second partner in the United States is the Montana State University and its Department of Education.
We cooperates with MSU since 1999 by establishing and delivering the telecommunication
ecology education program Ecological Field Techniques Course.
This course is for middle and secondary level science teachers and students in the USA,
Russia and other countries. This course is for teachers who would like their students to
share ecological and cultural information and work together to help create a better
environment.
The
Ecological Field Studies Program is a continuous, asynchronous, computer-based
telecommunications link between teachers and students focusing on ecological studies
throughout the world. The program is based on Ecological Field Techniques Materials that include 40 environmental
study lessons illustrated with videos of students and teachers conducting research in the
environment surrounding the Ecosystem
Center for Field Studies , northeast of Moscow, Russia. The videos have complimentary
supporting teacher background texts (manuals) in both English and Russian language.
Among the lessons are a wide
variety of activities in nature which focus on aquatic ecology, botany, forest ecology,
soil studies, landscape analysis, ornithology and anthropogenic effects on nature.