Spring Conference 2008

Cuyamaca College, along with the Water Conservation Garden and Child Development Center, will be hosting our Spring Conference: Nature and Children.

Keynote speaker, Bill Toone, has a Master of Science Degree in Avian Sciences from the University of California at Davis where he studied the reproductive biology of the California condor. Following graduate school, Bill pursued his interest in the California condor and was ultimately assigned to the federally appointed California Condor Recovery Team. Bill played a high profile role in establishing recovery strategies, collecting eggs in the field, and rearing condors in captivity.

Since then his conservation work has carried him to all corners of the planet including Antarctica. His background includes National park work in Madagascar, sustainable development programs in Costa Rica, old growth logging studies in Papua New Guinea, recovery of giant peccary in Paraguay, sustainable management practices in Argentina, and more.

Bill and many of his colleagues were worried by the apparent disconnect between quality of life for people and the health of their natural resources, so in 2003 with scientists and colleagues, he worked to establish the ECO-LIFE Foundation to help fill this important and neglected niche.

A popular and sought after speaker, Bill enjoys weaving travel, adventure and excitement into lively stories with a message.

After the keynote, participants will visit both the Water Conservation Garden and Child Development Center. In the spirit of the conference, this second half of the program will involve hiking through the garden and walking to the CDC. Participants are strongly urged to wear sunscreen and comfortable walking shoes and to bring water and a hat.

While taking a docent-led tour of the gardens, registrants may encounter Vermi Pro (with worms for sale), critters from the San Diego Zoo, Ecolife Foundation, CHIRP, Homestead Hydroponics, San Diego Natural Guide, and Wild Wes (a children's musician who writes environmental education lyrics and will have a cd for sale) along with others. Visitors to the CDC will encounter hands-on displays and demonstrations to bring nature into the classroom and to take children out into nature.

Participants will receive a certificate for 4 CARES hours, a copy of Land and People published by the Public Land Trust. Thanks to the generosity of the San Diego Childcare Planning Council, the first 200 registrants will also receive a copy of Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods, which was the inspiration for this conference.

If you have any questions, please email the conference chairperson at denise@growingmind.com.

Something to check out!
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Children/ingarden.htm