TREC Summit, Climate Reality Project, Mexico!

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Our education staff are busy this summer jet-setting far and wide for Cooper! Summertime is an opportunity for our team to pursue professional development, attend conferences, and to introduce our educational programs to other outdoor classrooms and organizations. We take what we gain from these experiences and put it right back into our own environmental lessons and activities, too, making the Cooper Center an even more valuable learning resource for children and families, educators, and our greater community.

Tucson Regional Educator Collaborative (TREC) Summit

The TREC Summit was held on June 4th and Cooper Center educators were eager to participate. The event was an opportunity for teachers to gain new insights and knowledge from the many professional development workshops being offered. The summit was centered around the themes of "Celebrating and Sharing Successes" with a keynote from National Teacher of the Year 2021 and University of Arizona College of Education Alum, Juliana Urtubey, NBCT.

After the event, Cooper teachers met to discuss the big takeaways from each of the workshops attended and how these insights could be tailored to the unique outdoor classroom programs we offer. Some of these resources and ideas have already been implemented in our summer activities and are being included in our fall field trips!

Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project Conference

Earlier this month, Cooper Educators Jen Galan and Alexianne Ramirez attended the Climate Reality Project Conference in Las Vegas. Their goal was to better understand how our work at Camp Cooper fits into the greater mission of combatting climate change issues around the globe.

Upon returning from the conference Jen had this to say, "The Climate Reality Project Conference gave a brutal but necessary global perspective of the climate crisis." With a keynote from Vice President Al Gore, the conference makes clear some of the difficult facets of climate change.