Pre-Conference Workshop

NAAEE Community Engagement Guidelines for Excellence 

Fee: $10  

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This will not be available as a virtual presentation

Jennifer Day Tariq is the Executive Director of the Douglas-Hart Foundation in Mattoon, IL which manages three unique properties: Friendship Garden, The Whiteside Botanical Garden and Arboretum, and the Douglas-Hart Nature Center. Jennifer's background is in environmental science, anthropology, and museum studies. She has several years of experience working at nature centers and museums alike and is a strong advocate for community engagement and partnerships. She has been with the Foundation for eleven years, some of which as the Education Director and the Illinois state WILD Coordinator. She serves on the Executive Board of the Environmental Education Association of Illinois and is a facilitator in numerous projects including WILD, PLT, NAAEE Guidelines, and more. She is also the founder of SEED, Social-Emotional Environmental Education Discovery, and the proud mom of Aydin, 13, and Lethan, 6. 

NAAEE Community Engagement Guidelines for Excellence 

This set of guidelines from the North American Association for Environmental Education focuses on community wellness and is designed to help environmental educators create inclusive environments that support effective partnerships and collaborations.

The guidelines were developed using a process of critique and consensus, similar to the process used to develop all of the other Guidelines for Excellence publications. The public review process involved gathering input from hundreds of educators, including focused feedback collected from content experts representing a variety of fields (e.g., diversity, community partnership building), a 16 person National Advisory Team, a wide range of stakeholders, and a Professional Learning Community (PLC). Many of the case studies were researched and drafted by members of the Professional Learning Community.

A 25 item toolkit augments the guidelines. Toolkit resources help users dive more deeply into aspects of environmental education and community engagement that may be unfamiliar to some practitioners. Participants will receive a spiral-bound copy of these guidelines (169 pages).  These guidelines can also be download from naaee.org.