EARTH GUIDES NEEDED

The Institute for Earth Education is launching a certification program for a new category of outdoor leaders:  Earth Guides.

An International Earth Guide focuses on the human relationship with life on this small planet and how to serve it instead of subduing it.

The initial training will take place in Cedar Cove, the international home of the institute, on June 23–25, 2023 in Greenville, West Virginia.

For more information about this special opportunity go to the Earth Guides International website.

Registration will begin in March, 2023, but if you would like to receive registration information, please contact our hosts, Francis and Nancy Bires via earthguides@ieetree.org Please be advised that places on this special course are limited.

Why Earth Guides? Given all of our scientific and technological skills, we have lost a basic grasp of what makes life possible here, and the planet is dying ecologically as a result. Instead of embedding ourselves in the natural systems and communities that support us, we have walled ourselves off from them. We look upon nature as a place to extract materials for our use, as a place for escape or recreation, as a place to acquire trophies or decorations, as a place to discard our waste. As earth educators, we must change that perception if this wondrous oasis in space is to survive its sixth mass extinction now underway.

Sessions will include: 

Earth Speak 101, an introduction to a new, simplified “down-to-earth” and revealing “eco-language” for working with others.

Fun – da – mentals , a template for creating stimulating activities for conveying the essential processes of life. “A piece of life without a process risks becoming mostly eye-candy.”

The Greatest Show in the Solar System, a participatory play in four acts for boys and girls of all ages.

Depending on their interest, participants can Enjoy this introductory “Earth Guides” session highlighting new methods and activities. Complete the necessary steps afterwards to become certified as an Earth Guide (CEG) by the School of the Earth, the training arm of the institute. Apply as a certified Earth Guide to become a trainer and conduct introductory Earth Guides sessions through the institute.

The training will be conducted by Steve Van Matre, international chair of the institute. Professor Van Matre has circled the planet over 30 times conducting over 1000 sessions on six continents about the institute’s work. 

He has over two dozen publications in the field, making him one of the world’s most prolific leaders in the education side of the environmental movement. The institute’s carefully crafted educational programs, such as “Earthkeepers,” are underway now in 15 countries and 10 languages. 

For information about The Institute for Earth Education and its School of the Earth, visit www.ieetree.org

T H E  I N S T I T U T E  F O R  E A R T H  E D U C A T I O N

PO BOX 115, GREENVILLE, WV 24945 USA