Bourbon Rain Barrel Auction Supports KAEE

Now is your chance to bid and win an authentic Maker's Mark Bourbon Barrel that has been thoughtfully and purposely converted into a rain barrel. Once used to age bourbon, this white oak barrel has been repurposed into a rain barrel by KAEE Board Member Jason Nally at Maker's Mark. The barrelhead remains intact, therefore providing flexibility in installing the rain barrel and configuring it to any downspout.

The barrels have been donated by Maker's Mark and we are so grateful for their support and the opportunity to raise funds for the field of environmental education in Kentucky.

For this fundraiser, we will be using a sealed-bid style auction. We have 10 bourbon rain barrels available. Minimum bid for each barrel is $75. Bidders may submit one bid using this form. Submitting more than one bid indicates bids for more than one barrel. Bidders will not be able to see the amounts submitted by others. In this style of auction, it is suggested that bidders submit the highest price they'd be willing to pay for an individual barrel. If you want more than one barrel, submit more than one bid. The top 10 bidders will be the winners! KAEE staff will view the bids on closing day and announce the winners thereafter.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE KAEE 2020 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

The 2020 Kentucky Association for Environmental Education Conference, held last week, was filled with engaging sessions, interactive events, though-provoking ideas, and lots of laughs. Thank you to everyone who joined us! During our welcome and annual meeting session, we had the opportunity to thank Billie Hardin for her many years on the Board of Directors and who has just completed her term as past-chair. We also recognized and thanked Jennifer Hubbard-Sánchez, who has completed her term as board chair, and welcomed Blair Hecker to the role as chair, Whitney Wurzel to role of vice chair, and Jason Nally to role of secretary. Other announcements included a welcome to our new board members, Meg Gravil, Maddy Heredia, Dan Pascucci, and (returning to the board) Henrietta Sheffel and highlights of our 2020 Excellence in EE Award winners. (Read more about those all-stars here!)

Sessions included

• EE Activities for Global Citizenship: People, Food, Energy, and Sustainability

• Social Justice and Equity in EE

• AmeriCorps, Certification, and GreenSchools: How KEEC Can Help You

• Easy and Affordable Strategies for Growing Indoors

• Encouraging Systems-Level Thinking via Ecosystem Games

• Conservation Education that Works!

• Centering Race to Advance Environmental Equality (Keynote Address)

• COVID-19 and Air Quality: What Do the Data Say?

• Soggy Bottoms: Something Old and Something New for Stream Detectives

• Using Needs Assessment as a Catalyst for Building EE Networks

• Virtual Happy Hour

• Virtual Yoga

• A Local Community-Based EE Coalition Using the NAAEE Guidelines

• Cook Wild Kentucky

• Environmental Education During a Global Pandemic

• FUNdamentals of EE

• Making EE Engaging in the Digital World

• Recycling Early Education Materials with Instruction and Community Support

• Environmental Outreach and the Community ​

The keynote, by Greenlining's Leslie Aguayo, focused on the intersection of racial equity and environmental issues (and why these are inseparable). Other highlights included regional hikes and meet-ups around the state, a North American Association for Environmental Education Community Engagement Guidelines for Excellence training and a plenary session led by Girls in STEM founder Cagney Coomer. A special thanks goes to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, who sponsored our online conference program; the Tennessee Valley Authority, who sponsored conference scholarships; the Kentucky Environmental Education Council, who sponsored our pre-conference workshop; and Far Off Cows Dental Ceramics, who sponsored conference gifts. We can't wait to see you in person for conference next year!

“ZOOM INTO ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION" WITH DREW LANHAM AND SEEA

"Connecting the conservation dots” is Drew Lanham’s research mission, something that in the past “focused on the impacts of forest management and other human activities on songbirds, herpetofauna, small mammals, and butterflies,” he shares, and now centers more on “how ethnicity (especially Black Americans) relates to wildlife and other conservation issues.”

Dr. Lanham, internationally renowned and respected professor, author, poet, birder, and hunter, will deliver the keynote address of this fall’s exciting Southeastern Environmental Education Alliance virtual conference, hosted by the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina and held Sept. 24 and 25. Mark your calendars and get ready to “Zoom into Environmental Education!”

For just $25, conference attendees will enjoy a Research Symposium featuring the work of scholars from across the southeast and a selection of General Conference Sessions on topics ranging from "Public Reception of Climate News Media" to "Improving Evaluation in EE." The event will also include virtual trivia hosted by Allie Sorlie of the University of Alabama's Museum of Natural History.

Conference sessions will be recorded and will be available for conference registrants to view after the event.

Conference Sponsors include Duke Energy, Moore Farms Botanical Gardens, SC Association of Conservation Districts, SC Department of Natural Resources, Sonoco Recycling, Columbia Fireflies, Columbia Water, Florence County Museum, The Greenhouse Company, Roper Mountain Science Center, Dominion Energy, Lake Conestee Nature Park, SC State Museum, Champions of the Environment, Joye Law Firm, Prioleau Insurance Services, SC Farm to School, and the SC Energy Office.