Teacher Professional Development

Summer 2024 Workshop Offerings

For Teachers NEW to LREC:

Effective Outdoor Learning (EOL)

Girls taking notes in schoolyard

June 17–18, 2024 or July 18–19, 2024
9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Are you a classroom teacher, specialist, or special education teacher working with K–12 students? If so, join us this summer and learn how to become familiar with your schoolyard and to use it as a rich learning environment with your students. This 2-day workshop kicks off a year-long program with Litzsinger Road Ecology Center (LREC) as you gear up to use your schoolyard spaces to meet your curriculum goals.

Key components of the program include:

  • Support from LREC staff in developing outdoor teaching and learning skills 
  • Free field trips to the ecology center once each season
  • Monthly activities on your schoolyard

This workshop is for teachers NEW to LREC and is offered free of charge.

Please note: This is a 2-day workshop and participation is required on both days.

Contact leslie@lrec.net for more information about this exciting opportunity.

Nature-Based Learning: Outdoor Explorations with PreK

Children exploring outsideJune 10, 2024
9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Join us this summer in a workshop designed for PreK teachers who want to discover how easy it is to use their schoolyard as a rich learning environment.

Key components of the program include:

  • Support from LREC staff in developing outdoor teaching and learning skills
  • Free field trips to the ecology center once each season
  • Seasonal activities on your schoolyard

This workshop is for teachers NEW to LREC and is offered free of charge.

Contact julie@lrec.net for more information about this exciting opportunity.

For Returning Teachers:

Students in their schoolyardSustainable Schoolyards (SS)

June 24–26, 2024
9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Do your students want to make the world a better place? Do they want to find ways to improve the natural environment? Join us this summer to learn how to nurture student involvement and voice as you implement a habitat improvement project on your campus. LREC will provide staff support, lesson plans and resources throughout the upcoming school year as you put this plan into action. Participating teachers will receive native plants for their project through the LREC Plant Grant.


This workshop is open to current LREC Teacher Partners who have completed Effective Outdoor Learning (EOL) or Nature-Based Learning (NBL) in previous years.

Click here to register for Sustainable Schoolyards.

Summer Schoolyard Tour

Sustainable Schoolyard plantings

June 27–28, 2024
9 a.m.–3 p.m.

Curious about how other teachers use their outdoor spaces with their students? Join us as we tour several area schoolyards and meet the teachers making the most of those spaces! We will wander around the schoolyards as we share ideas, connect with like-minded educators, and leave with a renewed sense of purpose.

Save the date—registration information coming soon!

For New and Returning Teachers:

What’s it Like Where You Live?

July 10–12, 2024
9 a.m.–4 p.m.

For teachers of grades 5–12. Extend students’ field investigations with model-based inquiry. Build your students’ interest in the natural world by linking field experience with free computer modeling tools developed jointly by the Missouri Botanical Garden, MIT, and Esri.

In this no-cost workshop you will learn:

  • A new way of seeing field experience
  • How to map with ArcGIS
  • How to create models in StarLogo Nova

After the workshop you will have:

  • Plans you’ve developed for the new school year
  • Priority scheduling for no-cost field experiences
  • Classroom support for modeling and field study

Contact bob.coulter@mobot.org for more information or to register.


The Missouri Botanical Garden offers additional teacher professional development opportunities. Learn more.