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(Click on image for full size PDF)
2009-2010 Cooper Field Experience Registration Form
(Word)
UA for YOU
is the University of Arizona's Web Portal
for the public to discover, experience and learn about UA
programs, events, and resources for all ages! Visit
http://uaforyou.arizona.edu
to access the hundreds of outreach and extension learning
opportunities for
Lifelong Learners, Teachers, Youth & Families, Professionals and
Students. The
site is hosted by the UA Collaborative for Community Outreach
and Extension.
Dear Cooper Visitor,
Welcome to the Cooper Center for Environmental Learning’s
website and thank you for taking the time to learn about this
unique facility located in the foothills of the Tucson
Mountains. A partnership between the Tucson Unified School
District and the University of Arizona College of Education, the Cooper Center
educates thousands of school children and adult chaperones,
educators, pre-service teachers, and volunteers each year about
ecology, science, and the beauty and wonders of our home, the Sonoran Desert. Below is a brief description of our facility and
programs, so please browse the website and contact us directly
is you have any questions. We can also offer you a tour of our
facility by appointment.
Facilities
The eleven (11) buildings include an office, kitchen, classroom,
materials storage, six (6) sleeping cabins, and a bathroom with
handicap access. Other structures include a large picnic ramada,
several smaller ramadas, and an amphitheater.
Educational Opportunities
Traditional Cooper
Activities: Grades K – 5 can participate in full-day or
overnight experiences that include a conceptual/interpretive
hike, a lesson about a desert animal, and a series of center
activities that are teacher and parent run.
Earthkeepers: This 3
day program for upper elementary students focuses on learning
about four ecological concepts, deepening feelings for the
earth, making a pledge to reduce energy and materials use at
home and school, and sharing these experiences with others. As
students complete various stages of the program they earn keys
that unlock special boxes that contain the secrets for becoming
an Earthkeeper.
SUNSHIP III: This 3 day
program for middle school students focuses on the perceptions
and choices teens make as they move into adulthood. Activities
to increase their knowledge of ecological concepts, deepen
feelings for the earth and its life, and the use of energy and
materials in their lives are highlighted. Using special money
called “solarians” students pay for everything – food, showers,
jewelry, etc. – to discover that all actions and “things” use
energy. At home they participate in a “Quest” to discover new
natural areas and other individuals and organizations that model
“living lightly” on the earth.
Workshops: A
variety of educational workshops for students of all ages on
science topics and hands on experiences like water collection,
composting, and solar energy are offered each year.
UPDATED!
Group Use
The Cooper Center is available for ½ day, full-day, or overnight
gatherings, retreats, or meetings. Please contact the center
staff for prices and availability
Volunteer/Service Opportunities
There is always a need for volunteers at the Cooper Center.
Current projects include buffelgrass removal, helping school
groups, leadership roles, or working with the Gates Pass Area
Neighborhood Association, a group that meets monthly to work on
Cooper projects.
Mike Mayer,
Director
Mmayer1@email.arizona.edu
University of Arizona
P.O. Box 210069
Tucson, AZ 85721
(520) 626-5690
(520) 621-7877 (fax) |
Colin Waite,
Environmental Education Specialist
Colin.Waite@tusd1.org
Cooper Center for Environmental Learning
Tucson Unified School District
P.O. Box 40400
Tucson, AZ 85717
(520)-743-7422 (phone & fax) |
Cooper Center Wish List
We need your help in finding many
items for our facility and its educational programs. Click
here to see what we need or contact the center for more
information. Receipts will be provided for any donations made.
Cooper Center Tackles Invasive Buffel Grass -
More
Scheduled Times
On Saturday, April 18 and Saturday, May 2 beginning at 7:00 a.m. the Cooper Center for
Environmental Learning, located at 5403 W. Trails End Road, will be
organizing teams of volunteers to remove buffel grass and fountain grass
from the property. This would be an excellent opportunity for students
and school clubs to provide to be in a service project to benefit the
district, the community and the environment.
Both of these invasive species of grasses have invaded the site as well
as a large part of the Sonoran Desert in Pima County. If you have a few
hours of time to help keep the Cooper Center free of these grasses,
please join us and help with pulling, bagging, and hauling the grasses
out of sensitive areas. The center will provide water and snacks. Tools
(shovels, picks, and caliche bars) and gloves can be provided but
participants are encouraged to bring their own as well. Please wear a
hat, sunscreen, and comfortable close-toed shoes for working in the
desert.
Contact volunteer coordinator Ashylnd Tahy at
ashy_a_t@comcast.net or give
us a call at 743-7422 if you have any questions.
ATTENTION TEACHERS:
On May 13th, 2008, the TUSD Governing Board voted in favor of a valuable new partnership between the University of Arizona and the District. On July 1st, the University’s Department of Teaching and Teacher Education will assume control of the day-to-day operations of Cooper Environmental Science Campus (Cooper) and use its fundraising resources to finance this integral part of the TUSD’s curriculum. The name of the facility will be officially changed to “Cooper Center for Environmental Learning.” Both entities will maintain full-time staff at Cooper, and there will also be opportunities for University of Arizona students to work at the facility and to participate in environmental learning in an outdoor setting.
While many of Cooper’s successful teaching strategies, lessons, and activities will continue, the partnership with the University of Arizona will allow the program to expand, offering new programs, creating new resources for middle and high school students, providing state-of-the-art technology to make Cooper more accessible to students in the classroom, and opening Cooper to students and community groups outside of TUSD. The partnership will also seek out new opportunities to make Cooper more environmentally friendly and sustainable, through grant writing and fundraising efforts. Plans are already in motion to improve upon Cooper’s existing solar energy collection and its water usage.
Registration for field trips during the 2008-09 school year has
concluded. Registration forms for the 09-10 school year will be posted
on the Cooper website (http://instech.tusd.k12.az.us/cooperesc/index.htm)
and they will be sent to each school’s science facilitator to be posted.
You can begin to register on the first day for teachers. The initial
registration deadline will be Friday, September 4th. You will receive
your Cooper trip confirmation before the end of September.
If you have any questions, please email Colin Waite at Colin.Waite@tusd1.org
or Bruce Johnson at brucej@email.arizona.edu.
Cooper Now has Dishes, Cups,
and Silverware!
Cooper has purchased reusable plastic dishes, bowls,
and cups, as well as silverware, for use during field trips. We have
enough for two full classes and parent volunteers. If you are coming for
an overnight trip or are planning on barbecuing during a day trip, you
may use these items instead of purchasing paper products and plastic
utensils. We hope to limit our generation of waste with this measure,
and with 200+ classes visiting Cooper each year, you can imagine the
amount of trash that we have generated in the past. Thank you for your
help in our efforts to reduce our use of energy and materials at Cooper.
Colin.Waite@tusd1.org
743-7422 |
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