Ripple Effects Environmental Literacy Convening to offer hands-on learning and tools from numerous partners and venues across Williamsport on June 17

​​Educators of all types and backgrounds are encouraged to attend the special full-day Ripple Effect Environmental Literacy Convening event on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Williamsport.

“The convening is the culmination of multiple years of effort to create a Northcentral Pennsylvania Environmental Literacy hub where formal and non-formal educators can interact with the shared goal to increase environmental literacy to both K-12 students and their communities,” said hub coordinator Colleen Epler-Ruths of the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit. “Other hubs around the state have done similar events last summer, so we wanted to offer that same opportunity to our region.”

The event will begin at Lycoming College’s Heim Building and include a morning rotation of breakout sessions designed to give teachers of all types new tools and opportunities to incorporate the new STEELS (Science, Technology & Engineering, and Environmental Literacy and Sustainability​) standards into classrooms from public school to homeschool and every variation in between. This will be followed by rotations across three local environmental education venues and then a wrap-up opportunity for fellowship with food aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat.

“Formal educators (especially K-5 grade) are asked to do so many things! Non-formals have all sorts of expertise they can bring into the classroom,” said Epler-Ruths. “This event allows both types of educators to network and collaborate in order to see how they can work together to bring amazing and meaningful experiences to our youth.”

The morning breakout sessions will include a wide variety of educators on topics such as STEELS partnership opportunities, incorporating new technology such as Microbits into the classroom, a facilitated discussion on using field trips to enhance STEELS learning year-round and not just in May, teaching topics such as sustainability, climate action and coding/engineering in the classroom and opportunities to connect with growing regional resources such as the Susquehanna University Freshwater Research Institute.

“I plan on offering a session on plate tectonics and the relationship between soil and water quality using a hands-on learning lab for educators,” said Doug Brown, the Agricultural/Environmental Science Instructor at Central Columbia High School. “The hope is that educators learn an important concept related to soil development as well as plate tectonics and effective methods used to present the concept to high school students related to the environmental science field.”

Check out the flyer for this event. You can download it below.

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Register for this event here

After morning breakout sessions at Lycoming College, convening participants will be rotated around in groups to three different venues for additional education opportunities and tools. This will include sessions at Rider Park, Waterdale Environmental Learning Center and the Robert Porter Allen Natural Area.

The Lycoming College Clean Water Institute will be conducting a stream ecology exercise at the Waterdale Center focusing on sampling benthic macroinvertebrate communities.

“Attendees will be able to sample and sort macroinvertebrates from Mosquito Creek and learn about using bioindicators to evaluate the integrity of stream systems,” said Matt Kaunert, director of the Clean Water Institute, adding that Waterdale offers a unique learning space for the public to engage in a variety of environmental issues relevant to the Susquehanna River watershed including water quality, stream ecology, wildlife conservation and wastewater management.”

Lycoming County Conservation District educator will also be providing a stream table overview at this location.

At Rider Park, participants will be able to experience three simultaneous mini-sessions that they can rotate through. These will include Creative Environmental Writing with Dr. Phoebe Wagner, a local author and Assistant Professor of English at Lycoming College, learn about salamanders with Dr. Mary Kate O’Donnell, Assistant Professor of Biology at Lycoming College and experience a tree biology activity with Sara Street, Rider Park Manager and ISA Certified Arborist.

The program will give teachers new ideas and tips while also introducing them to the unique atmosphere of the venue.

“Rider Park offers forest, meadow and small stream habitats to use as educational platforms. The park is located close to population centers, has two covered picnic pavilions and a loop road that allows buses to turn around,” said Street. “We are open to the public year-round during daylight hours. The park has over 15 miles of trails and four scenic vistas.”

More info can be found at RiderPark.org, including maps, directions and upcoming educational events.

Finally, participants at Robert Porter Allen Natural Area will engage with both the Lycoming Audubon Society and Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association on birding-based education and citizen science opportunities.

“Birds offer such a great opportunity to merge both natural curiosity and intentional learning for all ages. The Lycoming Audubon Society has been doing fantastic work around the wetland and other natural features at Robert Porter Allen and has some cool opportunities to share,” said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. “We are also excited to talk about our BirdNet project and how people of all ages can help collect data through apps and other means for citizen science that will allow us to better monitor habitat change. We will tie each aspect into STEELS standards and classroom opportunities.”

The event will wrap up with an hour-long cruise and food available on the Hiawatha Paddleboat along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.

“This provides a great opportunity for educators of all types to network, share notes, get new ideas and enjoy the natural beauty of the Susquehanna River at a venue that has become a very popular host for our Floating Classroom series each summer,” said Zaktansky.

“Overall, this event will be valuable for educators to get a sense of contemporary environmental issues in central PA as well as the ongoing outreach efforts aimed at increasing public awareness throughout the Williamsport area,” added Kaunert.

The Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit will offer Act 48 credits to educators attending the event.

“I believe the Ripple Effect Event at Lycoming College will provide much more than just content knowledge,” said Brown “I believe it will provide a communication platform for educators to share ideas and share methods they have found effective in student engagement and growth.”

The Northcentral PA Environmental Literacy Hub offers a collaborative partnership of environmental-focused educators throughout the region.

“We can all achieve so much more in working together, especially with educators facing so many new challenges and the implementation of our state’s new STEELS standards,” said Zaktansky. “This event will be the perfect demonstration of what we can achieve together – educators from school districts across the area as well as other places of learning along with representatives of the CSIU, Blast IU, Lycoming College, Susquehanna University, DCNR state park system, Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association, Lycoming County Conservation District, Lycoming Audubon Society, Rider Park, Waterdale, Robert Porter Allen Natural Area, Vernal School partnership at the Montour Preserve, Hiawatha and so many others all working in collaboration to lift up our teachers. It will be a can’t-miss opportunity!”

Epler-Ruths agreed.

“We are hoping people leave with new connections, new ideas and refreshed minds,” she said.

Registration is required. Those looking to attend in general without needing Act 48 credits can register here. Educators who plan to attend and want Act 48 credits should register at this link. Questions can be directed to Epler-Ruths at ​[email protected]