NatureHoods: Converting Urban Parks to Outdoor Classrooms
For many children in Erie, city parks are a place to play sports, picnic with family or just enjoy the outdoors. But with the proper instruction, these green spaces provide the perfect backdrop to study STEM outside the classroom. Mr. Berrin started the NatureHoods project in Oregon that converted existing urban parks to outdoor classrooms – and now hopes to bring this project to Erie to create a “vehicle” to bring Asbury Woods’ award-winning eSTEM curriculum to the city of Erie. – Larry Berrin
Since December 2014, Mr. Berrin has served as President and CEO of Asbury Woods Partnership. He received his degree in Natural Resources from the University of Maine and went on to attend a graduate-level Environmental Education program at Antioch University in Ohio. He has been involved in the field of environmental education for 25 years holding such positions as State Education Director for the National Audubon Society in Vermont, Assistant Director of the National Environmental Education Development Collaborative in Massachusetts, and Director of Conservation Education for Discover Your Northwest in Oregon.
