MILES greatest impact: Education

Hello Boise Adventurers!  I am looking forward to spending the week with you vicariously through my computer here in Pocatello and I will be anxious to hear how your in-person learning experience will affect your knowledge, perspective, and classroom.  I had the privilege of experiencing the in-person adventure the first week of June in Pocatello and the experience was life-changing.  I developed a new set of vocabulary for intelligent conversations around ecosystems and their services, an elevated interest in my personal interactions with ecosystems, a knowledge of how I impact ecosystems (both negatively and positively), and enthusiasm for getting my physical education and art/photography students involved in MILES campus and city-wide projects.  

I would most definitely be in the camp that MILES's focus on EDUCATION will have the greatest impact on Idaho.  Under the education tab on MILES's website one is able to see the various methods in which MILES seeks to spread the word regarding human interactions with ecosystems and a passion for protection and restoration of those ecosystems.  The more teachers, students, researchers, employers, faculty, and institutions MILES can involve, the more success we will experience in the health of our ecosystems.  The smallest spark can ignite a wildfire and it's through education that MILES will build a force for STEM-related studies and environmental-impacting forces.  I am a direct result of the benefits of MILES education.  Once a passive member of our community's ecosystem, post-adventure-learning, I have moved along the spectrum to someone who is more conscious and interested in making a difference and spreading the word about MILES's efforts in our state.  I haven't stopped talking about my experience and carried the passion with me the past two weeks I spent in Central Oregon sharing my experiences and interest with fellow educators and family there so they might investigate what is happening in their own backyard with regards to human impact on ecosystems and their services.  Education is a key tool that the MILES project uses well and I believe through education, MILES will have a great impact on Idaho's ecosystems and their services.