Back on the Blog

After a hiatus of over a year, natureforall is back on track. Why the hiatus?  My day job got a little bit hectic. Things are slowing down now, in fact, maybe too much, which is one more reason I’m resurrecting the blog. The facts below will outline that part of the story. It is a pretty blunt description of my situation, but I feel that sincerity is the only way to go.

I work as the Program Director for Trees Indiana, a non-profit organization with a focus on educating youth about the importance of the urban forest. This is accomplished through tree plantings, programs with after school groups, formal education with school districts and informal education with the community at our Nature Explore Classroom. Over the last two years, I have had the pleasure of training 54 teachers in the Urban Forestry Teacher Leader Program. I have worked with over one thousand students. I’ve been busy, which is great.

The work I do with Trees Indiana is on a contract basis. This means that every project that comes up, I give Trees Indiana a quote on what it would cost and they decide if they want to go ahead with the program. My work load can be hit and miss. Right now, fund development is in full swing at Trees Indiana, but due to low funds, the organization isn’t able to assign me many projects. While I have complete confidence that this wonderful organization is fully engaged in a capacity building campaign, I still need to make a living. Enter, or re-enter, the natureforall blog.

I have been a writer ever since I could read. My teachers always told me I was good at it. I’ve had several articles published in children’s magazines and have even had some academic articles published in journals. Since I now have more time on my hands, I began to look into other venues by which my writing skills could help with my income. I entered the world of online content writing

Trying to be savvy, I figured I better get involved in the internet world. I started writing online content for Hubpages and Squidoo. On both of these sites I write magazine style articles embedded with photos, videos and other links. Revenue comes from these sites by gaining page views and having visitors click on ads or purchase items. I enjoy this style of writing, but it is going to take some time to develop a revenue stream from this. Here are my links, if you’d like to visit these sites. http://ibescience.hubpages.com/hub/Parents-Get-your-Child-Outside-to-Make-a-Fairy-House

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Another system which I’ve become involved with is the online site teacherspayteachers.com. This is a website in which it is possible to purchase teacher created items or to sell such items. Since I have developed a number of unique outdoor lesson plans for teaching science, I have posted some of my lesson plans at this website. Here is a free sample of what I have on teacherspayteachers.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Jan-Brett-The-Mitten-Camouflage-Activity-for-Hunting-Mittens-878137

Writing this blog will help me fulfill my personal mission, which is to re-connect youth with nature.  It will also help my bottom line.  This is the only time I will post specifically to tell you about the other sites or my career. However, if I have a post that relates to an article or a product, I will put a link to it on this blog.  

Keep checking back at this site for inspiration to get youth outdoors. Thanks for tuning in!