A group of 33 Scandinavian educators are participating this week in a 12-day workshop for outdoor education at NIU’s Loredo Taft Field Campus, located in Oregon, Illinois.

The group includes college professors from Sweden’s Umea University, the Swedish National Board of Education, the Swedish Environment Protection Board and 18 primary- and secondary-school instructors from Sweden and Finland.

The workshop, hosted by NIU outdoor education faculty member Clifford Knapp, includes lectures, field trips and practical experience involving the instruction of outdoor education.

Scheduled guest speakers include Cheryl Charles, national director of Project WILD (Wildlife In Learning Design) and Kathy McGlauflin, national director of Project Learning Tree.

Charles’ lecture, scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. in the Taft campus dining hall, is entitled “Education and the Environment: Practical Realities and Emerging Trends.” It will deal with Project WILD’s involvement in the instruction of wildlife education for elementary and high school students.

McGlauflin will discuss Project Learning Tree’s vegetation study curriculum.

Field trips to the John Deere Historical Site, the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Outdoor Center, the White Pines Ranch, the Sinnissippi Forest, the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Academy of Sciences and the Rockford Time Museum are also scheduled.

“We’re also planning a trip to Rockford’s 4th of July celebration, so our guests can see how we celebrate that holiday here in North America,” Knapp added.

The trip initially was planned more than a year ago while Knapp was involved in a similar workshop in Sweden. “The whole thing was a year in planning,” he said. “The professors were interested in coming here to see our facility and received a national grant from the Swedish government to do so,” he added.

The Taft campus is a part of NIU’s curriculum instruction department for outdoor education. Elementary education majors are required to spend eight days in residence there as part of their graduation requirement.

The campus also offers a graduate training program and has been the field trip destination of over 6,000 students throughout Illinois.