National Association of Geoscience Teachers

Far Western Section

The Fall Meeting of the Far Western Section of the NAGT is being sponsored by Santa Rosa Junior College, and will take place on August 23-25. The announcement is available here: http://nagt-fws.org/announcement_fall_2013_meeting.pdf

Registration form is posted here: http://nagt-fws.org/Registration_Form_fall_2013.pdf

The winter newsletter of the Far Western Section has been published. Members should have received it by e-mail, but it can also be accessed here: http://nagt-fws.org/Newsletter_Winter_2013.docx or here at http://nagt-fws.org/Newsletter_Winter_2013.pdf

Long-time members Wendy Van Norden and Greg Wheeler want to show you the HEART OF ALASKA on an 11 day van trip to some of the most beautiful, unusual, biologically, and geologically significant wilderness in the world. The trip begins in Anchorage Alaska and goes by van to the Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness Area (the largest Wilderness Area in the United States). Participants will see the place which once made Kennecott Copper the largest copper mining company in the world, spend a day on the Root Glacier, and hike in the wilderness around McCarthy. Then they will drive to Paxson for an afternoon and overnight in log cabins at the beginning of the Denali Highway. The adventure continues for two days of van camping along the Denali Highway on the way to Denali National Park. At the entrance to Denali, they will raft the Nenana River and stay at the Nenana cabins.They will have two adventure filled days in Denali. The last night is in cabins at Beyer’s Lake. The group returns to Anchorage on August 10.

You will see true wilderness, spectacular glaciers, moose, caribou, grizzly bear, and Dall sheep. You will learn about the geology, and biology of this wild part of America AND you will do it, while tent (except for three nights in cabins) and van supported camping. For more information, please download this information sheet.

The Far Western Section offers our condolences to our president Lynn Fielding on the passing of her partner Bart Rowlett on September 8 at our section meeting.

One of the founding members of the Far Western Section, Bob Norris (professor emeritus at U.C. Santa Barbara), passed away on August 31 at the age of 91. Our thoughts are with his family. He had a long and colorful career in the geological sciences and was a familiar face at Far Western Section meetings until just a few years ago. He served as the president of the section, and for many years was the section historian. A complete obituary has been published at http://www.independent.com/obits/2012/sep/11/dr-robert-norris/

Do you have a talented student who is majoring in the geological sciences? The Far Western Section offers scholarship support for students with great potential at their college or university, and at field camp. The deadline is April 1. For more information check here.

For those of you who teach Oceanography or with colleagues who do, please review and pass along this information about a workshop in the Bay Area, June 18-20:

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/oceanography/workshop2013/index.html

Is there a teacher of the earth sciences in your region who excels at their work with students? We can't know who THE best single person is, but we want to recognize those teachers that best exemplify the principles of quality earth science instruction. Nominate an Outstanding Earth Science Teacher! Get the details here. Deadline is May 1.

The next meeting of the Far Western Section will be held in conjunction with the meeting of the Cordilleran Section of the Geological Society at CSU Fresno in March of 2013. Details will be announced.

You don't have to be a teacher or a member to attend our conferences, and students of the earth sciences are especially encouraged to join us. Check out the conference page to see the field trips that are lined up.

Check out the the Far West Section Section blog, Meetings of the Far West Section are economical ways to see a lot of California, Nevada and Hawai, usually less than $150. Our invitation extends to anyone who is interested in learning more about California geology. These conferences are wonderful ways to get familiar with the geology of a fascinating region, the western coast of the United States.

Check out the Far West Section Blog:

Teaching the Earth Sciences!

Nominate an Outstanding Earth Science Teacher, OEST.
Get the form here

Deadline approaching for NAGT Far West Section Scholarships: April 1, 2013!

Applications here!

This site was proposed and first developed by Mike Martin and Dick Smith.
Photo of Mt. Conness and Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park ©2006 Garry Hayes, used with permission.

Send comments and questions to Far West Section Webmaster, Garry Hayes hayesg at mjc.edu.

20061204

National Association of Geoscience Teachers

Far Western Section

This site was proposed and first developed by Mike Martin and Dick Smith. Photo of Mt. Conness and Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park ©2006 Garry Hayes, used with permission.

This site was proposed and first developed by Mike Martin and Dick Smith.
Photo of Mt. Conness and Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park ©2006 Garry Hayes, used with permission.