Megan Zeni's guest appearances

Megan Zeni

The Mind Full Mommies's Podcast

Disconnect: The Outdoor Education Podcast

Teach Outdoors

Erin Reid

Chris Green

Faye Brownlie

Rachel Bailey

Mariana Brussoni

Miriam Miller

Mikah Meyer

Gillian Judson

Sarah Regan

Justine Sones

Sara Graham

Misty Paterson

Margery Healey

Colin Harris

Katie Jameson

OwlTail

Megan Zeni is a Master Gardener, PhD student and school garden expert who works for the Richmond School District.  In today's episode, she shares with us some of her best secrets and tips on how to set up core routines with her learners at the beginning of the year (such as the Waiting Tree, to help with exit and entry transitions!). Megan is a strong advocate for outdoor learning because it supports learners having a positive growth mindset, develops patience and promotes equity.  It allows learners, who may struggle to represent their learning in a “traditional” way , to move freely and make decisions that are best suited for them, which in turn, provides them with more autonomy over their learning, One of my favourite insights that Megan shares with us is how she explicitly introduces activities that can turn into station work. This gradual release of responsibility highlights how important classroom management strategies are, both indoors and outdoors! Megan also gives us some suggestions on how to use outdoor learning spaces for when fall transitions into winter.  Have you ever thought of having a 'Bug Hotel'?! Or a Mud Kitchen – link here. https://meganzeni.com/build-a-mud-kitchen/ Novelty Nature Notes:I shared about inchworms because I’m just getting covered in them when I go walking in the forest lately.  They also go by other names, such as measuring worm, oak looper, leaf roller, and spring cankerworms.  I was reading that they are only here for about 4-5 weeks before they burrow into the ground and then we’ll see them again in the fall as geometer moths.Megan shared about growing corn with her learners.  They plant POPCORN! Have you ever noticed that each silk thread is attached to a kernel of corn - if there are kernels missing, then the silk wasn't pollinated by a bee! 

Megan Zeni is a Master Gardener, PhD student and school garden expert who works for the Richmond School District.  In today's episode, she shares with us some of her best secrets and tips on how to set up core routines with her learners at the beginning of the year (such as the Waiting Tree, to help with exit and entry transitions!). Megan is a strong advocate for outdoor learning because it supports learners having a positive growth mindset, develops patience and promotes equity.  It allows learners, who may struggle to represent their learning in a “traditional” way , to move freely and make decisions that are best suited for them, which in turn, provides them with more autonomy over their learning,  One of my favourite insights that Megan shares with us is how she explicitly introduces activities that can turn into station work. This gradual release of responsibility highlights how important classroom management strategies are, both indoors and outdoors! Megan also gives us some suggestions on how to use outdoor learning spaces for when fall transitions into winter.  Have you ever thought of having a 'Bug Hotel'?! Or a Mud Kitchen – link here. <a href="https://meganzeni.com/build-a-mud-kitchen/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://meganzeni.com/build-a-mud-kitchen/</a> Novelty Nature Notes:I shared about inchworms because I’m just getting covered in them when I go walking in the forest lately.  They also go by other names, such as measuring worm, oak looper, leaf roller, and spring cankerworms.  I was reading that they are only here for about 4-5 weeks before they burrow into the ground and then we’ll see them again in the fall as geometer moths.Megan shared about growing corn with her learners.  They plant POPCORN! Have you ever noticed that each silk thread is attached to a kernel of corn - if there are kernels missing, then the silk wasn't pollinated by a bee!

School Gardening with Megan Zeni

Episode Notes Check out the following links which we referred to during today's interview with Megan Zeni, the classroom gardener.  Megan's 10 tips for teaching outside Megan Zeni's Blog National Wildlife Federation's Certify Your Garden Program Canadian Wildlife Federation's Certify Your Garden Program Space Tomatoes? Yes, check out the Tomatosphere  On today's episode, you heard the song Multiverse by Ketsa, use under the Creative Commons license  Background for the cover image for today's episode from Dirk Scheuble, from Unsplash.com. Find out more at https://disconnect.pinecast.co

<h1>Episode Notes</h1> Check out the following links which we referred to during today's interview with Megan Zeni, the classroom gardener. <ul> <li><a href="https://meganzeni.com/teaching-outside-the-classroom/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Megan's 10 tips for teaching outside</a></li> <li><a href="https://meganzeni.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Megan Zeni's Blog</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nwf.org/garden-for-wildlife/certify" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">National Wildlife Federation's Certify Your Garden Program</a></li> <li><a href="https://cwf-fcf.org/en/explore/gardening-for-wildlife/action/get-certified/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Canadian Wildlife Federation's Certify Your Garden Program</a></li> <li><a href="http://tomatosphere.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Space Tomatoes? Yes, check out the Tomatosphere</a></li> </ul> On today's episode, you heard the song Multiverse by <a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/Raising_Frequecy/Multiverse" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ketsa</a>, use under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Creative Commons license</a> Background for the cover image for today's episode from Dirk Scheuble, from <a href="http://Unsplash.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Unsplash.com</a>. Find out more at <a href="https://disconnect.pinecast.co" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://disconnect.pinecast.co</a>

#7 – 10 tips for teaching outside: An interview with Megan Zeni, the Classroom Gardener

We are incredibly excited to release our 10th Podcast, and the 1st of our series on Education! “Outdoor Learning and Risky Play with Megan Zeni &amp; Sarah Regan” Sarah and Megan currently teach outdoors at a local K-7 public school and piloted a re-think of how we allocate prep time in our schools. They teach outside all day and do not have an indoor space to teach in!  The children who participate in the garden/ outdoor classroom program receive 100 minutes per week of outdoor learning, in all weather and seasons. Get ready to dig deep into the garden of learning with these two incredible experts! If you would like to learn more about Megan and Sarah’s work make sure to follow @roomtoplay and @theclassroomgardener on instagram, twitter and Pintrest and make sure to check out Megan’s website at  meganzeni.com for more information and resources all about Outdoor Classrooms, School Gardens and Risky Play!

We are incredibly excited to release our 10th Podcast, and the 1st of our series on Education! “Outdoor Learning and Risky Play with Megan Zeni &amp; Sarah Regan” Sarah and Megan currently teach outdoors at a local K-7 public school and piloted a re-think of how we allocate prep time in our schools. They teach outside all day and do not have an indoor space to teach in!  The children who participate in the garden/ outdoor classroom program receive 100 minutes per week of outdoor learning, in all weather and seasons. Get ready to dig deep into the garden of learning with these two incredible experts! If you would like to learn more about Megan and Sarah’s work make sure to follow @roomtoplay and @theclassroomgardener on instagram, twitter and Pintrest and make sure to check out Megan’s website at <a href="http://meganzeni.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> meganzeni.com</a> for more information and resources all about Outdoor Classrooms, School Gardens and Risky Play!

Episode 10 - Outdoor Learning and Risky Play with Megan Zeni & Sarah Regan