IESA GeoEd workshops return this summer

The University of North Georgia's (UNG) Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis (IESA) hosted several workshops and presentations during the month of June for K12 teachers and students.

Teacher workshops began June 10 with an introduction to IESA and lasted through June 14. Each day ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with up to five activities each day and field trips to the Elachee Nature Center, Cherokee Bluffs Park and the Vulcan Materials Friendship Quarry.

The project-based learning workshops were created to help teachers awaken student interest in STEM fields like Oconee County High School biology and Earth science teacher Al Yauck. "We got to do a lot of hands-on activities that would work well in high school classrooms and it was broadfield so no matter what high school science you teach you could incorporate these earth science activities into your classroom," said Yauck.

Students attended UNG June 17 to June 28 in a student research program, the Shadowing Research and Mentoring Program (SRMP), aimed at STEM high school students, involved geoscience research using various geospatial technologies. For Gainesville High School senior, Lesly Arellano, this wasn't the first time experiencing SRMP. Having attended in 2023, Arrellano said she noticed several positive changes.