BLOOMINGTON - Students across DeWitt, Livingston and McLean counties may have tons of fun with creative Earth Day activities in April because of what a new community group will be doing Monday.

The Community Educators Association was formed less than a year ago to help museum, art and nature center staffs put resources in the hands of teachers. Its first major workshop for teachers, on Monday, will prepare them for Earth Day.

At Monday's workshop about the day dedicated to environmental awareness, teachers will build an ecosystem in a bottle, learn about animal habitats, see recycling from a different point of view, make a bracelet that symbolizes the water cycle and make found-object art. The workshop will be at the Illinois Farm Bureau in Bloomington.

"The Earth Day Workshop is our shining opportunity to focus on ideas teachers can implement and give them new materials," Ecology Action Center educator Michele Bell said of the association.

Kris Hall, education coordinator at Miller Park Zoo, said teachers call about twice a month for help, unaware of many of the education programs the zoo offers.

"We've been doing it for years," she said. "We have all been frustrated with people, particularly teachers, who don't know about who we are and what we do."

With that in mind, she was delighted in the spring when a group of people with a similar target audience joined forces to form the association.

"The group meets every other month and discusses the many free programs they offer schools, joint efforts like our Earth Day 2008 workshop, Lincoln's 200th birthday in 2009, and Girl Scouts attending the Bloomington Center for Performing Arts," said Diane Stempinski, a founder of the loosely knit group.

In her role as professional development coordinator of the Regional Office of Education for DeWitt, Livingston and McLean Counties, she was in the right place to organize workshops on educational resources offered by museums, nature centers, zoos and arts centers in the community.

Together, association members spark creative ideas for the classroom or for field trips to the centers.

Last week, a workshop called "I'm a Seventh Grade Science Teacher" gave teachers a lesson in agricultural science. The teachers made cottage cheese, designed a simple machine and played a variety of games they can adapt for their students.

"We learned more ways to bring hands-on (activities) to the classroom," said Patti Kaster of Downs, a Tri-Valley Middle School science teacher who participated in the event.

While staff from education-friendly sites in the area have been informally meeting for a number of years, the Community Educators Association formalizes their efforts.

The association also helps members make sure they aren't "stepping on each other's toes," Hall said. They are coordinating similar projects to avoid duplication "so we don't split our audience," Hall said.

"This community has wonderful resources," Bell said.

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Community Educators Association

Newly minted: Representatives of various community museums, libraries and other Twin City area groups organized the association in spring 2007 to provide resources for teachers and schools, share ideas and plan events.

Mission: Educating through cultural experiences to enhance learning and enrich the whole child.

Members: Ag Awareness/University of Illinois Extension, Bloomington Cultural District, Bloomington Public Library, Children's Discovery Museum, David Davis Mansion, Ecology Action Center, Girl Scouts of Central Illinois, Heartland Community College, Illinois State University, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, McLean County Museum of History, McLean County Soil and Water Conservation District, Miller Park Zoo, Regional Office of Education for DeWitt-Livingston-McLean Counties, and Sugar Grove Nature Center.