The Vermont Institute of Natural Science is proud to announce that its book, Hands-On Nature, popular with environmental education programs and elementary school classrooms throughout the United States and Canada since 1986 has now been translated into Chinese. VINS entered into a partnership with Beijing New Century Technology (BNCT) last year to produce a version of the book that will be sold in the People's Republic of China. Published by Tianjin Education Press of Tianjin, China, Hands-On Nature—Chinese was just released for distribution this week. VINS board chair Jenepher Lingelbach comments, "It's really exciting and rewarding to see how successful Hands On Nature has been. The book is designed to meet the needs of both experienced and novice nature educators as well as parents, scout leaders, camp counselors, and others wanting to connect children with the wonders of the natural world. Now, to have it transcribed into Chinese, is just truly amazing. Through this partnership with Beijing New Century Technology, VINS hopes to encourage Chinese schools to teach children to appreciate nature and learn to become stewards of the environment." Chieh-san Cheng, the US representative to BNCT, says in a note to VINS: “From the feedback we received so far, Chinese Hands-On Nature will become one of the important reference books in environmental sciences for children ages 9 to 18 in China.”

Hands-On Nature was first published by VINS in 1986 as an outgrowth of its highly successful ELF (Environmental Learning for the Future) program. Editor Jenepher Lingelbach was the Director of the ELF Program at the time. The book soon became the number one choice of nature educators across the country, selling tens of thousands of books. Over the years, ELF volunteers and other Hands-On Nature users offered suggestions for improving the activities or adjusting them to various settings and developmental abilities. In 2000, VINS' ELF staff completed a revised and expanded second edition, edited by Lisa Purcell. This new edition contains updated background information, plus many new activities and explorations, all of which have been used successfully with thousands of children in classrooms, summer camps, home-school groups, and after-school programs.

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