The Minnesota Environmental Atlas is an electronic textbook that delivers the best of Minnesota’s GIS data to education, government and citizens. Designed in cooperation with secondary and college instructors, the atlas contains more than 250 digital maps along with the software to retrieve and analyze the information. The atlas has been described as a tool “that will fundamentally change the way environmental education is taught in Minnesota classrooms.”
The EPIC Atlas is fast, easy-to-use and requires no formal GIS training. Instructors use the atlas to support lesson plans in environmental science, ecology, biology, geography and social studies. Digital maps address agriculture, climate, ecology, forestry, geology, hazards and events, land use cover, demographic change, soils and water resources themes.
The atlas also provides government units with an effective productivity tool to retrieve and analyze information. Analytical features allow maps to be compared side-by-side, merged together, statistically tabulated and re-colored. Users can measure distance, determine direction and graph elevation across aerial photos and topographic maps. The environmental atlas includes new composite data layers, hot links to Web sites and integration with online DNR data sets.
Minnesota Planning is working with the Minnesota Educational Effectiveness Program (
MEEP
)
and others to distribute the atlas to educators and government organizations.
For more information, contact Jim Ramstrom at
jim.ramstrom@state.mn.us
or 651-296-2559.
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>MN Educational Effectiveness Program (MEEP)<
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>(651) 582-8759, Diane Cirksena, supervisor.<
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Assists districts, schools and teachers develop
and implement comprehensive and aligned curriculum
that increase student achievement and demonstration
of Minnesota Graduation Standards and continuous
improvement processes.
The office has regional coordinators around the state,
specialists at the department in St. Paul and statewide
networks which foster sharing of information and practices.<
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>MEEP Regional Coordinators:<
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> The mission of
MEEP (Minnesota Educational Effectiveness Program)
is to prepare schools for the implementation
of the graduation standards and Goals 2000.<
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Region 1 Alvarado: Ken Henry (218) 773-0505 <
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Region 2 Virginia: Cindy Jindra (218) 741-0750 <
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Region 3 Duluth: Julie Williams-Finn (218) 723-4172 <
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Region 4 Fergus Falls: Barbara Hexum (218) 739-3273 <
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Region 5 Sartell: Sherry Grundman (320) 252-8427<
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Region 6/8 Redwood Falls: Jay Haugen (507) 644-3511 <
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Region 6/8 Marshall: Debra Miller (507) 537-4060 <
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Region 7 Sartell: Sharon Tierney (320) 252-8427 <
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Region 9 North Mankato: Donna Oakey (507) 389-5104 <
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Region 10 Rochester: Pat Quade (507) 280-2969 <
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Region 11 St. Paul: Tom Benson (651) 215-0091 <
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Region 11 St. Paul: Cassie Erkens (651) 297-1670 <
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Region 11 St. Paul: Jeanne Klein (651) 297-7344 <
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Region 11 St. Paul: Marlys Peters (651) 297-2685 <
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Region 11 St. Paul: Martha Waibel (651) 297-7177<
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