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ACNW Environmental Education News
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February 6, 2019
Dear Charter School Leaders, EE Contacts, Teachers, and Board Members,
The Endangered Species Coalition (ESC) has announced its 2019 Saving Endangered Species Youth Art Contest, which is open to K-12 grade students. The contest is part of Endangered Species Day on May 17, 2019. Learn more about the contest, review guidelines, or submit entries online. The deadline to submit is March 1.
In addition, BEETLES and other ocean ecosystem educators developed the International Ocean Literacy Survey to evaluate the effectiveness of various programs, establish baselines of Ocean Literacy in various communities, and measure growth in Ocean Literacy over time. If your school serves students ages 15-17, please consider making time for this survey in the next few weeks.
Keep us posted as you work to increase students’ environmental literacy at your school! We’d love to feature your stories and work in this newsletter, or share useful ideas and resources you find as you create great experiences for kids. Keep in touch!
Sincerely,
The ACNW Charter School Division
43 Main Street SE, Suite 507
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(612) 331-4181
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SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: PARTNERSHIP ACADEMY
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Partnership Academy was recently awarded a Green Partners grant from Hennepin County, designed to engage learners in taking action to protect the environment. PA in Richfield will engage 150 students in grades 4 through 6 in learning about environmental topics, using resources wisely, food, population growth, and pollinators. Congratulations Partnership Academy!
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SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: DISCOVERY WOODS SCHOOL
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As part of Climate Generation’s #TeachClimate Network, educators read We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement that Restores the Planet by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez and Justin Spizman. Heidi Auel, a teacher at Discovery Woods School in Brainerd, reviewed the book for Climate Generation and provided ways to use it with students in the classroom.
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2019 GREEN DIFFERENCE AWARDS
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Project Green Schools is now accepting nominations for the 2019 Green Difference Awards. Project Green Schools honors and recognizes outstanding national environmental education and STEM education efforts led in schools and communities. Award winners include students, schools and teachers, as well as business, government, and community groups. Apply or submit a nomination online by March 29.
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OUTDOOR CLASSROOM WORKSHOPS: TEAM TEACHING WITH MOTHER NATURE
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The Jeffers Foundation offers workshops focused on using the outdoors as a classroom. Workshops are catered to the school or venue so participants gain valuable insights into using a specific site. This year, Jeffers is expanding its offerings to include middle and high schools and is looking for schools to partner with them as they further develop this area of their programming. Contact the Jeffers Foundation to learn more. |
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YOUTH CLIMATE JUSTICE SUMMIT
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Join Climate Generation for a day at the Capitol on February 20! The Youth Climate Justice Summit is a chance for youth to experience first-hand how to participate in government. Meet with the Governor and the MN Legislators that represent your district to talk with them about why you care about climate change and social justice. It is also a chance for youth from across Minnesota to meet each other and discuss how to make change in our communities. Students can learn about the youth-led Minnesota Can’t Wait movement and become a part of climate leadership in Minnesota! |
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This year’s Earth Day (April 22) theme is Protect our Species, and the Earth Day Network has developed a library of resources called Earth Day in a Box to help you plan activities for your school and community. The library includes a variety of toolkits, fact sheets, and information about how to get involved and help students develop the knowledge and skills to make a difference and create real, lasting progress for their own well-being and for the environment.
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CLIMATE LITERACY: EDUCATING WITH THE FUTURE IN MIND
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Teaching climate change education helps students to develop the skills needed to mitigate, adapt, and innovate in a changing climate. The Winter 2018 Green Schools Catalyst Quarterly explores the evolution of climate literacy and the importance of teaching high-quality climate science. You will also learn how climate change education is moving beyond the science classroom, informing instruction across all K-12 subject areas and inspiring green careers.
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FARM TO SCHOOL IN NATIVE COMMUNITIES
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Working with Native partners, the National Farm to School Network highlights unique opportunities for and challenges of expanding and sustaining farm to school in Native communities across the country. Find more resources and celebrate indigenous connections to land, food and community with these ideas.
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KidWind has been helping students and teachers learn about wind energy for 15 years. The KidWind Challenge is an event that allows students to explore the power of wind by building and testing their own wind turbines. Currently, you can participate at in-person events or online. The next student event is on Saturday, April 13 in Saint Paul.
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DISCUSSION GUIDES FOR USING PODCASTS IN THE CLASSROOM
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Podcasts can be a helpful educational resource to promote discussion, but many educators aren’t sure how to use them effectively. America Adapts: The Climate Change Podcast has released free classroom discussion guides to pair with podcast episodes. They are hoping that educators of high school and college classrooms will use and provide feedback on the guides and assignments.
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GREEN APPLE DAY OF SERVICE MINI-GRANTS
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Green Apple Day of Service is an opportunity to join schools across the world in celebrating the central role they play in preparing the next generation of leaders in sustainability. A school’s event improves the learning environment while strengthening student civic leadership, environmental literacy, and project management skills. Schools and the community leaders who support them can choose their own date for their project, and they have access to mini-grants and personalized guidance to help them make their projects a reality. Sign up and register your project by March 15, 2019.
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Hennepin County School Recycling Grants
Hennepin County is now accepting applications for the 2019 round of school recycling grants. Grants for K-12 schools can be used to start or improve programs to divert recycling and organic materials, which includes food and non-recyclable paper, from the trash. Grant funding can also be used to take steps to reduce waste in the first place. Applications for grants of up to $50,000 are due on Thursday, February 28. Applications for grants of up to $15,000 will be accepted throughout the year as funds remain. Learn more and review the grant program guidelines and application online.
Carton 2 Garden Spring 2019 Contest
Show your students’ creativity by re-purposing milk and juice cartons from your school cafeteria to either build or enhance your school garden. The Carton 2 Garden Spring 2019 Contest allows educators to engage students in a hands-on experience that creates teachable moments on environmental stewardship, sustainable packaging, and healthy living. Fifteen schools with the most unique carton creations will be selected to win award packages. Entries are due Monday, March 25, 2019.
EPA Environmental Justice Grants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Small Grants Program supports and empowers communities working on solutions to local environmental and public health issues. These grants fund projects up to $30,000 and fund a variety of projects, such as clean air, healthy water, land revitalization, and environmental health.
The EPA plans to award 50 grants of up to $30,000 per award for a one-year project period. Pre-application assistance phone calls are scheduled for February 13 & 20. Applications are due March 8, 2019. Learn more.
Toshiba America Foundation
The Toshiba America Foundation gives grants to teachers in K-12 schools to help them teach math and science in innovative ways. Applications are for project-based learning only and must be completed online. Grant applications for Grades K-5 that are under $1,000, and Grades 6-12 that are $5,000 or less, are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the calendar year, while grants exceeding $5,000 are reviewed twice a year. The next deadline for these grants is May 1, 2019.
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Green Teacher Webinars
Green Teacher's upcoming webinars are an interactive way for educators to continue learning about key environmental topics. These professional development webinar series feature some of the most important thinkers in the field of environmental education addressing vital and relevant topics. Registration is FREE and teachers can obtain a certificate upon completion.
- February 13: Using Progressive Skits to Teach Food Chains
- March 6: Mindfulness and Creative Nature Play
- March 27: Bird-focused Citizen Science
- April 10: Secrets to Snagging Great Science Partners
Research Watch: Exploring Real-World Data in the Classroom and Beyond
Join NAAEE for the next installment of its monthly webinar series. Corey Filiaut of World Resources Institute will discuss exploring real world data from Resource Watch in classrooms and beyond. Register online for the webinar, which will be held Thursday, February 21 at 2:00 PM CST.
2019 Schoolyard Gardens Conference
Over 370 teachers, school administrators, school food service professionals, Master Gardeners, parents, and other school garden supporters attend this annual conference to share ideas and resources for building and sustaining school gardens. From nutrition programming to building valuable community partnerships, the conference agenda highlights practical and inspirational tools from the leading experts and educators in Minnesota. The conference will be held on Friday, March 1 from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska. Learn more or register online.
MN DNR Teacher Professional Development
The Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources offers low or no cost training on a variety of curricula to help connect students with the environment in a variety of settings. Teachers and educators attend workshops to get activity guides and professional development CEUs.
- March 3: Project Learning Tree K-8 Workshop, MN Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Bloomington
- April 6: Project WILD Workshop, Ney Nature Center, Henderson (Le Sueur County)
Green Schools Conference and Expo
The 2019 Green Schools Conference & Expo (GSCE) will be held on April 8‑9 in Saint Paul! GSCE is the only national event to bring together all of the players involved in making green schools a reality: people who lead, operate, build, and teach in U.S. schools. Attendees engage in hands-on learning, participate in in-depth discussions and problem solving, and get inspired by speakers at the forefront of connecting sustainability, social justice, and education. Find registration packages and travel/hotel information online.
Rivers Institute by Hamline University’s Center for Global Environmental Education
Join Hamline University’s Center for Global Environmental Education for their acclaimed Rivers Institute, a FREE, three-day, field-based professional development opportunity for educators. The institutes are designed to increase teachers' science content knowledge and investigation skills and help area educators translate their professional experiences into meaningful, engaging classroom investigations. The focus for the institutes is on elementary and middle school classroom teachers as well as teams of teachers. All educators are welcome to apply.
Two sessions are scheduled for 2019: the St. Croix River Institute June 24-26 and the Mississippi River Institute from 22-24. Learn more and register.
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Climate Education Week Toolkit for Educators and K-12 Students
This Climate Education Week Toolkit has the objective of getting students engaged in conversation, by learning about the problems and issues that impact other species, how those problems result from interactions with humans or human activity, the ethical issues humans must negotiate while making everyday decisions, and the actions we can take to prevent the rapid disappearance of entire populations of other species.
Model Field Journal
Nature journaling is a powerful tool for observation and learning in outdoor science programs. With just a blank or minimally structured journal page, and the right support and scaffolding, instructors can use journaling activities as a tool to support students’ learning in outdoor science.
BEETLES Model Field Journal Pages include downloadable PDFs of templates for blank and minimally structured journal pages designed to support learning in the outdoors.
Updated Green Strides Website
The Green Strides sustainable resource library features a comprehensive collection of national and state-specific green school programs, as well as tools and best practice resources. The resource library has recently been updated with even more case studies, toolkits, reports, operational policies, and program opportunities that your school or district may wish to reference in its greening efforts.
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