By PLT Staff

National Environmental Education (EE) Week: April 15-22, 2007
Sign up now to participate in National Environmental Education (EE) Week, April 15-22, 2007!  The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, a nonprofit chartered by Congress to promote environmental learning, started National EE Week as a week-long event to help expand upon the EE opportunities sparked by Earth Day. Now in its third consecutive year, National EE Week seeks to enhance the educational impact of Earth Day (April 22nd) and provide recognition to American educators that are committed to implementing environmental education in their classrooms.

This year EE Week 2007 will focus on a special energy theme.  FREE energy curricula, resources, and activities are available online and can be used to support PLT’s Energy & Society kit and the PreK-8 activities 14, 39, 44, 52, 53, 73, 82, 84, and 85.  Participants will also have access to a wide variety of other FREE environmental education resources, including:

• A full week’s worth of online environmental education preparation, curricula, and activities for K-12 classrooms, universities, nature centers, zoos, museums, and aquariums;

• Monthly e-newsletter updates that highlight the latest EE curricula, programs, and funding opportunities;

• The chance to apply for the Richard C. Bartlett Award for Environmental Education, which will recognize outstanding environmental education programs in both formal and non-formal settings with grants awarded to the winning organizations.

Questions?  Please email eeweek@neetf.org.

Build on a GreenWorks! or other school garden project with…
Operation Green Plant, of the America the Beautiful Fund, can help you get ready for spring with their free seed program. For a grant of flower and/or herb seeds, go to the following website and fill out an application:
http://www.america-the-beautiful.org/free_seeds/index.php.

EJ Magazine
(resource for several PLT activities, including the PreK-8 Activities “Power of Print” and “Publicize It!” and PLT’s secondary module Focus on Risk Activity “Communicating Risk”)
EJ Magazine is one of the only student-produced magazines about environmental issues in the country and is published by the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University. It offers high quality articles and artwork from a wide variety of student and professional contributors.  It strives to:

• report on local, national, and international environmental topics

• write about environmental journalism issues

• give students an outlet for great clips
http://www.ejmagazine.com

Global Warming 101 Begins Next Expedition
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 Activities “The Global Climate” and “Our Changing World”)
This February, Will Steger and his expedition team of Inuit hunters, explorers, and educators, will embark on a four-month expedition to get a first-hand look at how global warming is impacting the Arctic landscape, wildlife, and human communities. The Global Warming 101 expedition will publicize this change using photo, audio, and text updates they collect and post to the Web site. Students and teachers around the country can follow along with the Expedition at http://www.globalwarming101.com/content/view/32/88888907/

Tox Town
(resource for PLT’s secondary module Focus on Risk and PLT’s PreK-8 Activity #36 “Pollution Search”)
This National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine website uses color, graphics, sounds, and animation in lessons that show the connections between chemicals, the environment, and the public’s health. It lists everyday locations where you might find toxic chemicals, gives nontechnical descriptions of chemicals, additional links, etc.
http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov

ToxMystery
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 Activity #36 “Pollution Search” and Activity #72 “Air We Breathe”)
This National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine website makes a game out of identifying sources of toxic chemicals inside the home. Students follow Toxie the cat as they search for hazards in each room in the home.
http://toxmystery.nlm.nih.gov

Nominate a Young Eco-Hero
Deadline: April 30, 2007
The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes seeks nominations for its 2007 awards. The Barron Prize honors young people ages 8 to 18 who have shown leadership and courage in public service to people and our planet. Each year, 10 national winners each receive $2,000 to support their service work or higher education. Half of each year's winners are chosen for their work to protect the environment.
http://www.barronprize.org

Educator Fellowships Available for Conservation Expeditions
Earthwatch Institute is offering educator fellowships that provide grants to teachers to sponsor their participation on international and U.S. conservation expeditions. Participating educators will work alongside field scientists to collect data on important environmental issues facing the planet today: climate change, ocean ecosystems, sustainable resource management, and sustainable cultures. Fellowships are awarded through a competitive process. Applications are considered based on available funding in the applicant's geographic region, financial need, and the benefits that will result from the fellow participating on an Earthwatch expedition. Fellows are assigned to projects according to their interests, skills, availability, project need, and grant restrictions. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis during the school year. http://www.earthwatch.org/education/educator/fellowships/apply.html.