By PLT Staff

GlaxoSmithKline Endowed Scholarship Fund
Scholarships will be awarded by December 31.
Through a $1 million endowment, GlaxoSmithKline provides scholarships to science teachers nationwide beginning with the 2007 – 2008 candidate cycle. Eligible teachers must be first-time candidates in the Early Adolescence/Science or Adolescence and young Adulthood/Science certificates. http://www.nbpts.org/become_a_candidate/fees_financial_support/scholarships

APA's High School Essay Contest - Creating a Green Neighborhood Plan
$5,000 Scholarship
Deadline: January 15, 2008
(resource for PLT’s Places We Live “Neighborhood Design,” “Green Space,” and “A Vision for the Future” activities)
The American Planning Association’s (APA) annual high school essay contest is open to students who are juniors or seniors during the 2007-08 academic year, including home schooled students or students who are enrolled in a high school equivalency program, and who are residents of the United States or a U.S. Territory or are U.S. citizens living abroad. Each year, the essay contest focuses on a different topic. This year's theme, "Great Streets, Great Neighborhoods: Greening Streets and Neighborhoods," is taken from National Community Planning Month.  The essay assignment is “Creating a Green Neighborhood Plan.” Through National Community Planning Month and the essay contest, APA is promoting awareness of all the elements that go into making a great neighborhood. http://www.planning.org/institutions/hsessay.htm

National Wetlands Awards
Nominations Deadline: January 15, 2008
The National Wetlands Awards Program honors individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the conservation and restoration of our nation’s wetlands in six categories: Education and Outreach, Science Research, Conservation and Restoration, Landowner Stewardship, State, Tribal and Local Program Development, and Wetland Community Leader.
http://www.nationalwetlandsawards.org

United Nations Announces 2008 "International Year of the Potato"
(resource for the “Potatoes, Pesticides, and Biodiversity” activity in PLT's online Biodiversity module)
The potato’s outstanding nutrition profile, health benefits, and ability to feed the masses were key to the UN's declaration of 2008 as the “International Year of the Potato.” The designation was approved as a way to help the UN meet its Millennium Development Goals. For more information about the designation, visit http://www.potato2008.org.

School Wellness Grant Program
Applications due April 15, 2008.
The United States Potato Board has teamed up with the School Nutrition Foundation of the School Nutrition Association to create a School Wellness Grant Program. Ten grants of $2,500 each will be awarded to public elementary schools in the U.S. for equipment and/or educational programs that will help move children toward healthier diets and improve their overall wellness.
http://www.healthypotato.com or http://www.schoolnutrition.org.

School Video Contest
September 1, 2007 - April 30, 2008
QuantumShift.tv, a Web TV network featuring solution-oriented news, documentaries, and entertainment, is challenging students and teachers at all K-12 schools in the US and Canada to document their work on a social or environmental project through a series of short videos over the 2007-08 school year. The winning schools will receive a prize package worth $50,000 in cash and educational resources. Participants document their progress in four short videos that will be uploaded on QuantumShift.tv every two months from September-April.
http://quantumshift.tv/schools

Earth Conservation Plan (ECP) Carbon and Lifestyle Calculator.
(resource for PLT's PreK-8 activities “Renewable or Not”, “Plant a Tree”, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, “Energy Sleuths”, “Waste Watchers”, “A Peek at Packaging”, “The Global Climate”, and “In the Driver’s Seat”; and Energy & Society’s “In the Driver’s Seat”; and PLT's Places We Live activity “Far Reaching Decisions”)
Participants can take a three minute test to determine your contribution to global climate change. Upon completion of the test, participants can then make pledges to reduce their impact and score. With each change and commitment into their everyday lives, scores are recalculated. The ECP calculator http://www.earthlab.com/esurance is the first carbon calculator to allow its users to save and track each calculation and pledge, so participants can refer to the data at any time – while tracking their personal improvements over time.

Materials from the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academies of Science
(resource for PLT's PreK-8 activity “The Global Climate” and PLT's upcoming Biotechnology Supplement to its Focus on Risk module)
The museum houses three exhibits: Wonders of Science; Global Warming: Facts and Our Future; and Infectious Diseases: Evolving Challenges to Human Health. On the museum’s teacher website http://koshlandscience.org/teachers, you’ll find classroom resources to integrate in lesson planning, including activities and webquests (for grades six through college) related to global warming and infectious disease. Teachers can engage students through virtual and in-house field trips for middle and high school students.

PBS Environmental Series for Grades 6-12
The Journey to Planet Earth http://www.pbs.org/journeytoplanetearth video series has been re-edited for grades 6-12 to help teachers explain to students the science behind some of the alarming world headlines. Receive a 30-day free preview of the entire 10-episode series or individual episodes, by sending an email screenscope@screenscope.com with your name, institutional mailing address, and phone number.
 
Scientific Facts on Ecosystem Change
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), called for by the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2000, has assessed the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being. The MA has involved the work of more than 1,360 experts worldwide. Their findings are documented in a "synthesis" of multiple independent reports that answers high-level questions like: "How have ecosystems and their services changed? How have these changes affected human well-being? How might ecosystems change in the future, and what are the implications for human well-being?" The reports provide a state-of-the-art scientific appraisal of the condition and trends in the world’s ecosystems and the services they provide (such as clean water, food, forest products, flood control, and natural resources) and the options to restore, conserve or enhance the sustainable use of ecosystems.
http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/Index.aspx