By Vanessa Bullwinkle

Will your students be participating in an outdoor activity to celebrate Earth Day or Arbor Day?  Are you planning an environmental education event with a school in your community during the month of April?  If the answer is ‘yes,’ simply register your event on the No Child Left Inside Days Google map, including your contact information, and Congressman Sarbanes’ office will extend the invitation on your behalf.

Last month, we called on environmental educators nationwide to showcase environmental education at a school in your community. For background about April 2009 No Child Left Inside Days, read the Branch article “Showcase Environmental Education at a School in Your Community.” 

The No Child Left Inside Days are part of a special effort to make sure the media and members of Congress know about a critical piece of legislation, the No Child Left Inside Act, that will be introduced in both the House and Senate in the coming weeks. Getting Members of Congress to witness firsthand the benefits and need for environmental education is key to getting them to co-sponsor and vote ‘yes’ on legislation that would provide more training, resources, and support for teachers wanting to provide quality environmental education.

This year, Congress will be reviewing the various initiatives of the No Child Left Behind Act and will be authorizing some form of federal education legislation. Project Learning Tree, as a member of the NCLI Coalition, is working on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to expand and improve environmental education in our schools. We can achieve this by getting members of Congress to support the No Child Left Inside Act. For background about the No Child Left Inside Act, visit www.NCLICoalition.org.

Please join us in our efforts to raise awareness and support for environmental education and take part in “No Child Left Inside Days.”  Plus, look for an action alert from us about more ways you can help as soon as the NCLI bills are introduced.