By PLT Staff

World Water Monitoring Day
September 18, 2009
World Water Monitoring Day is an international education and outreach program that builds awareness and involvement in protecting water resources by engaging citizens to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies.

National Public Lands Day
September 26, 2009
National Public Lands Day, sponsored by the National Environmental Education Foundation, is the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance America’s public lands. In 2008, 120,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, removed trash and invasive plants, and planted over 1.6 million trees.

Green Your School Contest
Application Deadline: October 9, 2009
The Student Conservation Association’s Green Your School Contest recognizes conservation service projects designed by high school students that improve, restore, beautify, or conserve their high school environment. Prizes include one grand prize of $5,000 and two first prizes of $2,500.

B-WET Funding Opportunity
Application Deadline: October/ November 2009 (varies, depending on region)
NOAA’s Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program provides grants to support experiential learning through meaningful watershed educational experiences for K-12 students and related professional development for teachers. Funding opportunities for 2010 are now available in California, Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, New England, and the Pacific Northwest.

Field Trip Grants
Application Deadline: November 3, 2009
With budgets tight, any help in getting students out of the classroom on field adventures is welcome.  Target will award Field Trip Grants of up to $800 each to K-12 education professionals across the United States.  Grant-funded field trips may include museum visits or environmental and science projects; artistic and cultural experiences; and civics or community service projects. 

The President’s Environmental Youth Awards
Application Deadline: December 31, 2009
EPA’s President's Environmental Youth Awards program recognizes young people across America for projects which demonstrate their commitment to the environment. Projects submitted in the past have included recycling programs in schools and communities; construction of nature preserves; major tree planting programs; student videos, skits, and newsletters focusing on environmental issues; and environmental science projects. Young people in all 50 states and the U.S. territories are invited to participate in the program.

Grant Wrangler
Grant Wrangler® posts grants and awards for K-12 teachers, schools, and students. The service makes it easier for teachers, librarians, and parents to find funding, including grants and awards for arts, history, mathematics, science, technology, and more.

EE Online Courses – Fall 2009
The following online courses will be offered this fall through the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.  Classes run from September – November/ December.  Scholarship funds are available. 
Fundamentals of Environmental Education
A 12-week online course about the fundamentals of environmental education is appropriate for both classroom teachers and for non-formal educators who work with students and/or teachers
Making EE Relevant for Culturally Diverse Audiences
This 10-week on-line course is designed to provide participants with the basic knowledge and skills needed to make EE relevant to culturally diverse audiences.
Applied Environmental Education Program Evaluation
This 13-week on-line course is designed to assist environmental educators and natural resource professionals in evaluating their education programs.

Educational Materials on Solid Waste
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” “Waste Watchers,” “Renewable or Not?,” and PLT’s Municipal Solid Waste secondary module)
The EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery website provides educational materials on solid waste issues, with an emphasis on waste reduction, reuse, and recycling.  There are resources for K-12 students, including detective adventures and interactive games, and ideas for environmental campaigns.  The website also informs teachers about student award programs and grants, as well as references, tools, and data students can use in environmental research projects and reports. 

Recycle! It’s A Plus for the Environment Poster
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activity “Make Your Own Paper”)
PLT and the American Forest & Paper Association have teamed up to produce a free classroom poster and accompanying video on paper recycling.  The poster Recycle! It’s A Plus for the Environment includes the PLT activity “Make Your Own Paper” and additional background information.  An accompanying video Making Paper features students demonstrating the activity and also highlights the mill paper making process.   Both are great resources for educators interested in helping students learn how paper placed in a recycling bin can find life as a new product. To order or download the poster and video, and to learn more about paper recycling, visit www.paperrecycles.org.

Extensions for Energy Lessons
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Energy Sleuths,” “Waste Watchers,” “In the Driver’s Seat,” PLT’s Energy & Society kit, and PLT’s GreenSchools! Investigations)
The US Department of Energy has compiled a toolkit for energy education.  The materials include suggestions for classroom activities that emphasize the roles played by coal, natural gas, and petroleum in everyday life.  The toolkit contains word-searches and crossword puzzles for elementary students, online interactive energy lessons for middle schoolers, and career information for the high school audience.  Try combining activities such as “How much does it cost to light your classroom?” with PLT’s new GreenSchools! Investigations.

World View of Global Warming 
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “The Global Climate,” “Our Changing World,” and “Picture This,” or try it with PLT’s secondary module Forests of the World: Activity # 6 “Seeking Sustainability”)
Gary Braasch, an environmental photographer, has been documenting evidence of climate change for more than 10 years.  His collection of images from around the world show the effects of global warming in vivid detail.  Explanatory text from climate scientists accompanies all photos.  Visit www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org to check it out!

The Investi-gator
(The first issue is a resource for PLT’s  PreK-8 activities “Signs of Fall,” “Soil Stories,” “Democracy in Action” and “Waste Watchers”)
The US Forest Service has just published its first issue of The Investi-gator, a free science journal for upper elementary level students.  The journal focuses on contemporary Forest Service research and has the following components: Meet the Scientist, Glossary, Thinking About Science, Thinking About the Environment, Introduction, Method, Findings, Discussion, Reflection Sections, and a FACTivity.  Each FACTivity includes a correlation to a PLT activity!

Catch the Science Bug!
(resource for PLT’s  PreK-8 activities “Who Works in this Forest?,” “A Forest of Many Uses,” “Schoolyard Safari,” “Energy Sleuths” and more.)
A new educational science website offers a variety of science activities that increase science literacy, raise environmental awareness, and introduce different careers in the sciences. The site includes video clips from the PBS television series, interactive online activities, and great extensions ideas for PLT activities.  

Children's Gardens: A Field Guide
(resource for PLT’s  PreK-8 activities “Sunlight and Shades of Green” and “How Plants Grow,” as well as PLT’s GreenWorks! and GreenSchools! programs)
Teachers can download this 200-page guide produced by Common Ground, a program from the University of California Los Angeles County Cooperative Extension Service. The book includes detailed instructions on the process of establishing a garden for children, numerous related experiments and activities, a guide to resources, and a selected bibliography. A Spanish version of the School Garden Start-up Guide is also available.

Our Generous Garden – now available in Spanish!
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Pass the Plants, Please” and “Improve Your Place,”and GreenWorks! and GreenSchools!)
Parents and educators now can introduce English and Spanish readers to the joys of gardening with the dual-language edition of the nationally acclaimed children's book, Our Generous Garden.  Nuestra Huerta Generosa, available through Amazon, GardenABCs.com and book distributors, follows children as they plant and harvest a school vegetable garden and in the process change their community. The 8.5 x 11-inch book features easy-to-read text in both English and Spanish, as well as hands-on activities for the outdoor classroom.

Tree ID
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Name that Tree,” “Looking at Leaves,” “Bursting Buds,” “Tree Factory,” “Invasive Species” and many more)
Learn about how trees grow and the tricks to tree identification from the Trees of Texas website created by the Texas Forest Service and the Texas A&M University System. Other helpful features include an extensive tree listing, information on aggressive invaders, and leaf collecting and safety tips.  Have a closer look at the education pages to find PLT activity correlations and links to the National PLT website.

Middle School Science PowerPoints
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Energy Sleuths,” “How Big is Your Tree,” and more)
An eighth-grade science teacher from Texas shares his teaching materials, including many PowerPoint presentations.  Find ready-to-use PowerPoint presentations and other resources for teaching the scientific method, measurement equations, energy and more.  Visit his Dallas Community School Website and scroll down to find over 30 PowerPoints on various science topics!