EE Resources - Winter 2012

By Jaclyn Stallard

PLT GreenSchools! Webinar Series
PLT marks the beginning of 2012 with a new series of free webinars highlighting PLT's GreenSchools! Investigations. The first webinar, Transforming Schools with PLT GreenSchools! Energy Investigations, took place on February 1. To learn more about this webinar, and to view the recording, visit www.plt.org/webinars. Three more PLT GreenSchools! webinars will be held in March, April and May. Anyone—teachers, students, individuals or groups—can participate in this FREE webinar series, made possible in part by generous funding from the U.S. Forest Service. For more information, and to register, go to www.plt.org/webinars.

National Green Schools Conference
February 27-29 in Denver, CO
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be the keynote speaker at the second annual Green Schools National Conference that will focus on funding for Green Schools projects. Register for the conference online – AND as a PLT-trained educator, you can take advantage of this special discount code.

Go to http://www.greenschoolsnationalconference.org/register_now.php
Scroll down and click on Register Online
Click on Affiliate Rates
When asked for a discount code, enter pltschools

National PLT staff will attend and present three sessions. Students from a PLT GreenSchool!, Escuela Tlatelolco Charter School in Denver, CO, will co-present one of the sessions on Wed. Feb. 29th, 8:45 – 10:00 am. During their session “Use Service-Learning Projects to Turn Your School into a GreenSchool!” the students will describe how they have brought about positive environmental changes to their school and community through service-learning projects based on the PLT GreenSchools! model of students leading the way. Educators and students will leave the session with resource materials and implementation ideas for turning their school into a model green school. For more information, and to register, go to www.greenschoolsnationalconference.org.

Citizen Science Project – The Smithsonian Institution's Tree Banding Project
Citizen science programs involve students and teachers like you contributing to ongoing scientific work. Sign up to participate in The Smithsonian Institution's Tree Banding Project and contribute to research about tree biomass, and how trees respond to climate. Students around the globe will monitor the rate at which their local trees grow, and learn how that rate corresponds to Smithsonian research, as well as comparing their work to other students world-wide. Sign up today and, if you are selected, the Smithsonian will mail you a kit that includes everything that you will need to get started. Schools will be selected for participation based on location and when you apply. After you get your kit, your class will need to:

Pick ten trees in your schoolyard for study
Prepare and install the dendrometer (tree) bands
Allow four weeks for the bands to settle
Start collecting data and enter it online

You can also read more about this research in this New York Times article.

“Walk in the Forest” Guide
This recently updated guide, produced by the American Forest Foundation and the Society of American Foresters, helps non-formal educators and woodland owners plan a walk in the forest for children, teachers, local leaders, tree farmers, families, and other community members. Suggestions for using PLT activities are included. Download a copy.

Energy Quest
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Renewable or Not?,” “Energy Sleuths,” “Pollution Search, “Waste Watchers,” and PLT’s Energy & Society Kit)
Energy Quest is an effort by the California Energy Commission to provide resources to teachers and students all about energy: its different forms, how it is generated, its sources and how to protect and conserve it. The Energy Quest website is arranged in easy-to-use tabs that lead to a rich, comprehensive supply of teaching material. The website’s interactive interface is useful and educational to both teachers and students alike.

2012 AF&PA Recycling Awards
Deadline to apply: February 10, 2012
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” “Make Your Own Paper,” “A Look at Aluminum,” and PLT’s GreenSchools! program)
Each year the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) Recycling Awards recognize outstanding paper recycling efforts. Enter your school today for the chance to win a $2,000 cash prize, original framed artwork, and recognition in local and national media. Winners and finalists will also be featured on the paperrecycles.org website. But you’ll have to hurry – the deadline is February 10, 2012. Apply today!

Project Earth 2012 U.S. Earth Day Contest
Deadline to apply: April 15, 2012
Project Earth is a global environmental network designed to connect schools, teachers, and students around the world to help solve environmental problems. Project Earth is hosting a national Earth Day Contest for grades K-12 featuring environmental projects, activities, and actions being taken to conserve resources and protect our environment. Share your environmental efforts on www.ProjectEarth.net and enter your project into the Project Earth 2012 U.S. Earth Day Contest! One nation-wide project entry from each K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade category will be selected as a winner. Each winning project will be awarded a National Geographic Interactive Intelliglobe. Every project entry will be considered for the International 2012 World Environment Day Contest, in which the top project from each country will receive recognition in conjunction with the June 2012 United Nations Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Soil Explorers
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Soil Stories,” “The Story of S.T. Shrew,” “Nature’s Recyclers,” and “Field, Forest, and Stream”)
The Soil Explorers website, sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management, is designed just for kids. Learn about the importance of soil, soil food webs, soil facts, and more. A brief assessment is even included to test soil knowledge.

My Garbology
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” “Make Your Own Paper,” “A Look at Aluminum,” PLT’s Municipal Solid Waste secondary module, and PLT’s GreenSchools! program)
We toss items into the trash every day – about 4.4 pounds per person per day, on average. With garbology, the study of waste, students can learn about waste reduction and steps they can take to reduce the amount of trash on the planet. This website’s interactive interface allows students to learn about the recycling, reusing, composting, and disposing of several everyday items.

ARKive’s “Survival” App
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Web of Life,” “Life on the Edge,” “Habitat Pen Pals,” and “Planet Diversity”)
Use your mobile device to race against the clock in a battle for survival! Tap, drag, scroll, swipe and pinch your way through a series of quick-fire mini-games to reveal the identity of some of the world’s most endangered animals. Full of real-life photographs, this fun and educational application tests speed, agility, endurance and intelligence, essential skills needed to become a Top Survivor.