Events
Green Schools Conference and Expo (http://greenschoolsconference.org/)
Last chance to secure your spot at the 6th annual Green Schools Conference and Expo! Join fellow green schools advocates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania March 31-April 1, 2016 to learn from experts and your peers, and be inspired to carry the green schools movement forward. Visit the conference website to view session descriptions and get more information on this year’s master series speakers, pre-conference workshops, Student Summit, speed greening sessions, posters, and more. Conference rates are being offered at two hotels, both within walking distance of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Make your reservation at http://greenschoolsconference.org/travel.
Special events at the conference include:
- Pre-Conference Sessions. These workshops and tours of Pittsburgh area schools offer attendees a chance to grow their knowledge about sustainability issues in schools. Offerings include:
- An Immersive Experience at the Environmental Charter School: Authentic Learning, Food Education, and Outdoor Classrooms
- Creating Connections to Nature for Human and Ecological Wellness through Biophilia and Art
- School Sustainability Culture Workshop — Cultivating a Culture of Sustainability in Schools: Moving Beyond Environmental Education
- Sustainability and Problem-Based Learning Field Trips at Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus
- Student Summit. The Student Summit is designed to educate, empower, and inspire middle and high school students as our next generation of leaders. Summit programming will equip students with 21st century skills, knowledge, and resources to help impact their schools and communities. Sessions include:
- Solutions Summits. Solutions Summits are two-hour sessions that provide participants with a deep dive into the challenges and solutions to advance the mission of the green schools movement. This year’s offerings include:
- Speed Greening Sessions. Speed Greening Sessions are short and snappy presentations. Facilitators keep you moving and engaged as you travel from table to table. Sessions are organized into five categories:
- Classroom Activity
- Community
- Garden Spaces on Campus
- Purchasing
- Students, Campus Data, and STEM
- Located in the Exhibit Hall, you can view posters that reflect work, research, and other special projects.
Education Summit: How can we build community resilience through education?
How can we build community resilience through education? Join other educators and students at an Education Summit focused on this question. The Education Summit is on April 6, 2016, day three of the Local Solutions: Eastern Regional Climate Preparedness Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, co-hosted by Antioch University New England and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Summit activities will include: keynote address from climate activist Bill McKibben, a panel on community resilience and education, informational sessions, professional development workshops, a collaborative activity, field trips, and a participant forum. You can learn more about the Education Summit and register here: www.communityresilience-center.org/conference-2016/education-summit. You may choose to attend only the Education Summit on April 6, two days of the Local Solutions conference, or all three days. Accommodations are available at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel. Hotel reservations made prior to March 11 will be at a discounted rate. You will find more information about lodging here: www.communityresilience-center.org.
Professional Development
CELF Summer Institute: Education for Sustainability (http://www.celfeducation.org/WhatWeDo-summer-institute-about.html)
CELF’s Summer Institute (July 18-20, 2016) enables teachers to integrate the concepts of sustainability into their existing curricula. This program equips K-12 teachers with practices and teaching methods to address the core concepts of Education for Sustainability – the intersection of social, economic, and ecological systems. Teachers participate in the CELF Summer Institute in order to:
- Become familiar with teaching strategies that challengestudents to embrace complex problem solving, encourage students to transfer and relate information between disciplines through hands-on and collaborative activities, compel students to connect to their community – at home, in school, and in the world beyond, and inspire them to make a difference.
- Explore effective and engaging methods of communicating the interconnections between a healthy environment, a vibrant economy, and fair and equitable social sector – and how the balance of those three systems is vital to a sustainable future, and relevant to every academic subject area.
Learn more about the elementary school teacher institute (http://www.celfeducation.org/WhatWeDo-summer-elementary-teachers.html) and the middle/high school teacher institute (http://www.celfeducation.org/WhatWeDo-summer-middle-teachers.html).
Green Teacher Webinars (http://greenteacher.com/webinars/)
Inspiring Deeper Learning with Music
Presenters: Remy Rodden and Joyce Rouse (Earth Mama)
Thursday, March 31 2016 7:30-8:30pm EST
Why do we teach and learn our ABC’s buy ambien online pharmacy with a song? Learning techniques that use music, motion, humor, and fun take place in the affective domain of the brain, and tend to be deeper and longer lasting. Join two veteran singer-songwriter-performers for tips and tools for using music to teach and reinforce concepts for long term behavioral changes.
Urban Environmental Education Masters Degree (https://islandwood.org/graduate-programs/urban-environmental-education-maed-seattle)
Applications for 2016-17 are now OPEN!! Come join us…M.A.Ed. in Urban Environmental Education
We believe that education has the power to transform the ways that people live in urban areas by cultivating environmental knowledge, leadership, and collective action. The Urban Environmental Education Program at IslandWood prepares educators to work with urban youth and communities to build thriving, healthy, and sustainable places to live. Environmental Education in urban settings requires educators to embrace the ecological complexity of the city and attend to the forces of equity and justice in relation to environmental issues.
Learn more about joining this groundbreaking program: https://islandwood.org/graduate-programs/urban-environmental-education-maed-seattle
Contact Cindy Thomashow at cindyt@islandwood.org (603-283-8485) or Sue Byers at sueb@islandwood.org (206.499.8530).
Grants
Captain Planet Foundation Eco-Tech Grants (http://captainplanetfoundation.org/ecotech-grants/)
EcoTech grants are back! Grants in the amount of $2,500 will be awarded to schools or non-profit organizations for the purpose of engaging children in inquiry-based projects in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) that use innovation, biomimicry / nature-based design, or new uses for technology to address environmental problems in their communities. The EcoTech Grant cycle is currently open and will close on March 15, 2016.
Dorothy Stout Professional Development Awards (http://nagt.org/nagt/awards/stout.html)
The National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) gives these professional development awards to faculty and students at two year colleges and to K-12 teachers in support of:
- Participation in Earth Science classes or workshops
- Attendance at professional scientific or science education meetings
- Participation in Earth Science field trips
- Purchase of Earth Science materials for classroom use
Awards of $750 are made annually in three categories: Community College Faculty, Community College Student, and K-12 Educator. Award winners are also given a one-year membership to the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, which includes an online subscription to the Journal of Geoscience Education and the In The Trenches magazine. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2016.
GetEdFunding (www.getedfunding.com/)
GetEdFunding is a curated collection of grants and awards created by education professionals for education professionals. Its database was designed to be easy-to-use and reliable, and all grant and funding opportunities are updated daily. Users can search by six criteria, including 43 areas of focus, 8 content areas, and 14 twenty-first century themes and skills, including environmental literacy. Once registered on the site, users can save grants of interest and return to them at any time.
The NEA Foundation Learning and Leadership Grants (http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/learning-leadership-grants/)
The NEA Foundation Learning and Leadership Grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of the following two purposes:
- Grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes, conferences, or action research.
- Grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson plan development, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff.
Grants awards are $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study. Applications may be submitted anytime throughout the year and are reviewed three times a year, every year. Deadlines for applications are February 1, June 1, and October 15.
2016 – 2017 School Grants for Healthy Kids (http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/tools-for-schools/apply-for-grants)
Action for Healthy Kids has provided $6.6 million in grants to schools since 2009. Our School Grants for Healthy Kids can help your school health team achieve its goal to make every kid healthy and ready to learn. Applications are now being accepted until April 1, 2016 for the 2016-2017 school year. Two types of grants are available:
- School Breakfast Grants. Thanks to these school breakfast grants, schools have served more than 25 million new school breakfasts since 2009. Up to 550 schools will receive grant awards ranging from $500 to $5,000 to support increased breakfast participation. Eligible schools may apply to pilot or expand their School Breakfast Programs, including alternative or universal alternative.
- Game on Grants. Action for Healthy Kids will award 500 schools with Game On grants for physical activity and nutrition initiatives that support schools in becoming nationally recognized as a health-promoting school. Grants range from $500 to $2,500.
