Events
American Forest Kindergarten Association 2019 Conference
The 2nd Annual American Forest Kindergarten Association Conference will be held August 9 – 11, 2019 at Nature Nuts Forest School in Maple Valley, Washington. Learn valuable “tools of the trade” for best practices, business strategies, research, and advocacy from experts in the field, like keynote speaker Niki Buchan. Share successes and take advantage of networking opportunities with community gatherings throughout the conference. See examples of a program in action through observation of Nature Nuts, the first Cedarsong-accredited school.
Children and Nature Network 2019 International Conference
Join the Children and Nature Network for the largest gathering of children and nature advocates in the world, May 16-18, 2019 in Oakland, California. From inspiring keynotes to hands-on workshops, this biennial conference will inspire and equip you with best practices for increasing equitable access to nature for the children, families, and communities you serve.
Earth Day Network 2019 Toolkit
The theme for Earth Day 2019 is Protect Our Species. This toolkit from Earth Day Network is a web-based, cross-disciplinary resource that includes a range of lesson plans and educational activities focused on the issue of Biodiversity.
National Environmental Education Week (EE Week)
The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF)’s National Environmental Education Week (EE Week) is taking place April 22-26, 2019. EE Week is the nation’s largest celebration of environmental education. Each year, NEEF partners with educators, students, government agencies, businesses, communities, nonprofit organizations, and others to inspire environmental learning and encourage stewardship of our essential resources: land, air, and water. Visit the website for a toolkit, resources, and updates on events and activities for 2019.
North American Association for Environmental Education Annual Conference – Save the Date
The 48th North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) annual conference will be held in Lexington, Kentucky from October 15 – 19, 2019.
For more than four decades, NAAEE has convened one of the leading annual conferences for environmental education professionals, designed to promote innovation, networking, learning, and dissemination of best practices. The annual Research Symposium, held in advance of the conference, attracts new and established researchers to examine in-progress environmental education research and promote dialogue between researchers and practitioners.
Safe Routes to School National Conference
The 2019 Safe Routes to School National Conference will be held at the Hilton Tampa Downtown from November 12-14, 2019. Save the date for this opportunity to join hundreds of active transportation and public health advocates and practitioners from across the country for valuable networking, sharing best practices, and exploring one of Florida’s most vibrant and active cities. Early bird registration is now open.
Wade Institute for Science Education – Summer Professional Development Institutes for K-12 Teachers
Join the Wade Institute for Science Education for one of four regional inquiry-based hands-on, minds-on, STEM-focused professional development institutes held across Massachusetts. Spend a week with fellow teachers on-site at multiple partner organizations and experience field and classroom investigations to take back to your classroom. The 2019 institutes’ theme is Engaging Your Students in Science and Engineering Practices.
Institutes will be held July 8 – 12 and July 15 – 19, 2019. Cost is $425 per participant ($400 per participant if attending in a team of two teachers from the same district; $375 per participant if attending in a team of three or more teachers from the same district). The deadline to register is June 1, 2019.
Professional Development and GSNN PD Partner Resources
The Biomimicry Institute is the world’s leading nonprofit dedicated to innovation inspired by nature. Biomimicry offers an exciting project-based approach that helps teachers blend STEM and environmental education in creative, hands-on lessons students love. The Biomimicry Institute helps educators and organizations bring biomimicry into their teaching by providing curriculum and training, networking opportunities, and content development support. Learn more about our services and visit the online library, AskNature, for the resources and information you need to bring biomimicry into your teaching practice.
Captain Planet Foundation (CPF) supports educators with grants, resources, tools, and models to spark children’s curiosity, cultivate a love of nature, and engage students in science and engineering practices to solve real-world problems. Our programs and materials have co-evolved with education priorities over the years to ensure educators have the tools and strategies to meet their needs in and out of the classroom.
Upcoming Programming
Friday, May 17, 2019
The Nature of Science, STEM, and Stewardship: Strategies for Transformative Teaching
Children & Nature Network International Conference
Oakland, California
10:00am – 4:00pm at Temescal Regional Rec Area Beach House
No cost other than conference registration – includes lunch and bus
June 7, 2019
Schoolyard Science: How Volunteers Can Help Make Learning More Relevant, Authentic, and Engaging
Georgia PTA Convention Leadership Training Conference
Atlanta, Georgia
Times to be determined
No cost other than conference registration
June 8, 2019
Farm 2 STEAM: Transforming School Gardens into STEAM Labs
Georgia Farm to School and Early Care and Education Summit
Macon, Georgia
Times to be determined
No cost other than conference registration
CELF Summer Institute: Education for Sustainability
The Annual CELF Summer Institute in Education for Sustainability is an intensive multi-day workshop that enables teachers to integrate the concepts of sustainability into their existing curricula. The Institute 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 – and how the balance of those three systems is vital to a sustainable future, and relevant to all subject areas.
The Institute begins by building a learning community and a common vocabulary around sustainability, and progresses with hands-on activities, case studies, special guest presentations, and field work. The schedule includes supported planning time so that participants will have tangible materials to bring back to their classrooms.
2019 Summer Institute locations include: Westchester County, New York; New York City; and Los Angeles, California.
Center for Green Schools School Board Advocacy Toolkit
The School Board Advocacy Toolkit from the Center for Green Schools is a free resource that helps green schools allies address sustainability issues and impact greener policies at the school district level. It is designed to make local green schools advocacy approachable and actionable. The toolkit contains talking points, template letters and presentations, sample policy language, and more for you to use to promote greener policy options related to any school sustainability issue.
The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education
The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education works with schools and school districts to help them integrate Education for Sustainability (EfS) into their curriculum. Core services include consulting and leadership development (on-site and off-site); professional development and faculty coaching; curriculum design, assessment, mapping, and alignment; and school and community partnerships. The Cloud Institute holds an annual Summer Design Studio that enables educators, administrators, and program designers to learn how to design and embed EfS into curriculum, assessments, and programs.
Upcoming Programming
2019 Goethe Institut Sustainability Summit
May 24 – 26, 2019
Chicago, Illinois
At this three-day Sustainability Summit in Chicago, you will learn from experts about systems, anticipatory, and creative thinking, the commons; the importance of diversity and multiple perspectives; and links with STEM. Jaimie Cloud will keynote. Learn more and register.
Summer Curriculum Design Studio: Educating for a Sustainable Future
August 5 – 9, 2019
Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York
Join the Cloud Institute for a five-day curriculum design studio where educators, administrators, and program designers will learn how to design and embed Education for Sustainability into curricula, assessments, and performance tasks without the need for additional class time!
Held at the beautiful Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, you will get access to expertise, resources, and tools to reorient and enrich curricula. Through working sessions, learning circles, coaching, peer review, and optional mini-sessions, you will create and develop units and protocols that educate for sustainability.
Come yourself or bring a team! Space is limited. Register today.
Community Works Institute (CWI) supports and promotes exemplary teaching strategies and practices for K-16 educators and community programs that support students in becoming caring, responsible, and active members of their communities. CWI offers a variety of professional development opportunities for K-16 and community-based educators in the United States and internationally, including on-site training, retreats, coaching, and consulting. Their signature offering is a series of summer institutes that integrate field-tested service-learning best practices and principles of sustainability to engage K-16 students in academically based service that contributes to sustainable communities.
Upcoming Programming
2019 Bay Area Symposium on Place Based Service-Learning
May 17 – 18, 2019 • Los Gatos, California
Collaborate with like-minded colleagues who value compelling, student-centered projects that open doors to new REAL learning and relationships. Experience inspired learning and collaboration as we build a K-16 community of practice. Topics included: Student Voice; Social and Emotional Learning; Reciprocity; Social Justice; Global Citizenship; Sustainable Communities; Design Based Thinking; and Collaborative Ethnography as a Tool. Space is limited, register soon.
Learn more about this exciting opportunity.
2019 Summer EAST Institute on Place Based Service-Learning and Sustainability
June 24 – 28, 2019 • Brooklyn, New York
The longest running Service-Learning training for educators in the world, Summer EAST is a powerful learning lab for educators, set in the heart of the uniquely diverse social fabric that is Brooklyn. Experience a week of inspiration, expert training, and powerful collaborations with an exceptional group of colleagues. Join like-minded K-16 and community educators from across the U.S. and beyond for a week to remember.
2019 Summer WEST Institute on Place Based Service-Learning and Sustainability
July 22 – 26, 2019 • Los Angeles, California
Bring your vision, program, and project ideas to CWI’s acclaimed learning and design lab. Summer WEST is set in Los Angeles, one of the world’s most vibrant, culturally rich urban settings. Join us for a transformative week of project and program design, expert training and guidance, field work, and inspired networking.
Learn more about these opportunities and register online.
**CWI encourages schools to send cohort teams (minimum of four, max of eight per school) and is offering special rates to support this. School Cohorts will focus on their own practice while moving their school forward and learning deeper approaches to accomplish this, including a process for examining and advancing their practice. Cohort teams will continue working together when they return to school (not typical w/ teams).**
EcoRise’s school-based program empowers youth to tackle real-world challenges in their schools and communities by teaching sustainability, design innovation, and social entrepreneurship. Our curriculum, classroom grants, ongoing training, and support engages educators and students in meaningful learning experiences. Our program empowers teachers to confidently champion sustainability and innovation in their classrooms, while students cultivate 21st century skills and sustainable living practices.
We offer:
- Online and in-person professional development, curriculum, and self-paced resources for green industry connections to K–12 educators, STEM educators, and Project-Based Learning teachers.
- For U.S.-based schools, we award micro grants to student-designed sustainability projects.
- Our committed partnership with like-minded institutions and corporate supporters to expand reach and impact.
Visit www.ecorise.org to learn more.
Facing the Future is an international program, based out of Western Washington University, creating tools for educators that equip and motivate students to develop critical thinking skills, build global awareness, and engage in positive solutions for a sustainable future. The curriculum is organized around eight sustainability big ideas:
- Connecting with Nature
- Equity and Justice
- Health and Resiliency
- Interconnectedness
- Local to Global
- Peace and Collaboration
- Respect for Limits
- Universal Responsibility
Facing the Future curriculum materials and resources are available for K-12 teachers, teachers in colleges of education, and for some community college and undergraduate classes. All materials are developed for teachers, by teachers, with best teaching and learning practices in mind and are aligned with Common Core Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and most state standards frameworks.
Green Strides Webinar Series Calendar
The Green Strides Webinar Series provides school communities with the tools they need to reduce their schools’ environmental impact and costs; improve health and wellness; and teach effective environmental education. It provides all schools access to the resources that help them move toward the Pillars of the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools recognition award. Sign up for Green Strides Webinar Series email updates to receive information on future webinars.
TBD
Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short-Term Program for U.S. Teachers
The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short-Term Program for U.S. Teachers (Fulbright DAST) provides an opportunity for outstanding K–12 teachers from the United States to take part in a two- to six-week professional development experience overseas. Teachers will have an opportunity to share their educational expertise by consulting with and providing support for schools, nonprofits, teacher training institutions, and other educational organizations abroad. Fulbright DAST Cycle II projects will take place in 12 different countries between October 2019 – May 2020. Deadline to apply is May 6, 2019.
A product of the U.S. Green Building Council’s The Center for Green Schools, Learning Lab provides K-12 teachers and school leaders with comprehensive, project- and STEM-based curriculum that encourages student leadership, environmental literacy, and real-world action.
Discover best-in-class content, training, and tools. Access their curated catalogue of lesson plans, interactive projects, assessment opportunities, and other multimedia resources in English and Spanish. Lessons are mapped to meet current educational standards and were created by educators, for educators.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
3:00 – 4:00pm ET / 12:00 – 1:00pm PT
The majority of school buildings operating today can achieve zero energy performance, and schools looking to upgrade campus buildings have resources they can use to achieve low-energy goals. Join this one-hour webinar highlighting lessons learned from school retrofits that reduce energy consumption enough to allow the remainder to be served with renewable systems such as photovoltaic panels. Industry experts including Alexis Karolides of Point Energy Innovations will brief attendees on the innovative approaches that teams are taking during the assessment and planning process when retrofitting on the path to zero. This information will be presented as case studies and models for replication in your own design. The webinar will also address operational considerations that are crucial for ongoing successful performance.
Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit organization educating for a sustainable future. That means learning that links knowledge, inquiry, and action to help students build a healthy future for their communities and the planet. Its home campus is a 1,400-acre working farm, forest, and National Historic Landmark.
Shelburne Farms’ school programs staff support student learning and professional development for educators. The ideas of place and sustainability are at the heart of its work. Shelburne Farms offers a variety of experiences that inspire deep connections to community and a commitment to a healthy future.
Upcoming Programming
Seasonal Educator Workshops
Shelburne Farms has taken some of your favorite school program topics and turned them into one-day, seasonal educator workshops! Join us on the Farm throughout the year for a series of programs designed to deepen your knowledge of a topic and enrich your curriculum. In fall, winter, and spring we will spend time outside connecting with the land, interacting with experts, and developing tools and techniques to take back to your students. Workshops can be taken individually or as a series.
Each workshop costs $30. Register here.
Milk & More
Saturday, May 4, 2019; 9:30am – 12:30pm
Explore a Vermont tradition and build awareness of the importance that dairy plays in the farming landscape. You’ll experience a variety of fun, hands-on activities relating to cows and visit our own Brown Swiss herd. We will delve into activities that explore the roles that farmers and dairy products play in our local food system and in keeping our communities healthy and thriving.
Project Seasons for Young Learners: Cultivating Joy and Wonder
July 8 – 12, 2019
Are you looking for new ways to connect your program to the community outside of your classroom? Join us at the Farm for hands-on, interdisciplinary activities and explore ways in which these can be adapted to your own learning community. Connect with other early childhood professionals to share best practices over these four days in a picturesque setting, leaving you energized and inspired to create even more meaningful opportunities and experiences within your program.
Cost $575. Includes light breakfast and lunch; excludes accommodations and graduate credit. A limited number of partial scholarships are available. Learn more and register here.
The Summer Institute on Education for Sustainability
July 22 – 26, 2019
Spend five rich days with colleagues from around the country at an informative and restorative institute created to give you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of education for sustainability. This week is part conference, part workshop, part retreat. The 2019 Summer Institute will use the lens of sustainability to focus on local, regional, and global food systems. Topics might include food systems education; culturally sustaining nutrition; ecological, economic, and cultural connections; cultivating food sovereignty; climate change and civic action; and sustainable food system learning journey.
Cost $600. Includes light breakfast and lunch; excludes travel and graduate credit. A limited number of on-site accommodations are available. Scholarships may be available on a need-based scale. Learn more and register here.
Education for Sustainability Immersion
August 15 – 16, 2019
For those who already have a strong foundation in Education for Sustainability, our two-day Immersion will provide you with the opportunity to reflect, learn, and collaborate with a small group of colleagues from across the country in a residential, retreat-like setting here at Shelburne Farms. The Immersion has a design studio feel with participants self-directing much of their work with a few inspirational speakers and workshops/explore times. Expect to take a deep dive into such topic areas as place-based education, social justice, systems thinking, or other topics in the field of Education for Sustainability that are important to you. This course is action-oriented with an expectation at the end that each participant has a solid project or curriculum to implement. Programming begins on the first day and continues into the evening, and then concludes mid-afternoon of the second day.
Cost $375. Includes meals, tax, and accommodations; excludes graduate credits. Limited to 16 participants. Scholarships may be available on a need-based scale. Learn more and register here.
Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI) is a nonprofit that builds leaders to drive climate solutions. For over 20 years, SEI’s focus has been on building capacity to create sustainable communities through scalable programs and models. Its flagship programs (Energize Schools, Energize Colleges, School of Environmental Leadership, and Climate Corps) integrate climate education, training, and career development. From young students to emerging professionals to communities, SEI programs engage local talent to directly address their community’s sustainability goals by leading projects with measurable environmental, economic, and social benefits.
Upcoming Programming
Innovations in Green Technology Teacher Training
June 24 – 28, 2019
SunPower Corporation 1414 Harbor Way South, Richmond, California 94804
Innovations in Green Technology is a project-based learning course designed to prepare students for careers in the energy industry. This year-long course is approved as a University of California A-G D-lab science and is the first in a two-course series designed to meet California Technical Education Standards for the Energy and Power Technology Pathway in the Energy, Environment, and Utilities sector. Highlights include designing and building wind turbines, constructing a solar USB charger, creating a climate protection policy plan, networking with educators who are teaching sustainability curriculum, and earning CEU credits.
Energy and Environmental Design Teacher Training
July 29 – August 2, 2019
High Tech High International 2855 Farragut Road, San Diego, California 92106
Energy and Environmental Design is a project-based learning course in which students complete projects related to sustainable design, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. This year-long course is approved as a University of California A-G G-elective and is the second in a two-course series designed to meet California Technical Education Standards for the Energy and Power Technology Pathway in the Energy, Environment, and Utilities sector. Highlights include completing a mock solar installation, building a residential circuit, designing a green building, networking with educators who are teaching sustainability curriculum, and earning CEU credits.
Susan Santone is an internationally recognized educator with over 20 years of experience in curriculum reform, educational policy, and sustainability. Through Creative Change Educational Solutions, the nonprofit she founded, Susan has led teacher education and curriculum reform initiatives with clients ranging from K-12 districts to universities to the United Nations. Susan offers the following services:
- Facilitator training that prepares school and university teams to lead professional development in their own settings. Training is based on the book Reframing the Curriculum.
- Leadership development and strategic communication to advance understanding of sustainability and social justice.
- Consultation for schools, universities, and other entities.
Learn more about these services and upcoming events.
Free Online Course
Introduction to Sustainability
Learning about sustainability is easier than ever thanks to “Introduction to Sustainability,” a free online course developed by Kappa Delta Pi in partnership with Creative Change Educational Solutions. The self-paced course introduces sustainability as a context for learning, highlights connections across grades and disciplines, and provides strategies for reframing curriculum to emphasize these connections. With activities, videos, discussions, off-line projects, and guided curriculum design, the course engages adult learners in an integrative and reflective learning experience that emphasizes practical applications. The course is based upon (and includes excerpts from) Susan Santone’s book, Reframing the Curriculum: Design for Social Justice and Sustainability.
Teaching Our Cities Practice Toolkits
Teaching Our Cities, a project of Common Ground, is creating a collection of toolkits that share best practices that are working at partner schools. Toolkits include videos, blog-style reflections, resources, and practice descriptions. Current toolkits cover teaching a sense of place, learning expeditions, green exhibitions, environmental leadership portfolios, and magnet theme days.
Tributaries of Life: A Watershed Inquiry
This online course offered by Oregon State University is designed to help teachers increase their freshwater ecology knowledge and learn how to facilitate student-directed watershed inquiry that includes action projects. Participants will practice sensory-based activities outdoors and keep a journal to record their reflections. Participants will read, watch videos, and conduct field work to learn essential watershed content. Using scientific protocols, participants will conduct research and use their findings to develop an action plan.
This course is for teachers of all academic disciplines in sixth- through twelfth-grades. Two sessions are available: March 4 – April 14, 2019 and May 6 – June 16, 2019. Course cost is $435, plus a $60 registration fee.
Arts and Sustainability Literacy Related Resources
Alliance of Artists Communities Arts + Ecology Tools and Resources
This resource guide includes suggested reading, tips and toolkits, and inspiring materials that illustrate how environmental sustainability can be woven into arts programs.
Art and Sustainability: Connecting Patterns for a Culture of Complexity
From Amazon.com: What is the cultural dimension of sustainability? This book offers a thought-provoking answer, with a theoretical synthesis on cultures of sustainability. Describing how modernity degenerated into a culture of unsustainability, to which the arts are contributing, Sacha Kagan engages us in a fundamental rethinking of our ways of knowing and seeing the world. We must learn not to be afraid of complexity, and to re-awaken a sensibility to patterns that connect. With an overview of ecological art over the past 40 years, and a discussion of art and social change, the book assesses the potential role of art in a much needed transformation process.
Art IS Education: Sustainability Education Guide
Alameda County Arts Commission, in partnership with Alameda County Sustainability, Alameda County Probation Department, and Alameda County Office of Education, created this guide as a complement to the 2011 Art IS Education initiative. It includes examples of student work, a suggested project plan, and resources that explore arts education from a sustainable and environmental perspective.
The Art of Sustainability: Creative Expression as a Tool for Social Change
This article from the Society for Organizational Learning’s journal Reflections highlights how artist Jay Mead uses the arts to connect people with nature and tap into their personal visions of a more sustainable future.
Cultivating Change: A Cross-Age Arts, Literacy, and Sustainability Project
This essay, originally published in The Journal of Sustainability Education, describes a cross-age project between a fourth-grade class and university students in which the two groups of students worked together on a dramatic performance of Paul Fleischman’s book, Seedfolks (1997, 2014).
Education, Arts and Sustainability
From Springer: This book addresses this challenge by proposing an integration of sustainability and arts education in both principle and practice.
In a global context of intensifying social, economic and environmental crises, education is key to raising awareness and motivating individuals and communities to act in sustaining life in our more-than-human world. But how is this done when the complexity and need for change becomes overwhelming, and schooling systems become complicit in supporting the status quo?
Drawing on critical education theory and precepts of creativity, curiosity and change, it documents a series of case examples that demonstrate how five principles of Education for Sustainability – critical thinking, systems thinking, community partnership, participation, and envisioning better futures – are found at the heart of much arts practice in schools. Featuring the creative work and voices of teachers working in arts-based inquiry and diverse community-engaged contexts, the book investigates how sustainability principles are embedded in contemporary arts education thinking and pedagogy. The authors are unapologetically optimistic in forming an alliance of arts and sustainability education as a creative response to the challenge of our times, arguing that while they may have operated on the margins of conventional pedagogy and curriculum, they have more than marginal impact.
EducationCloset supports teachers, leaders, and artists using arts integration and STEAM education through world-class, comprehensive professional development and resources. Resources include free lessons, teacher printables, and ArtsEd Lab, an online monthly magazine. Professional development opportunities include online classes, virtual workshops and conferences, and a certification program.
EL Education Models of Excellence
Models of Excellence is a curated, open-source collection of exemplary high-quality PreK-12 student work, along with resources to support the use of student work models to inspire and elevate teaching and learning. The purpose of this site is to catalyze the use of models to help build student skills and dispositions for success in college, careers, and life. The student work found on the site comes from a wide range of preK-12 schools.
The Models of Excellence site is a product of EL Education, a national network of school partners focused on achieving whole school transformation through implementation of 38 core, research-based practices that make up the EL Education model and address every aspect of a school’s instructional program, culture, and leadership.
This article from the Summer 2018 issue of Green Teacher magazine, discusses how a sustainable arts program can be implemented in three different settings: a traditional inner-city school, a rural school, and a school with limited funding and resources.
Grants and Awards
ASM Materials Education Foundation K-12 Education Grants
The ASM Materials Education Foundation awards 20 grants of $500 annually to help K-12 teachers bring the real world of materials science into their classrooms. “Living in a Material World” grants recognize creativity and enhance awareness of materials science and the role that materials play in society. Teachers must describe a hands-on, curriculum-based K-12 project that involves student observation, teamwork, mathematics, and science skills that enhance student awareness of the everyday materials around them. The deadline for applications is May 25, 2019.
Brower Youth Award for Environmental Leadership
Earth Island Institute established The Brower Youth Award for Environmental Leadership in 2000 to honor renowned environmental advocate David Brower and recognize the outstanding leadership efforts of young people who are working for the protection of our shared planet. Youth environmental change leaders ages 13 to 22 (as of July 1, 2019) living in North America (including Mexico, Canada, some Caribbean Islands) and U.S. “Territories” are encouraged to apply. Applications are due Wednesday May 1, 2019 at 9 pm PT.
Each of the six recipients of the Brower Youth Awards will receive a $3,000 cash prize, a professionally produced short film about their work from an Emmy award-winning film crew, and flight and lodging accommodations for a week-long trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. During their stay, recipients will participate in coaching, visioning, leadership activities, and speaking and media engagements. The week of activities culminates in an awards ceremony in front of more than 800 guests in San Francisco on October 15, 2019.
Captain Planet Foundation ecoSolution Grants
The Captain Planet Foundation’s ecoSolution Grants (previously called “Small Grants”) have been the defining basis of the organization’s work over the last 25 years. The Foundation has funded over 2,100 projects that have impacted 1.2 million youth around the world – actively fulfilling its mission to build the next generation of environmental stewards and change agents.
ecoSolution Grants range from $500 – $2,500 and are intended to support solution-oriented, youth-led projects that result in real environmental outcomes. Visit the website to learn more about eligibility and restrictions and to fill out an application. The next deadline for applications is July 15, 2019.
Captain Planet Foundation ecoTECH Grants
Originally developed in partnership with the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and with ongoing support from Voya Financial, ecoTech Grants are specifically offered to engage children in inquiry-based, STEM-related projects that leverage technology and/or use nature-based design to address environmental problems in local communities. ecoTech Grants were created to combat the notion that students needed to choose between “the screen” or “the green” and to encourage educators and students to explore the role technology can play in designing and implementing solutions to some of our most pressing environmental challenges. ecoTECH grant projects must:
- Be based in the U.S.
- Integrate the use of technology to address environmental problems (not iPads or other tablets)
- Be project-based
- Be youth-led
- Result in real, demonstrable environmental outcomes
ecoTECH grants are available as cash grants of up to $2,500 and support the purchase of materials and other project implementation expenses. The deadline to submit an application is July 15, 2019.
Crayola Creative Leadership Grants
The 2019 Creative Leadership Grants program provides grants for innovative, creative leadership team building within elementary and middle schools. To apply:
- Form a collaborative team to plan innovative ways of infusing creativity throughout the school.
- Brainstorm a leadership program that will enrich creative capabilities and confidence within the school community.
- Plan how and who will lead this collaborative effort.
- Complete the application.
- Submit application by June 21, 2019 (the principal must be a member of the National Association of Elementary School Principals).
- Receive a gift — every Early Bird application submitted before midnight on Monday, June 3, 2019 will receive a Crayola product Classpack®.
Each grant-winning school (up to 20 grants awarded) receives $2,500 and Crayola products valued at $1,000.
Dorothy Stout Professional Development Awards
The National Association of Geoscience Teachers 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, 2019.
EDspaces 2019 Scholarship Program
EDspaces 2019, to be held October 23 – 25, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, offers critical education content combined with an opportunity to make meaningful connections to help you, your facility, and your students thrive. The EDspaces Scholarship covers registration and hotel accommodations for facility planners, superintendents, purchasing officers, and related staff employed by schools, districts, colleges, and universities. Scholarship recipients receive access to professional development, exhibits that showcase innovative solutions, and numerous networking opportunities. The deadline to submit an application is May 15, 2019.
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.
Gloria Baron Prize for Young Heroes
Each year, the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes recognizes young people ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people, their communities, and our environment. The 25 winners each receive a $10,000 cash award to support their service work or higher education. Winners of the Barron Prize also receive:
- Personalized plaque and certificate of recognition
- Signed copy of The Hero’s Trail, by Barron Prize founder T.A. Barron
- Dream Big, a documentary film featuring several Barron Prize winners
- Young Heroes activities guide and bibliography
- The opportunity to connect with other Barron Prize winners through the Young Heroes online forum
- Numerous media opportunities – print, television, and radio
Nominations are due by 5 p.m. MST on April 15, 2019.
McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation Teacher Development Grants
McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation Teacher Development Grants support small teams of teachers in the formation and implementation of groundbreaking K-12 classroom instruction. These grants provide opportunities for teachers to integrate fresh strategies that encourage critical inquiry and to observe their effects on students. Teachers have an opportunity to reflect and write about their projects, as well as to share their results with other teachers. The Foundation awards grants to individuals in amounts of up to $10,000 per year for a maximum of $30,000 over three years, provided the eligibility requirements continue to be met.
Apply early! Submissions are accepted January 15 – April 15. The application system closes once 350 submissions are received.
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 mathematics and science (including computer science) teaching. Established by Congress in 1983, the President may recognize up to 108 exemplary teachers each year.
Awards are given to teachers from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense Education Activity schools, or the U.S. Territories as a group (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands).
The award recognizes those teachers who develop and implement a high-quality instructional program that is informed by content knowledge and enhances student learning. Since the program’s inception, more than 4,800 teachers have been recognized for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession.
Recipients of the award receive the following:
- A certificate signed by the President of the United States.
- A paid trip to Washington, DC to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities.
- A $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.
- An opportunity to build lasting partnerships with colleagues across the nation.
This year’s awards will honor mathematics and science (including computer science) teachers working in grades 7 – 12. Applications must be submitted by May 1, 2019.
Siemens 2019 Possibility Grant Sweepstakes
Enter the Possibility Grant Sweepstakes daily for your chance to win $10,000 for STEM at your school! “Fab” your lab with the latest and greatest gadgets, or purchase top-tier technology and supplies for STEM students. One school will be selected as our Grand Prize Winner in May 2019. The Grand Prize will consist of a $10,000 Siemens Possibility Grant, awarded in the form of a check made payable to the winning school and intended to be used by the school for a science lab makeover and/or STEM-related equipment, supplies, or technology. Eligible educators may enter the sweepstakes once per day until April 27, 2019.
The Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) was founded in 1997 by the Stockholm International Water Institute to complement the Stockholm Water Prize. The SJWP is considered the world’s most prestigious award presented to a high school student for a water-research project. Any high school student in grades 9 through 12, who has reached the age of 15 by August 1 of the competition year and has conducted a water-related science project, is eligible to participate in the competition.
Teams of up to three students may enter. Projects should be aimed at enhancing quality of life through improvement of water quality, water resources management, or water and wastewater treatment. Projects can explore water issues on local, regional, national, or global scales. It is essential that all projects use a research-oriented approach, which means they must use scientifically accepted methodologies for experimentation, monitoring, and reporting, including statistical analysis. Entries into the SJWP competition will be judged based on six criteria: relevance, creativity, methodology, subject knowledge, practical skills, and report and presentation.
Note: All students must enter the State SJWP Competition first. National competition entries are open to state winners only.
The entry deadline for the 2019 competition is April 15.
Toshiba America Foundation Grants
Do you teach in an elementary school classroom? Do you have an innovative idea for improving math or science instruction in your classroom? Is your idea project-based learning with measurable outcomes? What do you need to make learning math and science fun for your students?
K-5 teachers are invited to apply online for a $1,000 Toshiba America Foundation grant to help bring an innovative hands-on project into their classroom. With a Toshiba America Foundation grant, elementary teachers can bring their best new teaching ideas to life.
Grant applications are due on October 1st each year.
Grants are also available for teachers in grades 6-12 who are passionate about making science and mathematics more engaging for their students. Applications for grants less than $5,000 are accepted at any time. For grant requests of more than $5,000 deadlines are May 1 and November 1.
Voya Foundation grants are focused on Financial Resilience. We work to ensure that youth are equipped with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) expertise and financial knowledge necessary to compete in the 21st century workforce and make smart financial decisions that lead to a secure retirement.
We accomplish this by accepting year-round grant applications from organizations that:
- Provide innovative and experiential K-8 STEM learning opportunities to promote an early interest in STEM career fields, and improve teachers’ capabilities in STEM; or
- Provide financial education curriculum to grade 9-12 students focused on navigating major financial milestones including student debt, credit, home ownership, financial products and services/financial capability, and family needs.
Learn more about applying for a Voya Foundation Grant.
