April 2015 News


In This Issue
NGSS Graduation and Awards Form
NGSS Vice President Receives Thoreau Scholarship
Watch: Antartica; A Year On Ice
EPA Announces Safter Choice Labels
MA Farm to School Day
Resources
In the News
Apply Now for Sc3 and Ec3 Conferences
PlanetAid Earth Day Art Contest
Energy Literacy Teaching Resources
Dept. Of Education Green Ribbon Schools Announce Awardees
Healthy Kids Hero 2015
Grant Opportunities
Feature YOUR Business or Organization in Our Newsletter

Interact With Green Schools!


 

Green Strides Webinar Series and Resources

 

 

 

Visit U.S. Department of Education Green Strides 

 

Green Schools Sponsors

 

 

 

 

 



 

Konica Minolta  

 

Green Schools Partners

















Join Our Mailing List! 

 

 

 
  
The 8th Annual Green Schools Summit was a success!!

We were engaged and inspired from keynote speakers, panel presenters, environmental thought leaders of all ages, and exhibitors from across the Commonwealth and across the globe.

Special thanks to  Virendra RawatRaymond FrancisLynne CherryDavid Lustick for your inspiring addresses on health and wellness and for making the connections to our living planet. 


Many thanks to Mrs. Angela Menino for continuing to honor her husband, the former Mayor of Boston and Green Legacy himself, Mayor Tom Menino, and to Brian Swett, Former Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space, City of Boston, Conor Hurley of BU, and to our very own Executive Director, Robin Organ, for delivering a moving tribute.

Brooke Liefer singing 'One Earth' at Summit.  Watch or Buy on iTunes

Thanks to our sponsors:
PlanetAid, Conserve School , Whole Foods Market , and to Boston University for housing the 8th Annual Green Schools Summit this year. We couldn't do it without you!

Thank you once again to all who attended our Summit, and to those who made it the success that it was. 

Click to see official Photo Gallery of  the Summit

View 2015 Summit Program Guide

All photos courtesy of Cheryl Rosen Photography 

Will your environmental students GRADUATE from National Green Schools Society? 

Your environmentally engaged 2015 GRADUATES can apply for special recognition from National Green Schools Society and receive a certificate of service and an honor stole to wear at graduation.

 

Graduates must provide documentation that shows 100 hours (or more) of environmental community service, environmental education activities, project-based learning, and work with a community partner such as through an internship. Graduates must complete an online form that includes a student profile, project or activity description, service hour tracking sheet and an essay.

 

Students in elementary, middle school, and high school can also apply to receive a certificate for team or individual environmental service projects if they have achieved at least 20 hours of environmental service this school year. Students should complete the

 

DEADLINE: MAY 10, 2015

 

If you have any questions, please contact Maureen Aylward, Director of Students and Schools, 978-290-1507; [email protected].

 

National Green Schools Society provides a structured chapter-based program for environmentally focused students to create extraordinary impact in schools, organizations, and communities while getting the recognition they deserve on a state and national level. The NGSS program develops bright, civic-minded, environmental leaders. By establishing a NGSS chapter in your school, students in grades 2 through 12 will advance their passion for preserving the environment through environmental service projects, leadership, and activism. National Green Schools Society is operated by the multi-award winning non-profit organization, Green Schools, Inc., a nationally recognized organization based in Massachusetts.

 
National Green Schools Society Vice President Receives Thoreau Scholarship

Manchester Essex Regional Schools Green Team's co-president and National Green Schools Society Vice President Tasha Statz-Geary won the Henry David Thoreau Scholarship! As a Henry David Thoreau scholar, Tasha received a $20,000 scholarship that she will put towards her tuition at Tufts University next year. According to the scholarship program, Tasha was selected as a Thoreau Scholar because of her academic strength, demonstrated environmental interest, and capacity as a future environmental leader. Last year, Tasha completed an environmental internship with Robin Organ of Green Schools. Tasha worked with her partners to create environmental education resources that were sent out nationally for educators to use, and her work was also sent to the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House among other places. Following her work with the Young Women in Climate Team, she interned with Eric Magers as the Green Team's executive director over the summer and has been continuing this work throughout the school year. She focuses on managerial tasks such as writing grants, coordinating outreach, writing grading rubrics and developing the program in general. 

 

Watch: Antartica: A Year On Ice

Antarctica: A Year on Ice was filmed throughout a single year.  It is the creation of long time Antarctic researcher and amateur film maker Mark Anthony Powell.  This award winning documentary is an intimate look at human life on the vast ice sheet of Antarctica.  The film incorporates extreme weather, the hilarious antics of a multinational isolated human population, and the joy of spring. 

 

Watch an inspiring preview

ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE - Official Trailer
ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE - Official Trailer

This spring we are proud to be hosting Dr. Allyson Hindle for a discussion, bonus wildlife film footage, and Q&A following the film Antarctica.  

 
Saturday April 25th
4-6pm
Cape Ann Cinema &Stage

21 Main st Gloucester, MA

 

Click to Learn More 

For tickets please visit www.CapeAnnCinema.com

 

EPA Announces Safer Choice Labels

Watch EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy reveal the new Safer Choice label

  

Learn More

 

Read Administrator Gina McCarthy's blog

 

MA Farm to School Day at the State House
JOIN US  for the Farm to School Day at the State House to talk with your elected officials about why farm to school is important to you, your school and community.

Wednedsay, May 6, 2015

11:30am - 1:30pm

 


 

Resources

2015 MomentUs Leadership Summit

ecoAmerica is pleased to announce our 5th annual leadership summit. Path to Positive, the 2015 MomentUs Leadership Summit, is being held on May 20th and 21st, 2015 in Washington, DC.    

 

NEEF Announces Extreme Weather & Climate Change Free Online Course

In the course, students learn "the basics" about extreme weather and climate change through videos, quizzes and toolkits with tips and links to preparedness resources. 

"Finding Solutions To Hunger: Kids Can Make A Difference" is an innovative guide that can help you teach your class about global poverty and hunger. Developed by former WHY board member and teacher Stephanie Kempf, the guide contains 25 lessons that provide valuable background and creative suggestions to help students answer the difficult questions dealing with hunger and poverty. You can download the guide today for free through a special offer via Planet Aid.
EMAIL: [email protected] and type PLANET in the subject line. 

 

2015 Living Schoolyards Montly Activity Guide

Now available for FREE download

 

In the News

 

Watch this adorable 6-year-old make the case for climate action 

 

Shaking Up the Climate Conversation, With Dance

 

Apply NOW for Sc3 and Ec3 Conferences

The Green Schools Alliance and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service invite high school students to apply for the

2015 Student Climate & Conservtaion Congress (Sc3)

 and school personnel to apply to the 2015 Edcuator Climate & Conservation Coologuium, two premier environmetnal leadership training porgrams at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC), our nation's top environmental training facility.

Sc3: June 21-27; read more HERE

Ec3: June 28-July 3; read more HERE

 

PlanetAid Earth Day Art Contest

Planet Aid is hosting an Art Contest for Earth Day for 1st-5th graders


Contest rules:

  • Any child in grades 1 through 5 is eligible to participate in the contest.
  • Submission must be two-dimensional.
  • Only one entry per contestant.
  • Contestant may not enlist the help of others for their entry.
  • Artwork must be original and not violate any copyright laws.

Deadline: April 21st at 12 p.m.

 

Visit http://www.planetaid.org/artcontest/home for a full list of rules and prizes.

 

Energy Literacy Teaching Resources

Energy is crucial to everything we do and experience. From weather patterns and food chains, to human society's daily electricity and heating needs, to the toys kids use, energy is everywhere. Understanding energy can help us make better informed decisions about our homes, communities, and our world. Incorporating energy into your classroom or program is crucial whether you are a science, math or even a social studies teacher.

 

To help bring energy to you and your students, check out the new Energy Literacy Video series and the Energy Literacy Quick Start Guide. These are aligned with the Department of Energy's (DOE), Energy Literacy: Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts for Energy Education framework. The videos help to engage students on the 7 Principles of energy.

 

Check out this sample lesson and accompanying video to get started: Lessons available for elementary and middle school

 

High School:

Energy Literacy Principle #5

Check out the framework, videos and lessons on the website
 

The new Energy Literacy Video series and guides are a collaborative project with DOE, American Geosciences Institute, and the National Center for Science Education.

Questions about this resource should be emailed to [email protected].

  
Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Announce Awardees

Green Ribbon School  

SAVE THE DATE!

 

The 2015 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools, District Sustainability Awardees, and Postsecondary Awardees will be announced and posted on our website on Earth Day, April 22nd at 2pm ET on https://www.youtube.com/user/usedgov

 

 Green Schools will be there! 

 

Healthy Kids Hero 2015 - A WOW Experience

For Release March 18, 2015  
 
Contact: Ellie Goldberg,  [email protected] 

 

March 18, 2015 is the 78th anniversary of the 1937 TX School Explosion that killed more than 300 people, mostly students.  Every year, in remembering the tragedy, I salute a Hero whose extraordinary sense of responsibility inspires excellence in school safety.  


 

Honoring an inspiring leader is part of a campaign to make March 18 a special day to bring "safety" from the margins to the core of school and community culture. (Lessons of the 1937 Texas School Explosion.)

 

 

 

 

 

Grant Opportunities
Healthy Communities Grant Program - Deadline: April 30, 2015
EPA New England's main grant program to work directly with communities to reduce environmental risks in order to protect and improve human health and the quality of life, advance resilience, and preserve/restore important ecosystems. Click Here

USDA Farm to School Grants

Office Depot Foundation Grants for Children and Communities - Deadline: Rolling
The Office Depot Foundation's funding focus aligns with its Strategic Priorities. The Foundation
prefers to fund projects and programs in the areas of Giving Children Tools for Success, Building
Capacity to Serve Communities and Disaster Preparedness, Relief, Recovery and Rebuilding.Grants of $50 to $3,000 will be awarded to select applicants. Nonprofit organizations, schools, and libraries are eligible to apply.

DoSomething.org Seed Grants  Deadline: Ongoing

Are you working to start a community action project or program with your friends? Do you need money to put your ideas into action? A $500 Do Something Seed Grant is given out every week to help young people just like YOU! These grants can be used towards project ideas and programs that are just getting started, or to jump-start your program and realize your ideas for the first time. These grants can also be used towards projects that are already developed and sustainable, towards the next steps of your project and organization to help you as you look to expand your project and grow your impact. Click Here   

 

Kellogg Foundation Grants - Deadlines: Ongoing
This grant has no submission deadlines. Applications can be submitted any time of the
year. Funding is offered to those who aspire to make progress in ensuring all children grow and
reach optimal well-being by living in secure families, having access to fresh, local healthy food,
physical activity, and access to quality health care. Click Here

 

Fruit Tree Orchard Grants - Deadline: Ongoing

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) is an award-winning international nonprofit charity
dedicated to planting fruitful trees and plants to alleviate world hunger, combat global warming,
strengthen communities, and improve the surrounding air, soil, and water. FTPF programs
strategically donate orchards where the harvest will best serve communities for generations, at
places such as community gardens, public schools, city/state parks, low-income neighborhoods,
Native American reservations, international hunger relief sites, and animal sanctuaries. Click Here

 

Feature YOUR Business or Organization with Green Schools 

Green Schools is a multiple award-winning 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization, organized for innovative Environmental Education [EE], STEM Education, and Environmental Literacy purposes.Green Schools' mission is to create Greener &healthier students & schools through Innovative Environmental Education, Leadership, and Action! Green Schools provides a number of Hands-on programs and resources to help you develop the Next Generation of Students & Schools!

 
The most active green schools organization on social media! Green Schools reaches between 20,000-40,000 individuals per week, and is the leading place to receive Green Schools News!

Our Reach:
  • Over 10,000 on Twitter
  • Over 10,000 on Facebook 
  • Over 4,500 Members
  • Over 2,000 Environmental Educators and over 1,000 students

 

Consider a listing level that works for you:  

  

Bronze Listing - $150...2 Featured Business articles and 2 posts on Social Media [Twitter/Facebook]

 

Silver Listing - $250...4 Featured Business articles and 4 posts on Social Media [Twitter/Facebook] Quarterly

 

Gold Listing - $350...6 Featured Business articles and 6 posts on Social Media [Twitter/Facebook] Half-Year

 

Green Listing  - $500...Featured Business articles or ad in both newsletters and posts on Social Media [Twitter/Facebook] Year Round

 

 

Your articles could be featured in one or both of our monthly newsletters: 

 

1) Green School News - Released the first of the month

 

2) Green Student News - Released the 15th of the month 


 

Send us an email to get started on listing your business or organization in our monthly newsletters!


 
 

Want to become a Green Schools Sponsor? 

  

Your investment will provide students and schools with opportunities to develop environmental policies and programs, become environmental stewards, and implement real projects with real impact.

 

 Learn More about becoming a Green Schools Sponsor 

 

Sincerely,

Robin Organ

Founder and Executive Director

Green Schools