March 11th, 2009
Broadcasting the Message at Earth Day Network
Sean Miller, director of education for Earth Day Network, oversees EDN’s education programs for students, the National Civic Education Project, the Green Schools Campaign and the Educator’s Network, where more than 25,000 teachers nationwide get information about teaching environmental issues.
“Earth Day should be about teaching about the environment every day,” Miller said. The teachers in the Educator’s Network receive updates on contests, giveaways and grants – as well as free access to hundreds of online lesson plans.
“We emphasize taking action for your classroom, school, district or community,” Miller said. “It varies from change on a personal level, to global change. We have materials for pre-kindergarten through Grade 12, as well as college materials.”
Earth Day Network has been writing curriculum since 2000, “and overall, 4 million people a year visit our site,” Miller said. “The general public interest in environmental education is increasing.”
“It usually just starts with one or two teachers who are inspired to take action. They get sick of all the waste and unhealthy things going on in the school,” said Brenna Holzhauer, EDN’s education coordinator. Pretty soon, they’ve rallied the administrator to authorize program enhancements, connected with supportive local businesses and inspired the kids to help take environmental action. Sometimes, too, the snowball begins with the kids, who want to begin recycling. Then many schools move onward to gardening, composting and changing the food in the cafeteria, she said.
Holzhauer and Miller recently developed a set of eight lesson plans which will be used for National Environmental Education week, and will go out to more than 2,000 classrooms in urban public schools. The materials will be used between April 12 and 18 and the theme is “Be Water Wise.”
“The theme of water is pretty broad,” Holzhauer said. “We tried to brainstorm as many different ways as we could to incorporate math, social studies, science and art. The lessons teach the students about water access, water pollution and how water is affected by climate change.”
“We try to make the lessons relate to the student’s lives. You can learn something better when you are familiar with it.”
Blossoming environmental program at Bloom high schools
Another school where students learn about the environment in a very direct, hands-on way is Bloom High School and its sister school, Bloom Trail High School, in Chicago Heights, Illinois. Each school has about 1500 students (and at Bloom HS, a new student-painted eco-mural, see photo).
Jill Krysinski, 34, teaches biology at Bloom High School and supervises the student science club.
Every year the Bloom high schools put on a big alternative energy fair, the culmination of the students’ work throughout the year. The event generally draws about 1,000 people, Krysinski said. This year’s event is on May 1, 2009.
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