E3 Washington Showcase News Articles (Newest to Oldest)
Sacred Heart Students Enjoy Outdoor Learning on the Golf Course
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- $500 Million for Early Childhood Education Opens Doors for Environmental and Sustainability Learning
- Maryland first to approve Environmental Literacy Graduation Requirement!
- Seattle Teachers Awarded Knowles Science Teaching Foundation Fellowship
- Comprehensive Set of Higher Ed Sustainability Competencies Proposed
- Bi-Partisan No Child Left Inside Act Introduced
- Department of Education accepting comments regarding Green Ribbon Schools Award
- The BEST OF CLEARING CD-ROM is now available.
- For more information, visit the Clearing website at http://www.clearingmagazine.org/online/best-of-clearing.
- The National Environmental Education Reauthorization Act of 2010
- Maryland Passes Environmental Literacy Curriculum Requirement
- EEAW-WSTA Conference 2011 Updates!
- NOAA Announces Environmental Literacy Grants for Science Education
Sacred Heart Students Enjoy Outdoor Learning on the Golf Course 
What is the difference between storm drains and sewer drains? How much oxygen do salmon need when they are spawning? Under what pH does grass need to thrive? These are some of the questions Laurel Nyquist's 7th grade students pondered on their field trip to Glendale Country Club in Bellevue, WA on May 5. Nyquist's class, numbering over 50, left their classrooms at Sacred Heart School in Clyde Hill, Washington for the hands-on learning environment of the golf course. Principal David Burroughs also attended. Through First Green, local golf course superintendents host students on field trips where they test water quality, collect soil samples, identify plants, design plantings, assist in stream bed restoration and are involved in the ecology and environmental aspects of the golf course. The students are also introduced to many other aspects of golf. To read full article about the field trip, click here Links to pertinent organizations or resources: http://thefirstgreen.org
The E3 Washington Early Childhood plan , and Washington’s soon to be completed Environmental and Sustainability Literacy Plan includes strategies to support early childhood learning through hands -on, collaborative learning in outdoor and community settings. This is good timing as U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have announced a new $500 million state-level grant competition, the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge. Joining Duncan and Sebelius at the announcement were business, law enforcement and military leaders who have advocated for increased investments in early learning to reduce crime, strengthen national security, and boost U.S. competitiveness. "Our collective health and financial security as a nation will depend on high quality investments during the critical early years of a child's life." To win the future, our children need a strong start," said Secretary Duncan. "The Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge encourages states to develop bold and comprehensive plans for raising the quality of early learning programs across America." Secretary Duncan and Secretary Sebelius have challenged the broader innovation community—leading researchers, high-tech entrepreneurs, foundations, non-profits and others—to engage with the early learning community and to close the school readiness gap. Washington State a strong and growing statewide system supporting early learning led by the Washington Department of Early Learning (DEL), the non-profit organization, Thrive by Five Washington, and OSPI. This formal statewide partnership, along with numerous other key stakeholders, recently developed a Washington State Early Learning Plan to serve as a roadmap for building an early learning system and that focuses on early learning actions to support children birth to grade three. The Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge will be administered jointly by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. The public may provide input, including data and relevant research, by visiting http://www.ed.gov/blog/2011/05/rtt-early-learning-challenge/ . Guidance, eligibility, range of awards and number of grants will be announced in coming weeks. The application will be released later this summer with grants awarded to states no later than December 31, 2011.
On June 21st, the Maryland State Board of Education approved the nation's first ever Environmental Literacy Graduation Requirement. "This is a defining moment for education in Maryland," said Governor O'Malley. "By approving this environmental graduation requirement, the Board of Education is ensuring that our young people graduate with a keen understanding of and connection to the natural world. Only through exposure to nature and education about our fragile ecosystem can we create the next generation of stewards." Under the new Maryland graduation requirement, public schools will be required to infuse core subjects with lessons about conservation, smart growth and the health of our natural world. Local school systems will have the ability to shape their programs to be relevant to their county, but all will align with standards set by the State. Every five years, the local school systems will report to the State to guarantee that students are meeting the requirements. “In Washington State an environmental education requirement and environmental and sustainability education standards already exist, but we are missing the accountability measures that Maryland now has in place”, commented Abby Ruskey, Executive Director of EEAW/E3 Washington. “Maryland’s achievement is instructional and we are poised to follow suit to help bolster the implementation of our law and standards here in Washington”, stated Ruskey. For more information: http://somd.com/news/headlines/2011/13952.shtml http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-board-of-education-approves-environmental-literacy-graduation-requirement/2011/06/21/AGWS53xeH_story.html http://www.k12.wa.us/EnvironmentSustainability/default.aspx
At a time when education news headlines lead with layoffs and budget cuts, high achieving graduates from Seattle have chosen to impact the future through teaching. Beginning teachers Lindsay Holladay and Michael Town have been awarded a prestigious Teaching Fellowship from the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF) valued at up to $150,000 over five years. The Fellowship includes professional and leadership development, teaching tools and materials, and access to a network of like-minded colleagues nationwide. "Lindsay and Michael are countering every negative public perception of teachers, including the naive cliche of 'those who can't, teach,'" said Dr. Nicole Gillespie, Associate Director for Teaching Fellowships. "They are highly talented individuals who are committed to a career in science education for the long term. This program exists solely to support them and other KSTF Fellows and invest in their development as masterful teachers." Lindsay begins her teaching career this fall at Cleveland High School in Seattle and has worked as a global health researcher developing a liver-stage malaria vaccine. Michael will also begin teaching this fall at University Prep in Seattle. He earned a PhD in atmospheric science and has conducted research in Antarctica and Grenoble. KSTF empowers its Fellows to think critically and creatively about the teaching of mathematics and science. To date, there are 190 Teaching Fellows and alumni nationwide across 40 states. Links to pertinent organizations or resources: www.kstf.org
An article in the Journal of Sustainability Science proposes key higher education competencies in sustainability. For more than a decade, sustainability courses have been developed and taught in higher education, yet comprehensive academic programs in sustainability, on the undergraduate and graduate level, have emerged only over the last few years. The E3 Washington Higher Education sector strategy convener Jean MacGregor said the following about this article, “As part of the Curriculum for the Bioregion initiative, our "Sustainability Courses Faculty Learning Community" found this synthesis an excellent, comprehensive synthesis of the field as it's evolved so far. It was developed by faculty members at the first School of Sustainability in the United States -- at Arizona State University.”
BREAKING NEWS: BI-PARTISAN NO CHILD LEFT INSIDE ACT TO BE INTRODUCED JOIN SENATOR REED AND CONGRESSMAN SARBANES FOR AN EXCLUSIVE UPDATE
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Posted on May 3, 2011 by Green Ribbon Schools The Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality launched the concept of the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools program on April 26, 2011. The program will recognize schools that have taken great strides in greening their curricula, buildings, school grounds and overall building operations. The program will help financially struggling schools to save money and prepare students for 21st century jobs. Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) is currently under development. Further information and applications for schools will be released in fall 2011. The recognition program is part of a larger Department of Education effort to identify and disseminate knowledge about practices proven to result in improved academic achievement, graduation rates and 21st century workforce preparedness, as well as a government-wide effort to increase energy independence and economic security. The US Department of Education is now accepting comments regarding the Green Ribbon Schools Award.
Why this matters: Clearing Magazine has published many original and unique articles on environmental education over the years. Distinguished writers and educators such as Mike Weilbacher, Jim Martin, Cliff Knapp, David Orr, and others have offered their thoughts and perspectives on a myriad of topics relating to environmental education. Those articles were original to Clearing are not found anywhere else. Such as • Jim Martin on "Of Metatarsals, Associative Cortex, and Stewardship"; • Peter Hayes on "What is Good Environmental Education?"; • Cliff Knapp on "Teaching the 3 R's with the 3 C's: Connecting, Curriculum and Community" and remember "Knowing One Big Thing: The Role of the Nature Center" by Mike Weilbacher? In addition to those articles, many other individuals throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond shared their best ideas, activities and EE success stories in quarterly issues of Clearing. Do you remember the K-12 activity ideas on invertebrates compiled by Bruce Barbarasch and the staff of the Tualatin Hills Nature Center? Or the unique lesson plan on human and natural systems interactions by Barbara Jackson of Anacortes Middle School (attached)? Now you can have those articles, and many more, for your resource library through the newly published CD-ROM, "The Best of CLEARING," which has just been published and is available for purchase. Everyone should have a copy of this CD-ROM so that we retain a historic record of the many great ideas that defined environmental education over the years. Plus, by purchasing a copy of the CD-ROM, you will help sustain the new format of CLEARING as an on-line and print publication. For more information, visit the Clearing website at http://www.clearingmagazine.org/online/best-of-clearing.
Awakening Inquiry Observing and Recording Nature LESSON PLANS FOR GRADES K-8 Karen Dvornich, Diane Petersen, Ken Clarkson After years of taking students into the field on research projects, two common problems surfaced time and time again. Students lacked "naturalist" skills that included how to observe; record observations in ways meaningful to them; measure and estimate size and distance; use maps and orient themselves; and use their observations in an analytical way. The other problem was what we called "sensory overload". Students taken into the field were in such a different environment, they would forget what they learned in the classroom. Awakening Inquiry was written as a core "how-to" book to overcome these challenges. It weaves three parallel approaches to nature awareness into a step-by-step guide for the classroom and schoolyard in preparation for a field research project. These approaches are derived from the NatureMapping Program, with its strength in science and technology; Habits of Mind, which focus on patterns of behavior that lead to lifelong inquiry and problem-solving; and the Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature, which emphasizes development of a traditional kinship with nature... To read more of the article and purchase this great resource, please click on the link below. Web Link: http://depts.washington.edu/natmap/resources/awakening_inquiry.html
The National Environmental Education Act (NEEA) was introduced for reauthorization in both houses of Congress, on Thursday, September 23, 2010 to help ensure that all Americans; from preschoolers to seniors, receive the educational foundation needed to better understand complex environmental subjects. It would provide nearly $500 million in public grant and training funding through U.S. EPA over the next ten years. It would also support programming and grants at the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF). For an overview of the bill, please see the attached fact sheet generated by Congressman Polis’s (Colorado) office. EEAW and E3 Washington will be following up with Washington’s Congressional delegation to secure their support to sign-on and co-sponsor the bill. Please contact Abby Ruskey at aruskey@eeaw.org if you would like to coordinate or receive further information about this effort.
The Maryland State Board of Education voted unanimously this week to require that all Maryland public schools must incorporate environmental education into their curriculum. This is a huge step forward to ensuring that Maryland high school graduates are environmentally literate. Every Maryland public school must now provide a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary environmental education program aligned with the Maryland Environmental Literacy Curriculum. Each local school system can design its own program, which will be reviewed by MSDE every five years. The requirement does not require an additional course or specific number of environmental education experiences. Each local school system can implement its environmental literacy plan based on the resources unique to their system. This decision is expected to provide the opportunity for all public school students to participate in quality, integrated environmental education programs. While members of the Maryland No Child Left Inside Coalition celebrate this victory, they recognize it as a partial victory, as the state board rejected language that would strengthen and clarify the provision as a high school graduation requirement. The Maryland coalition has pledged to continue working with the Maryland State Department of Education and the State Board of Education to ensure that school districts in the state have clear expectations as they begin implementation. In the meantime, the move has generated some positive local and national press for environmental education and No Child Left Inside. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-environmental-education-20100921,0,5912210.story http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2010/09/md_state_board_takes_partial_s.html
The Call for Presentations and Vendor/Sponsor sign-up are now live via both the WSTA and EEAW sites! The 2011 EEAW-WSTA Conference is titled “Science and Sustainability: Making Connections in a Diverse World,” and will be held March 18-20 in Poulsbo, Washington. This is shaping up to be a professional development and networking event you won’t want to miss! Registration for Exhibitors and Sponsors is now open. To learn more about exhibiting, sponsoring, and other advertising options at the conference, click here. The Call for Presentations has been opened. You can read more and submit a proposal here.
NOAA’s Office of Education announced today that it has awarded grants totaling more than $8 million to seventeen institutions across the country to engage the public in science education activities that improve understanding and stewardship of the local and global environment. Included are projects that enhance or expand museum exhibits using data visualization, expand citizen science networks, develop family programs for underserved/underrepresented audiences and enhance teen education programs. “NOAA is pleased to be working with such a dedicated and diverse group of science education institutions,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Our new investments strongly support NOAA’s efforts to encourage public stewardship activities and informed decision making. We are excited about the opportunity to work more closely with lifelong learners.” NOAA's Environmental Literacy Grants program is a competitive national grant program focused on creating an environmentally literate public that uses a comprehensive understanding of the role of the ocean, coasts, Great Lakes, weather and climate in the global ecosystem to make the best social and economic decisions. The program provides funding for an array of educational organizations that reach diverse audiences. NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit us at http://www.noaa.gov or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/usnoaagov. List of all grants and recipients: These seventeen grants will fund thirteen projects:
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