Archive - 2009

Want to be a part of the global climate solution? Turn your attention to the week of September 20-26 and join thousands of other concerned citizens taking action.

Climate Week NY°C will bring together hundreds of business and government leaders from across the world to New York City, along with thousands of everyday citizens, to participate in a series of activities designed to raise the visibility and urgency of climate change. Taking place seventy days before the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, this week will offer us an opportunity to underscore the urgency for a global climate change deal. The meetings in Copenhagen are extremely important to ensure that all countries do their part to halt the negative effects of climate change.

Teachers and students around the world have a critical opportunity to increase the impact of this week by participating in Climate Week NY°C’s Cool Your School initiative. Simply by bringing climate change curriculum into classrooms and engaging students, schools can support this call for global climate action.

Go one step further and focus your action on September 21st, which is the official launch of Climate Week NYC. This is also during the UN's General Assembly and is sure to attract the attention of international media. Your most important resources are the toolkit that is attached and the Cool Your School website.

If you would like additional information, please check out these links:

• Unite For Climate social networking site where you can find more resources
• Climate Week NYC website for events happening during the week
• Email Cool Your School with questions or additional ways to get involved

How would you like it if your students were able to grow food, conduct horticultural experiments, and share their lessons and experiences with students, both here and abroad?

The Growing Connection is a grassroots project developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Participating schools and community gardens grow fruits and vegetables in an EarthBox system. The advantages of using the EarthBox are many. The students can grow a garden just about any place: parking lots, classrooms, or even a rooftop, as long as there is access to sunlight.

The EarthBox is designed to conserve water and it’s accompanied with a curriculum that will excite students and engage them in hands-on activities. Your students will become directly engaged in the fight against hunger and obesity by growing and eating fresh vegetables, and discussing the food growing process with their peers in other countries.

How to apply? Contact wolfram@collectiveroots.org. Middle schools interested in participating in the Growing Connection project should contact Amy McMillen, Program Coordinator at the Food and Agriculture organization at 202-653-2458 or 202- 294-5945 (cell) or Amy.McMillen@fao.org for more information or to request an application.

There are 14 schools and community groups who are already part of the program, such as PS 144, PS 82, PS 10, PS 41, PS 257, Croton-Harmon HS, Drew Hamilton Learning Center, Lycee Francais de New York, MS 206B, School of the Future, The Spencer school, United nations International school and others.

Okay, so it’s time to wake up. Buds are about to burst, crocus smiles its lovely lilac smile, and bulbs have shot up with verdant pride. Birds are singing in the light of the new sun. It’s time to shake off the overheated classroom sluggishness and get students out to hear them.

Why not plant trees so they’ll sing even more? There are a few options that’ll get you and your students eco-rapping. If you have space on school grounds, you’ll want to contact Trees New York. They have a city-approved program to plant trees on school grounds. They also have programs to help students learn how to care for their new barky, green-haired friends.

If there’s space around the periphery of your school, put in your request for a onemilliontreesnyc tree(s) now and hopefully they’ll put down your new roots by fall. (Check out their “Make Every Day an Arbor Day,” a free curriculum guide sponsored by the Million Trees Initiative.)

If you hurry with your request, you’ll be able to mark out Arbor Day with free trees from the NYC Arbor Day Committee by contacting State Street JLN WOLF, Inc., jlnwolfinc@aol.com and (718) 834-4589.

The Department of Environmental Conservation provides 50 tree seedlings or a mixed packet of 30 wildlife shrubs to any school that would like to participate. Just contact their nursery at (518) 581-1439. The seedlings can be planted on school grounds or other community space.

If you have outdoor growing space at school, make sure you register with GreenThumb. Their garden workshops and giveaways will build you beds and take you to seed-sprouting heaven. (If you need more seeds, write a quick appeal to America the Beautiful Fund. They’ll ship enough seeds for guerilla gardening for blocks around.)

And what’s spring without pedaling about a bit? Get free bike racks installed on sidewalks around your school, so when school gets out you’re just a pedal away from an afternoon frolic. Not to mention you’ll be modeling green behavior (throw a solar-paneled backpack on with a clip-on mug and Chico bag and you’ll be respectin’ yo’ mama). You don’t even have to go barefoot.

For the first time ever, the NYC Department of Education applied for a grant available to NY school districts under the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Municipal Waste Reduction and Recycling State Assistance program this fall. The grant has been available for 18 years, so we’re thinking it could have something to do with all of the letter writing and phone calls begging our school district apply [do now: stand up, humbly pat self on back].

In the past, the NYC Department of Sanitation has applied and received some of this funding, which helped fuel their Golden Apple program that rewards waste-reduction do-gooders, although with budget cuts those rewards have lost some leg: rewards will be much more intrinsic since cash prizes have been suspended [teaching point: be resourceful by diversifying, apply for other grants].

The DEC grant provides 50% matching grants paid on a reimbursement basis up to a maximum of $2 million for projects that enhance school/municipal recycling or composting programs for: purchasing of equipment used to recycle or compost, reimbursing salaries of recycling coordinators and recycling public education.
 
Examples of items that may be eligible for school recycling projects are: containers to collect paper or cans/bottles for recycling, roll-off containers or dumpsters (move over trash dumpsters!) to aggregate the recyclables prior to delivery to recycling market, educational materials on waste reduction and recycling, banners and promotional items.

We don’t know what the NYC DOE's grant requested (we would have loved to have been apart of the planning process), but know it can take more than a year for proposals to get funded. So, while we’re waiting for the motherload to befall our recycling container-barren halls, let the DEC give lift to your sustainability spirit now:

Green Schools Challenge                   
The "Green Schools" Challenge is sponsored by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the State Department of Education to recognize those schools that are working towards responsible solid waste management by developing waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting and/or buy recycled products and packaging programs.
 
Green Schools
This website will help you on your journey to become a Green School!  The focus of this webpage is a comprehensive solid waste management program; however, here are areas to consider that will help further your transformation to a Green School.
 
A School Waste Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, Composting and Buy Recycled Resource Book
The purpose of this Resource Book is to provide you with some basic information on a waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting and buying recycled products and packaging program for your school.
 
New York Recycles! Poster Contest
New York Recycles! is our way of promoting recycling and buying recycled in New York State. The twelve New York State winners receive the honor of having their artwork in a calendar, which will be distributed throughout the State. The schools with winning entries will also receive a recycled content tote bag filled with educational materials and videos.  The 2009 NY Recycles! Poster Contest Rules will be updated soon.
 
New York Recycles!
Included in this website is a 36 page booklet with New York Recycles! lessons and activities for you to share with your students.
 
Local Recycling Coordinators
This is a list of local recycling coordinators that can provide you with local recycling information.
 
Educational Publications
This website lists all of DEC’s waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting and buy recycled educational materials.