Resources

• Lesson Plans and information sorted by issue
• Grants for teachers
• Fort LeBoeuf Middle School - review their project and see their outline for research and display board.

• Target will award 5,000 Field Trip Grants of up to $800 each during the 2008-2009 school year. That adds up to 5,000 more opportunities for students to explore more of the world outside the classroom. Visit the zoo. Go backstage at a local theater. Tour a museum. Explore more with a Field Trip Grant from Target.
• Erie Community Foundation
• Kids in Need Foundation
• Lowe's Toolbox for Education K-12 Grant Program - funding for requests that have a permanent impact such as facility enhancement (both indoor and outdoor) as well as landscaping/clean-up projects. Projects that encourage parent involvement and build stronger community spirit are encouraged.
• Youth Garden Grants -- Schools, youth groups, community centers, camps, clubs, treatment facilities, and intergenerational groups in the United States are eligible. Applicants must plan to garden with at least fifteen children between the ages of 3 and 18.
• Increase Your Green Competition --- Do Something is calling on you to green your school. Reduce the carbon footprint of your school this fall and you could win up to $1500 to further your efforts.
• Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation --Eligibility: Educators in primary and secondary school settings involved in environmental education.
  Amount: Up to $1,500.
  Purpose of Grant: To support educators in developing environmental curricula that integrate field activities and classroom teaching and that incorporate basic ecological principles and problem solving.
  Deadline: September 27, 2008.
• Earth Day Network Grant Program
  National Civic Education Project -- Participating teachers will be awarded a $3,500 grant as well as technical support from EDN staff. The application deadline is Sept. 12.
  Climate Change Educator Program --Members of EDN’s Educators Network can become "Climate Change Educators" and receive stipends of $500 for helping their schools reach a "global warming victory" through policy and action. Applications are due Sept. 26.
• Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and the National Science Teachers Association announced the 19th Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program. This year, 50 large grants of up to $10,000 each and 20-32 mini-grants of up to $2,500 will be awarded to K-12 teachers of science in the United States. The categories are Physical Science Application, Environmental Science Education, and Integrating Literacy and Science.
• The Group Against Smog & Pollution (GASP) announces an annual competition in environmental advocacy for middle-school and high-school level students (grades 7-12)in Allegheny County, PA....more

• PENNSYLVANIA: In the U.S. today, an abundance of relatively cheap food is available at local super markets. However, do you know where your next meal is coming from? Is your next meal as healthy, fresh and safe as it could be?
• PENNSYLVANIA: Erosion of stream banks and sediments in our streams is a major issue for our streams. What can we do to improve the situtation?
• PENNSYLVANIA: Urban sprawl is a major concern in Pennsylvania. Not only are our costs for transportation, schools, roads, houses and utilities increasing, urban sprawl also takes away valueable argicultural land. When population growth is considered, Pennsylvania is consuming more land per person than any other state. How can we counteract urban sprawl in Pennsylvania?
• ERIE: A coalition of dozens of scientists, educators, environmental organizations, and individuals have been working for five years on The Pennsylvania Lake Erie Watershed Conservation Plan. The three most important threats to the watershed plan wants to address are: non-point source pollution, urban sprawl, and climate change (global warming). The comprehensive report may be viewed at:
  -- Blasco Library 160 East Front Street
  -- Tom Ridge Environmental Center (second floor library)
  -- Headwaters Park Natural Resource Center, 1927 Wager Road ( I-90 and Rte 8 )
• ERIE: In the editorial of the Erie Times News we read on July 21, 08: "The sand issues at Presque Isle, our greatest treasure, are less about beach conditions as they are about the structural integrity of the peninsula, including Gull Point. There's no local issue more important than this one." What can we do to address this?
• ERIE: LEA Earth Force partnered with the Presque Isle Audubon to bring about the reduction of pesticide use. Can you help? More topics for partnerships with Audubon are listed in their newsletter: Tern of Events

Rita Brocke, RSM: "As a retired nurse and part-time nurse educator, I have had an ongoing concern about education lagging life’s experience, or what is happening around us. With the onslaught of ever changing media possibilities, my anxiety has intensified. At last, I have discovered an antidote to my growing concern- Earth Force. Nowhere had I seen LEA Earth Force more effective than at the Youth Summit. Seven hundred 5th, 6th and 7th graders were effectively organized to learn about the environment. There, education was taking place with excitement. Their teachers were unlikely classroom teachers. They included ordinary citizens concerned about the environment, educated environmental practitioners, heads of organizations committed to negotiating differences arising from our concerns for keeping the environment healthy for all human inhabitants and animals, fish and plant species. The kids were learning “on the spot”. The students will never forget that day on Presque Isle. The day presented nature at its best, beautiful, full of surprises, learning negatives as well as positives about Earth and how we treat Earth.