$50,000-A Lot of Green for Grants!

Engage and inspire your K-12 students to increase sustainable, earth-friendly behavior in their neighborhoods and communities.

NEA’s Green Across America grants of up to $1,000 are available to help you implement your innovative education program, activity, lesson or event to excite students about going green, caring for the earth and creating a sustainable future.

The Green Across America Program is sponsored by Target http://www.target.com/teachers , which proudly supports K-12 schools through innovative giving programs.

ttp://www.neamb.com/green

Jessica Kratz Greenbelt Nature Center Coordinator NYC Department of Parks & Recreation 700 Rockland Ave Staten Island NY 10314 (718) 351-3450

By Jessica Kratz, Metro Region Chair, NYSOEA
Coordinator, Greenbelt Nature Center, Staten Island

On April 6th, Metro Region members mixed business with service as the meeting was held outside, on the sunny but muddy trail near the new Suffolk County Environmental Center. Members removed logs and other woody remnants of the mid-March storm that wreaked havoc throughout the region, relocated duck walks, created a turtle basking area, and consolidated and relocated a brush pile away from the new trail to reduce the risk of finding lone star ticks. This spring spruce-up project was done in preparation for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, when the new Suffolk County Environmental Center at the County’s Scully Estate opened to the public. Building renovations are complete and the nature center officially opened to the public on April 22, 2010, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

From the late 1880′s until the early part of the 20th century, the 70-acre Scully Estate was part of Windholme Farm, a nearly 300-acre “gentleman’s farm” that also included the 200-acre Seatuck National Wildlife Refuge on the east side of South Bay Avenue. The estate was donated to Suffolk County to be used for nature preservation and education. Seatuck, a NYSOEA affiliate member, will operate a full-service nature center at Scully with offerings for the entire community, expanding its current programs to include the full range of educational and cultural opportunities one expects from a nature center, and will include will include exhibits, displays, program areas, a nature library and gift shop, as well as a network of trails and boardwalks that will be open to the public. The Environmental Center is a great place to experience and learn more about the ecological wonders of Long Island.

Metro region members had an opportunity to talk briefly with some of the board and staff members of Seatuck as well as have a sneak preview tour of the new facility and current trails. The outdoor portion of the tour was filled with many signs of spring, including hungry deer grazing and solitary bee holes in the ground. We were also treated to some amazing bird watching, courtesy of Mother Nature, including a yellow-shafted flicker and even an osprey. During this tour, Peter Walsh discussed how this facility will allow greater connection to the community, such as through early childhood programs leaving an imprint in the youngest naturalists to community service opportunities for high schoolers in the nearby neighborhoods on Saturdays, and we envisioned the possibilities for future Saturday service projects with teenagers [future NYSOEA members!] and other local residents as well as other possible events, and maybe even the 2012 conference, which will be held in the Metro Region.

]]> http://nysoea.org/2010/06/19/seatuck-service-project-offers-glimpse-into-the-future/feed/ 1 http://nysoea.org/2010/05/05/free-teacher-development-worksho/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://nysoea.org/2010/05/05/free-teacher-development-worksho/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 11:51:39 +0000 Jessica Kratz http://nysoea.org/?p=585 more »]]> This spring, staff development is heating up on Long Island! The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)—in cooperation with the Long Island Power Authority—is offering FREE energy staff development for teachers of Grades 6 through 8.

The Energy Trilogy six-hour program covers energy forms and sources, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Teachers participate in engaging, hands-on lessons, earn six staff development hours, and leave with approximately $200 worth of curriculum materials, which are correlated to the New York State Learning Standards.

This free-of-charge offering will be available at the following dates and locations:

Wednesday, May 19 – 8:30 am to 3 pm – Nassau BOCES Lido Beach Facility – Hempstead, NY
Saturday, June 26 – 9 am to 4 pm – Waterfront Center – Oyster Bay, NY
Tuesday, June 29 – 8:30 am to 3:30 pm – Holy Angels Regional School – Patchogue, NY

Interested teachers can get more information or sign up for the June 26 or June 29 workshops by calling 1-877-NY-SMART (Option 6) or e-mailing:  info@nyess.org

For the May 19 event, contact Nassau BOCES Outdoor and Environmental Education at (516) 396-2264 or go to http://www.nassauboces.org/enviroed/profdev.htm#energy.  Substitute stipends of up to $125 per teacher are available for the May 19 program on a first-come, first-served basis.

How much do you love New York? What makes your part of the state special and great? Here’s your chance to show North America, and the world, what you have to offer, as part of the “Regions of New York” displays at the NAAEE conference, which will be raffled off during the Stapp scholarship auction, on October 1, 2010 and will be displayed throughout the NAAEE conference in Buffalo. From blacksmithing to beekeeping, from maple syrup to mountain tours, from wineries to wampum beads, there are so many ways to celebrate the outdoors in New York State. Please consider contributing to these dynamic displays. The Central Region has already contributed a weekend for 4 at the Frost Valley YMCA. Now’s the time to put your best foot forward and show what you have to offer.

To make a donation, or for more information, please contact Jessica Kratz, Stapp scholarship auction chair and Metro Region representative at jessica.kratz@parks.nyc.gov

For more information click here.

Wind Wisdom in the Classroom

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) in collaboration with the New York State Outdoor Education Association (NYSOEA) is facilitating Wind Wisdom for School Power Naturally, a free professional development workshop for formal and non-formal educators on Saturday, April 17 at the Greenbelt Nature Center on Staten Island, NY from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Wind Wisdom for School Power Naturally offers a hands-on introduction to the technology and engineering involved in renewable wind energy and provides a context for teaching scientific and engineering principles related to properties of the wind, energy transformations and electricity.

This workshop is suitable for teachers who work with grades K-6. At this workshop educators will receive:

• engaging, hands-on science and engineering activities that support New York State Learning Standards and Core Curriculum, addressing specific performance indicators, and enrich existing scholastic programming;
• a free Wind Energy Education Kit;
• curricular units Wind Wisdom for School Power Naturally (two units), grades K-4 and 5-6.

Registration is required. TO REGISTER visit the NESEA website http://www.nesea.org/k-12/events/ click on 4/17 Wind Wisdom workshop and click on “here” for a downloadable registration form. Fill out the information and email or fax to:

agrindrod@nesea.org or 413-774-6053

For questions please contact NESEA’s Education Director at 413-774-6051 x 21 or email agrindrod@nesea.org

This workshop is part of the Solar Sails New York Project: an Expansion of Solar and Wind Energy Education for School Power…Naturally. MANY THANKS to our sponsor: the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for making this project possible