Earth Force News

10 Mar 2010 - Teacher Jerry Durall in Louisville, KY, is well on his way to implementing Earth Force in his classroom for the first time this year!

First he is working on building some fantastic partnerships to support his Earth Force program:
• Kentucky Garden Network (http://www.kyschoolgardens.org/)
• University of Louisville Cultural Center (http://louisville.edu/culturalcenter/)
• Partnership for a Green City [University of Louisville, Louisville Metro Government, and JCPS] (http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/departments/environmentaled/greencity/)
• Jefferson Memorial Forest (http://www.louisvilleky.gov/metroparks/parks/jeffersonmemorialforest/)
• Brightside (http://www.louisvilleky.gov/Brightside/)

It's these kind of partnerships that will inspire his students to engage in community change efforts and support them as they design and implement a project this spring. Bravo!

Jerry has also been planting native plant seeds in anticipation of doing some wetland restoration work between Lassister Middle School and the new WalMart next door. Another partnership!

In further community engagement, Jerry and four students will be attending the Brightside Environmental Youth Summit on March 17, and his classes will be participating in a Brightside neighborhood clean up on March 27.

Jerry and his students will be tracking their progress through the Earth Force process with photos and videos, so stay tuned for updates on their projects! More...

9 Mar 2010 - file More...

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3 Mar 2010 - Forms for Workshops More...

3 Mar 2010 - Bike Around the Bay 2010 information . Please call 814.835.8069 ext. 106 for more information. More...

2 Mar 2010 - "Highmark recognizes and appreciates the good work that you and your EARTH FORCE TEAM are doing each day in our community. As you may know, Highmark has long practiced "go green" initiatives within our company. More...

2 Mar 2010 - Ninth Grade Honor's Environmental Science students at Fairview High School worked on water conservation, litter, and illegal dumping More...

1 Mar 2010 - The Lowcountry Earth Force staff is constantly looking for ways to award and recognize our exemplary teachers and students. Our most recent nominations include Charleston teachers Eva Stratos (Belle Hall Elementary School) and Michelle Lee (James Island Charter High School), along with former South Carolina student Charles Orgbon, who have each been nominated for prestigious national awards for their exceptional environmental efforts. Ms. Stratos and Ms. Lee have been nominated for the highly celebrated Al Gore Green Prize in Public Education. We have endorsed Charles as our applicant for the President’s Environmental Youth Award. More...

23 Feb 2010 - Find out about students' experiences in the fall monitoring season, water quality data, and more in the winter edition. More...

23 Feb 2010 - See the latest edition of the Watershed Staple and learn about the current year's school accomplishments, teacher training, and student action. More...

19 Feb 2010 -

GM GREEN Participating Facilities

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18 Feb 2010 - LEA EF Annual Report 2008-2009 More...

16 Feb 2010 -

SPREE Force wins Excellence in Environmental Education Program Award

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15 Feb 2010 -

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy had an idea to create a program designed “to help provide urgently needed services in urban and rural poverty areas.”  Two years later, his successor, President Lyndon Johnson put this idea into motion by creating Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA).  The program continues to serve as a domestic version of the Peace Corps, bringing aid to the most poverty stricken areas of the U.S.  

 

VISTAs act as capacity builders in non-profit, governmental, or faith based organizations in an effort to create sustainable programs and break the cycle of poverty in the U.S. 

 

Earth Force is thrilled to welcome five new VISTA members, each one bringing a unique, beneficial skill set to their sponsor office. 

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11 Feb 2010 - Early on a Saturday morning, nearly 200 students and teachers from 8 schools gathered at Jackson Middle School in Grand Prairie, TX to attend the Trinity River Watershed Conference.

The purpose of the event was to give both students and teachers a background on the local watershed and prepare them for selecting an issue for the Earth Force GM GREEN service-learning project they will be working on in the spring.

The day started out with a convocation where everyone got an excellent overview of The Trinty River and facts about the geologic makeup of the Texan environment.

After this, Students and teachers were given the opportunity to chose their own curriculum from educational sessions going on in 5 rooms during 3 different time periods.

Putting students on equal educational ground with teachers before their GREEN service-learning experience begins will enable the students to lead their community action project; using their teachers and Earth Force community partners as advisors. More...

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2 Feb 2010 - Capital Region Earth Force middle school students are invited to submit artwork for the 2010 Youth Summit logo. See the contest details! More...

20 Jan 2010 - The Make Yourself Foundation, conceived by the members of Incubus and funded through band-related activities and donations from fans, recently awarded a generous $12,000 grant to Earth Force. More...

19 Jan 2010 - We are happy to announce the availability of mini-grant funding for student action projects in participating Virginia schools. More...

- Environmental Science Students from Warren Area High School call attention to pharmaceuticals. More...

28 Dec 2009 -

Pennsylvania Coastal Zone Management has awarded a $40,000 grant to Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force to support youth-led projects within the Lake Erie Watershed in Pennsylvania. This is the 12th year that this NOAA-based grant has been awarded to Earth Force in Erie. This is largely due to the ranking of projects by the Coastal Zone Management Advisory Board for the Lake Erie region.

Delaware Valley Earth Force in Philadelphia, has also received a similar grant for their coastal zone. 

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22 Dec 2009 -

Earth Force now has a blog which we will use to discuss some of what we believe are the core elements of what it will take to fully develop young people to lead revitalization efforts in our communities.

Central to Earth Force's model is a belief that you develop the "Eyes and Brains" of our communities through practice. As an organization, Earth Force is committed to developing and delivering programs that incorporate youth voice, that are based on effective models for problem solving, that teach young people to balance competing interests and that foster the ability to reach across the divisions in our society.

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17 Dec 2009 - Mark your calendars now for Capital Region Earth Force's sixth annual Youth Summit, Tuesday, April 27 at Potomac Overlook Regional Park! More...

24 Nov 2009 -

We are fortunate at Lowcountry Earth Force to work with some of the very best teachers from Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester and even Colleton County. Teachers are the heart and soul of our organization! Without our dedicated Earth Force teachers, we would reach only a fraction of the 1,200 youth that we are able to engage in environmental service learning projects.

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24 Nov 2009 - PA COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT has awarded a $40,000 grant to Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force More...

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15 Dec 2009 -

All Earth Force educators, students, volunteers and supporters are invited to attend our Annual Holiday Appreciation Party on December 15th at James Island County Park. Click below for more details.

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11 Nov 2009 -

Earth Force hosted the KidZone this fall at the 2nd Annual Charleston Green Fair, held at Marion Square on Sunday, September 27th. The KidZone area had everything from bungee runs and rock wall climbing, to a myriad of fun and exciting eco-carnival games that educated our youth on the environment by putting a fun twist on traditional carnival games.

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9 Nov 2009 -

Teachers and students in grades 1 - 5 at St. Peter School in Somerset, PA, will be participating in Earth Force this year! Their efforts have also been highlighted in the Daily American, Somerset County's newspaper. Good luck, St. Peter!

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9 Nov 2009 - Teachers at St. Peter School in Somerset, PA start Earth Force. An article published on October 29, 09 describes their efforts. More...

2 Nov 2009 - YLT Weigh the Benefits and Challenges of Wind Energy More...

22 Oct 2009 - The Fall 2009 edition highlights a broad variety of student action projects: reusable shopping bags, multimedia, blogging, and more! More...

6 May 2009 -

2008 GM GREEN Annual

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1 Sep 2009 -

Lowcountry Earth Force is now accepting educators for our upcoming Energy Efficiency Workshop to be held September 23 & 24th.  This professional development opportunity is sponsored by SC Green.  Click here for more details.

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16 Sep 2009 -

In 2008, Earth Force was awarded a grant from the USEPA to explore embedding Earth Force in Pre-Service Teacher Education programs with three University partners: Murray State University, Western Kentucky University, and the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. Bravely, professors from these three partner universities accepted the challenge and began using the CAPS curriculum in their Spring 2009 courses – with great results! 

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3 Sep 2009 - Earth Force is featured on examiner.com. More...

1 Sep 2009 - Earth Force educators learned about how urbanization affects the health of the Chesapeake Bay, studying erosion and sedimentation while tracking its impact downstream from Northern Virginia to Smith Island. More...

21 Nov 2009 -

 On September 11, now known as the National Day of Caring, Earth Force hosted an evening of food tastings and libations, along with live music by the Toasted Beats. Chef Akai used fresh ingredients donated by local businesses to prepare an ecclectic menu for the night. Many of our patrons won gift cetificates to various Avondale Shops and Businesses. It was a fun and tasteful way to spend the evening while supporting Earth Force! 

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20 Aug 2009 -

A huge THANK YOU to Staples for including Earth Force in their 5% fundraiser!

From July 22 to July 29, Staples customers received $20 off phone or online orders of $100 or more, AND Staples donated 5% of the total order amount to one of four non-profits that Staples supports. 

This effort resulted in $23,429.70 for Earth Force!

We are deeply grateful to Staples for their support!

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19 Aug 2009 - The Girls Scout Troop #30636 received Waste Watcher Award More...

7 Aug 2009 -

The Green Fair is coming to downtown Charleston again this fall to help create excitement and enthusiasm for green products, services, and technologies available to the residents of South Carolina. This festival uses an environmentally friendly forum of education and entertainment to help spread the word on how to go green. Lowcountry Earth Force is proud to be a part of this wonderful event again this year! We are searching for volunteers to help with the KidZone, where children will be learning about the environment through a variety of games and activities. Read more to find out how you can help!

When: Sunday, September 27th, 12:00pm - 6:00pm

Where: Marion Square

Who: Sponsored by WalMart

For more information about the Green Fair, visit their website at www.charlestongreenfair.com.

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6 Aug 2009 - Girl Scout Troop #30636 earned their Girl Scout Gold Award through the development of a educational package that meets the PA Academic Standard for Environment and Ecology. More...

5 Aug 2009 - The Center for Youth and Communities (CYC) at Brandeis University has conducted the Earth Force evaluation since 1997. We have two overall purposes for the evaluation: to improve our operations and to determine the impact of the program on educators and students.

With these results from the 2007-2008 school year, we can say that student and educator surveys over the past four years consistently show that taking part in Earth Force enhances students’ civic skills, attitudes, and knowledge... More...

10 Jul 2009 -

Picking up leeches and cleaning out sewers may not sound fun,  but for the kids who attended "Operation: South Platte Connection," a water festival in Grant Frontier Park, this was exactly what made it interesting.   In partnership with Keep it Clean Denver and South Platte River Environmental Education (SPREE), Earth Force used the South Platte River ...

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10 Jul 2009 - An Erie Earth Force high school that scored near the top in a federal energy audit has received an Energy Star® award for reducing energy use and improving efficiency. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Mutert’s Earth Force Club at Azalea Elementary in St. Petersburg is back in full force. More...

7 Jul 2009 - Five students from the SSJ Neighborhood Network explored with Sr. Carol Wilcox the proper disposal of pharmaceuticals. More...

7 Jul 2009 - The Big Business Fight is a puppet show that grew out of the Endangered Animal research. More...

6 Jul 2009 - Capital Region Earth Force is pleased to be a part of the Watershed Wise DC Fellowship Program, and is recruiting Fellows for the upcoming school year. More...

2 Jul 2009 - The Green Team at Collegiate Academy is dedicated to promoting the message of environmentalism and conservation More...

2 Jul 2009 - At Moon Area Middle School we conducted an Energy Audit of our school in our Life Science Classes. With global warming occurring we need to be extra careful on how much energy we are using. Now with the lowered economy no school can afford to waste any money. More...

1 Jul 2009 - We all need water—to drink, to grow and to play. So when the students at the Neighborhood Art House discovered More...

1 Jul 2009 - Students at the Neighborhood Art House made quite a buzz about bees this spring. More...

1 Jul 2009 - Thirty homes benefited from the Window Insulation Projects that youth from Booker T. Washington and Mary the Apostle Catholic Worker community More...

17 Jun 2009 - The Housing Authority of the City of Erie features Earth Force Youth in their News&Views Spring 2009 newsletter. More...

17 Jun 2009 - This year, our project involves the cigarette butts on Presque Isle beaches. Our group has gathered information of how the cigarette butt's toxins leech into the waters that we swim in. More...

17 Jun 2009 - Klein School Elementary School adds composting to their recycling program. More...

9 Jun 2009 - Earth Force was among 30 organizations honored by Alexandria City Public Schools on May 26 at the 2009 Partners in Education Breakfast and Awards Ceremony. More...

4 Jun 2009 - The students at Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf created a newscast about conserving water in their community. More...

3 Jun 2009 - Spring 2009 Earth Force Beyond the Classroom (EFBC) students at Charleston Progressive had a great semester learning about the environment and environmental issues affecting their school. Many great topics were discussed throughout the semester, including: trash and litter, graffiti, lack of recycling bins on campus, planting more trees around school, pollutants in the sewer drains, food waste and energy use. More...

15 Jan 2009 - This was our largest Fall EFBC group with nearly 30 participants. These students were very ambitious and decided to tackle the building of their new school as the environmental issue they wanted to address with their service learning project. More...

15 Jan 2009 - When completing the environmental inventory of their school campus, these students were appalled by the large amounts of litter on their school playground More...

15 Jan 2009 -

Through EFBC, the Harborview Elementary team worked on increasing school recycling. The students made a skit titled, “The Recycling Story”, which was a play based on the classic, “A Christmas Carol”.

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15 Jan 2009 - These students are fortunate enough to have an incredible nature trail on their school grounds. However, when working with their EFBC facilitators the students noticed that there was no wildlife on or near their nature trail. More...

15 Jan 2009 - Both of these student groups keyed in on litter as being the environmental issue that affected their school campuses the most. Both groups participated in interactive presentations from Clean City Clara from Keep Charleston Beautiful to learn more about the litter issue and how it affects the Charleston area. More...

3 Jun 2009 - Recycling, or more appropriately, the lack of recycling was the key environmental issue that this EFBC group identified. More...

15 Jan 2009 -

At Ashley River the students are extremely excited about their new school that is in the process of being built. 

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3 Jun 2009 -

See the Post & Courier's coverage of the Summit by clicking here -

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/jun/04/youth_activists_lead_way84695/

Over 400 students and their educators across 3 counties came together to participate in Lowcountry Earth Force's 11th Annual Youth Environmental Summit on May 22, 2009. Participants interacted with representatives from 20 Earth Force community partners including: SC DNR, Grice Marine Laboratory, LEEP, SCANA, the SC Aquarium, Charleston Water System, the Sustainability Institute, ACSEC, CCL, SCORE, Legare Farms and many more!

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1 Jun 2009 - Earth Force engages young people as active citizens who improve the environment and their communities now and in the future.” That is the Earth Force mission. And in keeping with that mission, Delaware Valley Earth Force Youth Leadership Team had the opportunity to take a trip to Washington, D.C. to learn more about what it means to be an active citizen.“ More...

29 May 2009 - Sixty-five students from St. Annes School ranging from 6th to 8th grade fled into the CCI Center located in the South Side of Pittsburgh to participate in “Youth Training Day”. More...

29 May 2009 - Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, March 11, 2009 - Forget thin mints and wrapping paper, students from Propel East are selling Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL’s) More...

27 May 2009 - Over 700 students from the Delaware Valley came together to showcase their Earth Force projects at the 2009 Youth Summit. More...

27 May 2009 - The Earth Force project of the sixth grade students from Propel East School were featured in the edibleallegheny.com magazine. More...

26 May 2009 - Pat Lupo, OSB as a community representative served on the Advisory Council on Environmental Education in PA. More...

25 May 2009 - newsletter summar More...

22 May 2009 - The Students at Lingelbach Elementary School in Philadelphia received the 2009 Schuylkill Action Network's Educational Award to recognize their hard work in improving the health of the Monoshone Creek. More...

19 May 2009 - On May 16th, 2009 Earth Force held the 7th Annual Bike Around the Bay event for bikers who enjoy 10, 30 or 50 mile rides. More...

14 May 2009 - The National Service-Learning Partnership’s Spring Newsletter featured an article entitled Service-Learning and Environment Education: Rules of (a Green) Thumb, written by Vince Meldrum, Earth Force fellow. The article offered these tips for educators seeking to integrating environmental themes and service-learning. More...

14 May 2009 - Barbara Cole, an Earth Force board member was honored by the Pennsylvania AAUW for her outstanding work in the community. More...

13 May 2009 - LEA Earth Force and McKeever Environmental Learning Center will hold a special environmental workshop for teachers in Sandy Lake, from July 21- 23. More...

12 May 2009 - Students at Erie Day School in Erie, Pa write about EARTH DAY, the Earth Force Youth Training Day, their opinion on Global Warming. Read the articles also published in their school newspaper, 'A Stroke of the Pen'. More...

12 May 2009 - At Erie Day School our Earth Force group has tackled three different projects: use of green cleaning products, the "hair for oil spills" program and composting. More...

12 May 2009 - The Green Team is an environmental service organization and outing club. We work within our school community in Hermitage as well as the Shenango Valley community which includes Hermitage and Sharon. More...

12 May 2009 - Students from House of Mercy, working with Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force in Pennsylvania, were recent finalists in a national service learning video contest! Read on to find out how they did. More...

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1 May 2009 - LEA Earth Force staff member, Jude Shingle was featured in the local newspaper. More...

11 May 2009 - Over 1,000 students celebrated their accomplishments and their Earth Force projects at various Youth Summits in Pittsburgh and Erie so far this spring. More...

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6 May 2009 -

2008 was a very successful year with 250 GM employees supporting 225 educators and 6,900 students in local stream investigations and watershed action projects.  The program also received more media than ever before!

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28 Apr 2009 - Capital Region Earth Force announced today that Francis C. Hammond Middle School in Alexandria has been selected School of the Year. More...

1 May 2009 -

On April 23rd, 2009, Suncoast Earth Force brought together over 500 service learning champions to celebrate a year's worth of accomplishments at the 9th Annual Youth Summit. This event, held at Al Lopez Park in Tampa, was organized by Earth Force, a nonprofit organization that provides students with all the tools they need to identify community problems, locate resources, and take action to make a difference now and in the future.

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28 Apr 2009 - The 5th annual Capital Region Earth Force Youth Summit was a great success, bringing together students from Arlington and Alexandria to the banks of Four Mile Run in Arlington's Bluemont Park. More...

21 Apr 2009 -

National Volunteer Week kicked off to a great start in the Lowcountry, starting with a Mayoral Proclamation by Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. on Monday, April 20. 

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2 Apr 2009 -

On Saturday, March 21st, 20 students from James Island Middle School were out at the Harborview Road Piggly Wiggly handing out reusable canvas bags to shoppers as part of their Earth Force project.  

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27 Mar 2009 -

Please join the Facebook Cause campaign, “An Earth Force for Earth Day” , spread the word and donate!

 

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/49093?m=3a78f223 

 

In honor of Earth Day, we are trying to raise $100,000 - $5 for each of the 20,000 Earth Force youth that are working hard to create environmental solutions in their communities.

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2 Mar 2009 - On February 10th, five students from Saint Anthony’s Catholic School in San Antonio stepped before the Board of Pasco County Commissioners. They were there to represent their fellow Earth Force Club members in being commended “for their outstanding efforts in promoting recycling in Pasco County.” More...

18 Feb 2009 -

Are you a fan or member of Facebook?  If so, make sure to check out LEF's new Facebook page!

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17 Feb 2009 - Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force Students Need Your Vote in the 2009 Service Learning Multimedia Showcase! These students created an animated film that is a finalist in this national competition. To find out more about the competition, see the video and to vote, please read on. More...

10 Feb 2009 - West Olney seniors tackle global warming and littering issues in their community by raising awareness of fellow students, factulty and staff through a poster campaign. More...

2 Feb 2009 - Encounter the AQUA Lab at the Tom Ridge environmental Center in Erie. More...

28 Jan 2009 - Earth Force students from Cedarbrook Middle learned about the impact of e-waste on our environement and worked to promote ethical electronic recycling at their Middle School. The project, in partnership with the TTF watershed partnership collected over 10,000 pounds of eletonic waste. More...

27 Jan 2009 - Frontrange Earth Force, in Denver, is offering a way to help Denver Public School students raise monies for their purposes. To find out who is participating or how you can involve your school, read on. More...

26 Jan 2009 - On December 6th, 2009, over 10,500 lbs. of outdated electronic waste (e-waste) was collected at Cedarbrook Middle School to be ethically recycled. More...

23 Jan 2009 - Azalea Elementary Earth Force Club members got the opportunity to participate in a special tree planting event sponsored by the National Football League and the Tampa Bay Super Bowl Host Committee at the Science Center of Pinellas County. This event was made in an effort to help "green" the Bay Area offsetting some of the Super Bowl Festivities carbon footprint. More...

23 Jan 2009 - FrontRange Earth Force recently was featured in the North Edition of Colorado Parent Magazine. The article written by Lydia Rueger, entitled "Go Big Green!" discusses the efforts to make Denver Public Schools more environmentally sound. More...

7 Jan 2009 - 2009 Youth Summit Teacher Packet More...

29 Dec 2008 - LEA EF Annual Report 2007-2008 More...

16 Dec 2008 - Are you interested in Greening your School? More...

16 Dec 2008 - The Group Against Smog & Pollution (GASP)annouces an annual competition in environmental advocacy for middle-school and high-school level students in Allegheny County, PA More...

12 Dec 2008 - Located in south St. Petersburg and led by Mrs. Sari Deitche, the Admiral Farragut Academy Earth Force Club has begun their Earth Force process and is currently looking to make the school more “Green”. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Cathy Messina’s 5th grade science class has decided to focus on paper recycling More...

12 Dec 2008 - Teri Locke’s 10th grade physical science class is researching green building. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Led by Ms. Jodi Warson, the Earth Force Club at Bay Point Elementary looks to expand last year’s paper recycling efforts in 2008-9. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Blake High School has launched one of its latest Dreams for Teens initiatives for positive “change”. This ambitious youth-driven effort is based on Newberry Medal winner Paul Fleischman's novel Seedfolks where a junk-strewn city lot is transformed into an urban garden, a process that transforms the gardeners' lives, as well. At Blake High School, in similar fashion, approximately one hundred high-achieving upper classmen (seniors and juniors) have paired with one hundred underclassmen (sophomores and freshmen) to create a new more academic-focused “culture”—a garden of their own making. This “highly focused 8-month special operation” of student-to-student “relationship tutoring” is the first Principal’s Special Forces Team of its kind created using Earth Force methodology to encourage “youth voice” in solving a problem impacting the community at large. This youth-driven investigative initiative dates back to January 2008 when a group of students, parents and teachers (now known as Dreams for Teens”) began identifying a need to actively involve all stakeholders in “changing the culture at Blake High School while focusing on student achievement. In an effort to help address this concern and the concern of Administration to raise the school grade, the 2008-09 mission for the Principal’s Special Forces Team is to increase one hundred FCAT scores from a “level 2 “ to a “level 3 or better” resulting in helping the school raise the overall school grade from a “D” to a “B”. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Andre Tomlinson’s 10th grade AVID class is concerned that incoming Freshmen do not have a dream. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mr. Erik Hoover’s middle school students at Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf in Clearwater, look to improve water quality in their community. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Ms. Melissa Brown’s technology and gaming class at Bowers- Whitley Career Center look to collaborate with another Earth Force class to share a project through a video game they will create in class. More...

12 Dec 2008 - The afterschool Earth Force club, led by Mrs. Jean Bronec and Mrs. Laura Widerberg, at Brandon High School would like to establish a school wide recycling program for plastic bottles. More...

12 Dec 2008 - The students at Brooks- DeBartolo Collegiate High School are working to help the less fortunate in their community. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Amy Stockard and Brian Katz’s 5th grade class has selected invasive species as their topic. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Jenna LoDico Cummings 5th grade class has decided that their school storm water pond is over grown, not maintained and is totally ineffective. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Jenna LoDico Cummings 6th grade class has decided on green building as their project. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Barbie Monty’s fifth grade class at Carrollwood Day School have begun their service learning project. They have narrowed their issues down to the environment and are focusing on water conservation and pollution. More...

12 Dec 2008 - The tenth graders in Mrs. Lanier-Estrada's classes look to conserve the endangered lands surrounding their school. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Christina Mayo’s class at Hillsborough High is working with the other Earth Force classes at the school, but with a catch. Their service learning project will be to create multimedia products including commercials about Earth Force and Service Learning and a documentary video of the Earth Force process at the school. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Carol Cummings three 9th grade AVID classes are conducting a water audit of their school. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Yu Ling Schuchert teaches Student Government class at Hillsborough High School that will be undertaking an Earth Force project in 2008-2009. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Lisa Rychel’s class has completed their community walk, they discovered fox squirrels and the need for additional long leaf pines. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Judy Der and her fifth grade class at J.S. Robinson Elementary in Plant City are working very closely with the nearby Crystal Springs Preserve to help restore and protect the native Florida habitat. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Karen Vanessa Brown and Alicia DeLaTorre’s 5th grade class is working on invasive plants and animals. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Ms. Sarah Johnson’s 10th grade AVID class has selected Hillsborough Counties Water Shed as their project. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Ms. Adriane Wilson’s 9th grade AVID class has voted to do a service learning project around hurricane preparedness. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mr. Adam Wolford and his class at Learning Gate will begin an Earth Force service learning project in the 2008-2009 school year. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Judy Alvarez's students look to build on the great work previous years' Earth Force classes have made at Lutz Elementary and in their community. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Leacock's classes are exploring their community for the issue most important to them. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mr. Terry Senhauser’s fourth graders at Nelson Elementary in Dover have spent a considerable amount of time choosing the issue that spoke to them, that they feel they can make a difference in. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Miss Brianne Wilson’s fourth grade class at Nelson Elementary are looking for ways to conserve energy in their everyday lives. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Linda Whitman, working with a devoted contingent of returning fifth through eighth grade students at St. Anthony’s, have been busy with a host of projects in the school year 2008-2009. More...

12 Dec 2008 - The fifth grade students in Mr. Mark Oliver’s two classes working on Earth Force have recently completed a community survey of environmental issues around their school. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Virginia Frissell’s 5th grade class is trying to improve their school habitat for an endangered species, the gopher tortoise that has been found on campus. More...

12 Dec 2008 - Mrs. Karen Manteiga’s class is starting a paper recycling program at their school. More...

8 Dec 2008 - When GREEN became a program of Earth Force in 1999, its long standing financial and volunteer supporter, General Motors, joined Earth Force as well. With the support of GM, Earth Force was able to develop the nationally recognized curricula, training and resources for supporting educators in implementing GREEN around the country.

As such, Earth force and GREEN would like to recognize and share some invaluable GM educational resources available through the GM website. More...

18 Nov 2008 - Kenmore Middle School's Earth Force project was featured on the NBC 4 news a couple of weeks ago during Green Week! More...

26 Nov 2008 - The Earth Force video introduces viewers to Earth Force and the Community Action and Problem Solving (CAPS) Process. This approach to service learning is displayed in the story of seventh grade students from Cole Middle School in Denver, Colorado. More...

2 Sep 2008 - The most recent edition of the Watershed Staple newsletter includes student reflections from the 2008 Youth Summit, details regarding water monitoring and student action projects during the 2007-2008 school year, the highly sought after School of the Award and more! More...

31 Oct 2008 - Twin Lakes Elementary students are featured in the online version of the Carrollwood News & Tribune, hosted on TBO.com. The story focuses on the recent reciept of the Staples Earth Force Award for Mrs. Virginia Frissell's 2007-2008 fourth grade Earth Force class. More...

30 Oct 2008 - Students from Twin Lakes Elementary School receive the Staples Earth Force Award for their service learning project to preserve the natural habitat for animals living on school grounds using a variety of Florida native plants.

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25 Oct 2008 - Skinner - Deschanel More...

25 Oct 2008 - Skinner - Bendjy-Montoya More...

25 Oct 2008 - Scott Carpenter Middle School - Turiano More...

23 Oct 2008 - Suncoast Earth Force to host first annual Fundraiser at the Art Institute of Tampa/ Argosy University on November 13th.

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23 Oct 2008 - Earth Force CHAMPS students at Pfeiffer-Burleigh help launch the Tree Vitalize Metro in Erie. This is a state wide tree planting initiative of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The City of Erie More...

21 Oct 2008 - The data is in and Earth Force has once again successfully stimulated young people to be effective, engaged participants in environmental decision making. The data from our 2006-2007 participant and educator surveys point to positive impacts for the Earth Force program on both program participants and the adults working with them. Earth Force participants showed gains on a range of civic and environmental attitudes and skills, including their sense of civic responsibility and civic efficacy.

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21 Oct 2008 - Small Grant Will Yield Big Results in Four Denver-Area Schools More...

20 Oct 2008 - Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network Team to Receive $500 Donation of Staples Eco-Friendly Products for Dedication to Improving the Environment More...

20 Oct 2008 - Jewish Community Council of Erie donates to LEa Earth Force. More...

10 Oct 2008 - A Suncoast Earth Force Alumni is featured in an interview in the September 29th, 2008 issue of Scholastic News Magazine about the upcoming November 4th Presidential Election about what is important to her in a candidate.

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9 Oct 2008 - The McStain Foundation Joins FrontRange Earth Force In Supporting Community-Based Service Learning More...

26 Sep 2008 - Students At Skinner Middle School Work With Volunteer Wayne Applehans To Learn How To Start A Business More...

19 Sep 2008 - The Delaware Valley Earth Force 2007-2008 yearbook is currently under construction. More...

18 Sep 2008 - Alma Powell speaks about service learning and the importance of serving our country at the ServiceNation event in New York on September 12th, 2008. More...

18 Sep 2008 -

"She's a force to be reckoned with ... when she gets involved, she's going to make something happen."

These are the words of environmental nonprofit Delaware Valley Earth Force program Director Tom Davidock about Cedarbrook Middle School seventh-grade environmental science teacher Karen Shaffran, who was named a winner of Discovery Education and General Motors' 2008 LIVE GREEN Teacher Grant.

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18 Sep 2008 - A new collaboration brings students new opportunities to help keep the South Platte River clean and protected from drain to stream! More...

18 Sep 2008 - Students From Gilpin Participate In World Water Monitoring Day More...

15 Sep 2008 - The Catholic Worker House on 22nd Street invited the neighborhood youth to participate in the development of a recently vacated lot. More...

5 Sep 2008 - Ellis - Stokely - 07-08 More...

5 Sep 2008 - Ellis -- Clifton/Spampinato SLAC -- 07-08 More...

5 Sep 2008 - Gilpin -- Clancy 07-08 More...

5 Sep 2008 - Horace Mann -- Moloney 07-08 More...

5 Sep 2008 - Shaw Heights-Benisch--07/08 More...

5 Sep 2008 - Gilpin -- Lopez 07-08 More...

5 Sep 2008 - Gilpin -- Jones 07-08 More...

5 Sep 2008 - Ellis - Serratos - 07-08 More...

5 Sep 2008 - Ellis - Kirschling 07-08 More...

4 Sep 2008 -

2007 GM GREEN Annual Report

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28 Aug 2008 - After learning how easy it was to install a bycatch reduction device on a crab trap, Belle Hall students said, "Even a caveman can do it!"... More...

29 Aug 2008 - After a visit from Charleston County Solid Waste and Recycling's representative, Jenny Bloom, Stiles Point's Earth Force Club had 1 mission: To spread the word about why it is so important to recycle everything we can.... More...

29 Aug 2008 - Charleston Day School decided that the power of change lies within good community practices so they set out to show recreational crabbers how to make their crab pots safe for diamondback terrapins... More...

29 Aug 2008 - When students from Wando High School noticed the number of recyclables going into the trash at Towne Centre, they relaized the need for the City of Charleston to expand their residential recycling program... More...

29 Aug 2008 - Students from James Island Charter High School dig into making their school more sustainable through the GREENS Fund... More...

28 Aug 2008 - Democratic Delegates and Earth Force Students work together in the South Platte River. More...

15 Aug 2008 - Lake Erie- Alleghenny Earth Force Program Director, Pat Lupo is appointed by Pennsylvania Govenor Ed Rendell to the State of Pennsylvania's Climate Change Advisory Committee. More...

14 Aug 2008 - We would like extend a special thanks to Heinz Endowments for expanding their commitment to our organization and mission. More...

7 Aug 2008 - LEA Earth Force recently welcomed two new staff members – Mike Waltner, Director of Development/NWPA and Gretchen Smith, Administrative Assistant More...

6 Aug 2008 - Suncoast Earth Force celebrates the 2008 Youth Summit at Al Lopez Park in Tampa. More...

5 Aug 2008 - Suncoast Earth Force Teacher Mrs. Judy Alvarez is honored by Tampa Bay's ABC 28 Action News as their "Head of the Class." More...

4 Aug 2008 - Glenwood Elementary students from 5th and 6th Grade girls were introduced to the Maritime Life in Erie More...

4 Aug 2008 - Youth at the John E. Horan Garden Apartments partnered with the Master Gardeners and adults in their community to design, plant and harvest their first vegetable garden. View their picture show More...

4 Aug 2008 - During the summer months, students at the House of Mercy completed a climate change project that began with an investigation of climate, weather, ecosystems, and renewable and non-renewable resources More...

4 Aug 2008 - Neighborhood Art House students completed a recycling project and became experts on each stage of the recycling process from the purchase of goods to the use of post-consumer waste More...

4 Aug 2008 - Students at the Neighborhood Art House worked on a non-point source pollution project culminating in a day of storm drain stenciling More...

4 Aug 2008 - Students at the House of Mercy focused on the watershed in their neighborhood: McDannell Run Watershed More...

4 Aug 2008 - Students at the Erie Heights YMCA Library have been working on becoming expert gardeners this year More...

4 Aug 2008 - Bottled Up – you have your own company in your faucet challenges people to just say no to bottled water and use tap water instead. Jr. PLEWA members conducted blind taste tests More...

28 Jul 2008 - For 14 years Earth Force has been a champion of that youth engagement can unite Americans, help address some of our greatest societal challenges, and strengthen our communities and our democracy. An extraordinary new campaign called ServiceNation has taken up the cause as well, and it is bringing together citizens, leaders and more than 100 organizations to rally behind a beautiful vision of America that champions America's great tradition of voluntary citizen service, and honors the profound sacrifices made by so many Americans who have passed before. Read all about ServiceNation at http://www.servicenation.org. And, join Earth Force in supporting this important effort. More...

24 Jul 2008 - This project used the combined forces of the House of Mercy, J.E. Horan Garden Apartments, Edison Elementary School, and Perseus House of Excellence Center of Maritime Studies. More...

24 Jul 2008 - This after school group met once a month to explore local parks. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Four very responsible and dedicated young people recognized a need to help their neighbors become more environmentally aware. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Tackling the problem of recycling became the focus of the Earth Force students at Ridgefield Elementary. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The second semester, Danielle Baltes continued with another group of students from the Pfeiffer-Burleigh CHAMPS Program. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Thanks to the hard work and persuasive powers of the Earth Force students this school will no longer use styrofoam trays in the cafeteria. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The Honeysuckle sounds like it is a beautiful plant but in Scott Park it has taken over as an invasive species. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Park Forest Elementary located in State College, Pennsylvania was thoroughly involved with Earth Force during the school year. Eighty environmentally aware fifth grade students participated in four different projects. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Changing the World, One Light Bulb at a Time! was the goal of Brenda Khayat’s class. The students worked hard to raise money and CFLs in order to provide at least one bulb to every student and staff member. More...

24 Jul 2008 - All-school Composting was a project that was promoted and implemented by Jennifer Cody’s fifth grade class. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The AP Environmental Science students, facilitated by teacher Doreen Petri and supported by the PA Department of Environmental Protection, conducted an energy audit of the Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Tree Planting was the project goal for Natalie Christensen’s class. The students investigated the importance of trees, types of native trees and their importance, the difference between deciduous and coniferous trees, and how to plant and care for a tree. More...

24 Jul 2008 - - Watershed Education at Pfeiffer-Burleigh CHAMPS Program
Danielle Baltes guided the students at the Pfeiffer Burleigh CHAMPS Program More...

24 Jul 2008 - Project two was directed by Lillian Rose working with the 5th and 6th grade students. This project involved the personal environment of the students – their bodies. This project was centered a round wellness. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Window clings with a project motto, a Multicultural Fair, and active tolerance lessons were all ways in which the 8th grade Honors Class at JoAnna Connell School spread the word of tolerance to other students in their school and in the Erie community. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The students at Klein school undertook the study of two different issues in the 2007-2008 school year. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Fifty seven middle school students learned about environmental science using innovative and creative ideas for “recycled” Christmas presents giving new meaning to the term “regifting” More...

24 Jul 2008 - The 6- 9 year olds continued their project from last year. Last year they had established an edible garden at Montessori and this year they looked at what worked, what didn’t and decided to try some alternatives. More...

24 Jul 2008 - These students worked in partnership with the Waste Management Lakeview Landfill to complete their first Earth Force assignment. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The 3rd graders at Erie Day school investigated the waste in the school cafeteria. They discovered that there was a lot of biodegradable waste in the trash cans. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The Inner-city Neighborhood Art House engaged in an after school project that was a continuation of the previous year’s project. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Music out of Mercer County became the focus to help educate 3rd and 4th grade students about the values of a watershed. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Nonpoint source pollution was studied by the students in the CHAMPS after school program. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Improvement of the existing Outdoor Learning Center at Conneaut Valley Elementary School was the topic for sixty 6th Graders. More...

24 Jul 2008 - You haven’t lived until you have recycled became the motto of the Environmental Club students at the Erie Day School. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The second semester former club member returned and new ones joined to study nonpoint source pollution and after presenting the idea to the school board and receiving approval the students created an environmental rain garden on the school grounds and a rain barrel collection project for this courtyard garden to reduce run-off. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Under the guidance of Lannea Derooy, the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students of Blessed Sacrament School worked to educate all members of their school on the effects of storm drain pollution. More...

16 Jun 2008 - Jr.PLEWA, Erie Day School, Perseus House Charter School of Excellence- Maritime Center,House of Mercy and the J.E, Horan Garden Apartment Earth Force groups have planted three rain gardens in Erie. They include one at Erie Day School, 1372 W. Sixth St., another outside City Hall and a third on the bank of the McDannell Run stream that runs through John E. Horan Garden Apartments at East 10th Street and Tacoma Road. More...

12 Jun 2008 - Today Staples acknowledged these students. The Staples Foundation for Learning, which is designed to teach, train and inspire youth, awarded Earth Force teens from Erie, PA with the Staples Earth Force Award of one thousand dollars worth of eco-friendly products. Congrats to those young people. More...

11 Jun 2008 - The Staples Earth Force Award 2008 recognized Jr. PLEWA, Erie and Claysville Elementary School, Claysville. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Fourth graders educate community members about ways to protect manatees located in the local waters. A letter to Governor Charlie Crist details students’ hope that stricter policies will reduce boating speeds within manatee habitat. More...

5 Jun 2008 - The students in Ms. Mutert's Earth Force club share their Earth Force experiences at the 2008 Suncoast Earth Force Summit. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Students in Ms. Lopez’s class adopted nearby Boyette Springs Park and have a plan to include local community members and park visitors in a clean-up of graffiti and litter. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Canterbury students developed a partnership with Weedon Island Preserve in Pinellas County; after developing an understanding about issues that make the preserve a very unique environmental area, students created podcasts with scientific descriptions of things that inhabit the ecosystems there. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Gorrie Elementary students address stormwater issues on Davis Islands by encouraging sustainable lawn care practices among local citizen groups. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Fifth graders in Ms. Carmen’s 5th grade class are completing last year’s project addressing campus litter before finding a new problem to solve. Garbage cans have been turned into trash monsters through the artistry of students who are painting cans purchased with funds from Learn & Serve. More...

5 Jun 2008 - “Extreme Makeover” takes on new meaning when visiting Ms. Leacock’s fifth graders who hope to rejuvenate their campus wetlands boardwalk and promote wetland education among the student body. Students take their message to the road – literally – and educate neighbors about keeping stormwater clean. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Ms. Perez's Fourth Grade class at Nelson Elementary share their story at the 2008 Suncoast Earth Force Youth Summit held on April 23, 2008 at Al Lopez Park. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Ms. Perez's Fifth Grade class at Nelson Elementary share their stories at the 2008 Suncoast Earth Force Youth Summit held on April 23, 2008 at Al Lopez Park. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Eighth graders educate their community about three issues: sexually transmitted diseases, solid waste and bullying. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Sixth grade students in Ms. Sethi’s class in this central Tampa school have kicked off their Earth Force year and decided they would like to improve the health of their local watershed by addressing water quality issues in a nearby pond. More...

4 Jun 2008 - Here is a young person who made a video as a part of his Earth Force project. It is an enlightening (a pun about light). Take a look at what he has to say. More...

27 May 2008 - Ms. Whitman's Earth Force Club at St. Anthony Catholic School talks about the importance of recycling at the 2008 Suncoast Earth Force Youth Summit. More...

21 May 2008 - Review this example of Fort LeBoeuf Earth Force projects facilitated with 6th, 7th and 8th Grade students. More...

16 May 2008 - The students chanted, "We want peace. We love peace. No more war," during their Peace Parade in Congress Park. More...

16 May 2008 - The entire school celebrates their Earth Day Network grant award and honors Earth Force, through a day of physical challenges. More...

16 May 2008 - Slavens Elementary School helped their classmates learn how to care for animals and lower homelessness for animals. More...

15 May 2008 - Make a Date with History - Now is the time to start training for a one-time event that will be part of Erie's History --

BaySwim 2008 is a 1-mile swim celebrating Presques Isle Bay's improved water quality.
Saturday, June 28th at 9:00 am More...

6 May 2008 - Ellis Elementary students pledged to Keep It Clean More...

3 May 2008 - Ellis Elementary Experiences Abundant Earth Day More...

29 Apr 2008 - Elyse McMahon's article: "Plant emissions concern teen" was published in Erie Times News-in-Education section on April 29, 2008 More...

28 Apr 2008 - 11th annual Youth Summit at the Denver Zoo; 1,000 students compete to raise awareness and create change More...

20 Apr 2008 - PEC and Earth Force announce the Northern Allegheny River Conservation Project. More...

22 Apr 2008 - Earth Force students at Ellis Elementary School have installed worm bins to turn waste into compost, started a recycling program and devised a way to reduce the amount of lunch food thrown away every day -- and now they got of more than $10,000 to install solar panels on their school. More...

24 Mar 2008 - Ellis Elementary, one in three schools in North America, has been chosen to receive "Green Makeover" through the Earth Day Network's GREEN Schools Campaign. More...

13 Apr 2008 - FREF 2008 Summer Institute Flier More...

18 Mar 2008 -
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 6-8pm
Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle

~ Art & Unique Gift auction ~ Hors D’oeuvres ~ Wine ~ Beer ~ Music More...

18 Mar 2008 - Mrs. Der’s class moved forward with a native species restoration project at Crystal Springs Preserve, a 525-acre property dedicated to environmental education and preservation of Florida’s natural resources. More...

18 Mar 2008 - In investigating their community the students at Gilpin Middle School decided to tackle local graffiti. More...

18 Mar 2008 - Students at Holland Middle School decided to take energy use in their school into their own hands -- the result? Significant savings and a plan for the future. More...

18 Mar 2008 - The gifted seventh and eighth grade science classes from Kirby District 140 in Tinley Park, Illinois have started multi year project to better protect vital wetlands in their area. The project began with an analysis of state of natural buffer zones in the area. Buffers help keep the water supplies clean by filtering contaminants in storm water run off. More...

10 Mar 2008 - The Earth Force project of the Environmental Club at the Erie Day School is school recycling. First the students inventoried the school building and campus. Our concerns: Where are the waste and recycling containers located? Are teachers, adults and students alike, using them properly? More...

4 Mar 2008 - Youth Summit Registration Form More...

4 Mar 2008 - Youth Summit Registration Packet More...

26 Feb 2008 - Earth Force is seeking an experienced non-profit executive as Executive Director for its Delaware Valley Earth Force (DVEF) office located in Wyncote, PA. More...

26 Feb 2008 - Executive Director Janet Starwood says goodbye to Delaware Valley Earth Force. More...

8 Feb 2008 - AP Environmental Science students at Collegiate Academy, facilitated by teacher Doreen Petri and supported by the PA Department of Environmental Protection, conducted an energy audit of the Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy in Erie, PA. The audit is the first step in their effort to make the school more energy efficient. More...

19 Feb 2008 - 8th Grade students at JoAnn O’Connell teach other students in their school about the ladder of prejudice. The goal is to open minds to tolerance. This is an important attitude as we try to solve environmental issues and work with people who can have very different views on the topic. More...

19 Feb 2008 - Jim Martin, a Community Advisory Board member of LEA Earth Force works for Highmark. Highmark was cited for its environmental efforts as TOP Green- IT company on Febraury 18, 2008 by Computer World. More...

16 Feb 2008 - Mrs. Edwards Form 8M Class looks to tackle storm water issues in Tampa Bay More...

16 Feb 2008 - Earth Force students at Robinson Elementary setup a tutoring program for younger students More...

16 Feb 2008 - Investigating their butterfly garden More...

16 Feb 2008 - Madeira Beach Students take inventory of their campus More...

16 Feb 2008 - Students look to provide habitat for native birds in their school yard More...

16 Feb 2008 - Second year Earth Force students look to reduce energy consumption More...

16 Feb 2008 - The Earth Force Club at St. Anthony works to “Green” their community More...

16 Feb 2008 - Mrs. Edwards Form 8M Class looks to improve the health of Tampa Bay More...

16 Feb 2008 - Mr. Lee’s class kicks-off Earth Force at Shorecrest Prep More...

16 Feb 2008 - Fifth graders look to help turtles in Tarpon Springs More...

16 Feb 2008 - Students at Clair Mel Elementary target the issue of dirty water More...

16 Feb 2008 - Incarnation’s Earth Force explores their campus retention pond More...

4 Jun 2008 - Fourth Grade students at Twin Lakes Elementary beautify their campus with native plants to improve habitat for their school yard neighbors. More...

16 Feb 2008 - The Baypoint Elementary maintain a community resource. More...

16 Feb 2008 - Azalea’s Earth Force Club begins a campus wide recycling program More...

16 Feb 2008 - Admiral Farragut’s Earth Force Club looks to clean-up a storm water canal on campus More...

15 Feb 2008 - Students in Ms. Vickstrom’s 7th grade science class have begun the Earth Force process. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Academy Prep students identify erosion and storm drainage problems on campus. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Fourth graders at Colson Elementary in Seffner take action quickly when problems are discovered. Their spacious campus, dotted with beautiful old oak trees, is located next to Colson Park in Seffner. The park and school campus have been the focus of students’ attention since the beginning of the school year. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Students in the Earth Force elective class are beginning to learn about several issues on their school campus by studying invasive species and they have found several types on campus. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Fifth graders take their pro-CFL (compact fluorescent lightbulb) message to their local community members and beyond, all the way to the steps of the capital in Tallahassee. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Middle School students in Ms. Durkee’s after-school Earth Force Club create interest among students to watch their use of energy. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Fifth graders in Ms. Courser’s class have a lot of passion when it comes to making a difference in their community. They have decided that the combination of drought conditions and increasing population of newcomers to the area has created a problem with water supply. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Students in Mr. Oliver’s fifth grade science classes research threats to the habitat of various endangered species due to climate change. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Students in Ms. Manteiga’s 5th grade class take environmental stewardship seriously. Student efforts include creation of an anti-litter display at the Florida State Fair, establishment of a campus-wide recycling program and organization of an Earth Day assembly for the entire student body. Hillsborough County School Board member Susan Valdes congratulated students on their initiative and leadership. More...

5 Jun 2008 - Sixth grade students in Ms. Sethi’s class in this central Tampa school have kicked off their Earth Force year and after observing trash in the solid waste stream, decided to begin a campus recycling program. More...

8 Feb 2008 - Kevin Hengelbrok reflects on his years with Earth Force. More...

7 Feb 2008 - Mrs. Z’s Super Seventh Graders!!
Mrs. Zajicek’s seventh graders at Moon Area Middle School have started their Earth Force year by getting dirty and cleaning up the nature trail adjacent to their school grounds. More...

17 Jan 2008 -
SINGLESTREAM RECYCLING ARRIVES IN MILLCREEK TOWNSHIP, PA

NO MORE SEPARATING** NO MORE SEPARATING** NO MORE SEPARATING
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20 Dec 2007 - text More...

18 Dec 2007 - text More...

6 Dec 2007 - Ariane K., 8th Grade student at Blessed Sacrament School, Erie, PA attends one of the Earth Force Youth Training Days and reports More...

28 Nov 2007 - Congratulations to General Motors for being named the Green Car of the Year! GM's Chevy Tahoe Hybrid was recognized by the Green Car Journal for its outstanding gas mileage compared to its competitors, the magazine said the Thursday. For more details check out: http://www.autoblog.com More...

20 Nov 2007 - Congratulations to Earth Force classes at Lutz Elementary and Robinson Elementary for receiving the “Guardians of the Bay” Award offered by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.The award honors the work of youth 8-14 years of age who work to protect and restore
Tampa Bay. More...

14 Nov 2007 - Denver City Councilwoman Carla Madison, recently elected representative of Denver's District 8, is having an open house at her office on Saturday, November 24. Councilwoman Madison was also a supporter of our 10 for 10 Challenge Anniversary Celebration, and she will be displaying the mural created by Mitchell Elementary students at her open house! More...

5 Nov 2007 - We are delighted to announce that, thanks to its reputation as a national leader in both environmental education and service-learning, Earth Force will be carrying the service-learning flag at the 2007 North American Association for Environmental Education Conference. More...

30 Oct 2007 - Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan and Lutz Elementary Students Team Up for Carolyn Meeker Dog Park Opening More...

30 Oct 2007 - Earth Force is featured in this month's edition of NEA Today. The article outlines the impact of service learning in today's schools. The author argues that, "With a little planning and imagination, service learning can have a profound impact on how students absorb course material. And by meeting the needs of their own towns or cities and interacting face-to-face with the people they’re helping, students witness how their actions can make a lasting difference.

Read the full story here: http://www.nea.org/neatoday/index.html More...

24 Oct 2007 - On October 23, Earth Force students at Mitchell Elementary tested the waters at Heron Pond. This year, though, their efforts had an international twist - on the same day, their peers in Argentina were making similar efforts. The kids have been teaming up this school year to make an international impact in science, citizenship and community. More...

24 Oct 2007 - Youth Voice Launch - now in its THIRD year! - is an action-packed youth leadership training for student leaders and their adult advisers! This year's Youth Voice Launch will be held Tuesday, November 6, at West High School. More...

23 Oct 2007 - Chilly weather didn't phase the students, parents, teachers and community supporters who turned out to help Pinnacle Charter School open its amazing new outdoor learning area on October 26. Once a bleak field, with busses parked on top of browned grass, this area was transformed by Earth Force classes and supportive administration over the course of two years into a dynamic play-and-learn wonderland! More...

23 Oct 2007 - The Edmund T. and Eleanor Quick Foundation a small private foundation, is one of the newer funding partners to support FrontRange Earth Force's Science and Environmental Stewardship Project. This foundation was created by Mary Eleanor Quick in honor of her husband, Edmund T. Quick. Both of them were down-to-earth folks, who earned their living farming and ranching dry arid property east of the Denver metro area. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Ms. Messina’s Earth Force class is composed of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. The class includes several students returning from last year’s class that selected prevent erosion and eliminate invasive plant species through education as their project.

This year student’s banner is “We are Earth Force and we are going GREEN!” They have decided that they will learn all they can about climate change and global warming. They invited Roberta Fernandez, expert on global warming issues, to speak to them. They were both concerned to learn about how serious the problem of global warming is to our planet and ourselves as well as inspired by learning of all the options that they can select to help reduce the effects of global warming. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Mrs. Mutert’s Earth Force Club is made up of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Azalea Elementary is primarily a neighborhood school located in west-central St. Petersburg. Earth Force Club students created a butterfly garden two years ago and began a campus-wide recycling campaign last year and also bought energy-efficient desk lamps for teachers as a way to cut down on use of electricity.

This year, students have expressed great concern over littering and the variety of problems it creates including, animal injury and environmental damage. They will continue to examine things that they can do around their campus and neighborhood. The students are also continuing to maintain their gardens and have taken over maintenance of the campus butterfly house. They plan to use the house to grow native plant species for use in the gardens. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Joe Ratasky’s 5th grade Earth Force class identified litter and trash as their primary environmental concerns. In addition, they list dirty river water, abandoned animals, and loss of habitat as issues they believe are related to litter and that result in injured and killed animals. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Ms. Gembarowski’s 8th grade class has several students who have participated in Earth Force projects for two years. Pollution, global warming, wasting water, littering, and trash disposal are the primary environmental concerns for this class. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Ms. Gembarowski’s 7th grade Earth Force class is in their second year. Last year the students educated their community through use of a pond on campus. Their school is surrounded by natural wetlands in a northeastern community called Tampa Palms

Students identified littering, pollution, emissions, and harm to animals as their most important environmental problems. Underlying most of their discussion of various environmental concerns was how each problem is associated with animal injury or death. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Ms. Gembarowski’s 6th grade class is in their first year of Earth Force. The students identified a wide range of environmental issue as most important to them including too much localized construction resulting in loss of habitat, global warming, littering, pollution, and wasting water. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Ms. Schroer’s 5th grade students are combining with Ms. Reber’s 5th grade students to conduct a joint Earth Force project this year with both classes. The students identified pesticides, global warming, destruction of habitat, water pollution, littering, and air pollution as their primary environmental concerns. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Ms. Der and Ms. Lumpkin's 5th grade classes have worked to improve the health of the watershed at Crystal Springs Preserve for several years including creating several gardens of native plants, removal of invasive species, and learning about watershed issues. This year the students have already planned a field trip to the spring and are interested in continuing their work there.

Students identified water pollution, littering, and loss of habitat, particularly cutting down trees, as their main environmental concerns. They also link each of these issues back to endangering animal health and as threats to the environment in general. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Madeira Beach Middle School is located on backwater areas near the Gulf of Mexico. The school is a marine-focus school and therefore the students have a strong bond with water-related and, in particular, saltwater issues. Ms. Gibson’s __th grade Earth Force class identified excessive construction, beach pollution, habitat protection, and animal protection as their primary environmental issues of concern. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Madeira Beach Middle School is located on backwater areas near the Gulf of Mexico. The school is a marine-focus school and therefore the students have a strong bond with water-related and, in particular, saltwater issues. Ms. Gibson’s __th grade Earth Force class identified global warming, littering, and water pollution as environmental issues most important to them More...

15 Oct 2007 - Nelson Elementary School is located in eastern Hillsborough County in a rural area that is undergoing rapid growth and urbanization. Earth Force teacher Ms. Perez and 4th grade teacher Terry Senhauser’s students identified air pollution, loss of habitat, and wasting water as their main environmental concerns. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Nelson Elementary School is located in eastern Hillsborough County in a rural area that is undergoing rapid growth and urbanization. Earth Force teacher Ms. Perez and 5th grade teacher Carrie Luckett’s students identified energy conservation, habitat loss, air pollution, and littering as their primary environmental concerns. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Ms. Bone’s afterschool Earth Force Club is composed of 6th-8th grade students. Several students in this year’s club are returning from last year when they worked with Lithia Springs County Park to help clean up park litter. This year, students identified pollution, litter and global warming as issues important to them. They also plan to reconnect with Lithia Springs to consider extending their work there. More...

15 Oct 2007 - St. Anthony Catholic School

Ms. Whitman’s afterschool Earth Force Club is composed of 5th through 8th grade students. Many in the club are returning students and several have been in Earth Force for 4 years. These students have many environmental interests including participation in the annual San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival where they set up recycling bins and wildlife exhibits, travel to nearby Crystal Springs Preserve to learn about water issues, natural habitats and help with removal of invasive species. The students also maintain many live animals in their classroom, have created a pond with an extensive native habitat at their school, and assist with recycling programs at their school.

This is Ms. Whitman's eighth year as an Earth Force educator. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Ms. Edward’s 4th period 6th grade Earth Force class identified littering, water pollution, and air pollution as their primary environmental concerns. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Ms. Edward’s 3rd period 6th grade Earth Force class identified recycling, global warming, littering, and habitat destruction as their primary environmental concerns. More...

15 Oct 2007 - Wendy Bernstein’s 5th grade Earth Force class identified junk mail (waste of paper and trees), littering, air pollution, and ground pollution due to leaking oil and gas from cars as their primary environmental issues. Global warming is also an issue important to the students and they invited Roberta Fernandez, an expert on global warming issues, to speak to them. More...

10 Oct 2007 - For several years, Earth Force has benefited from a partnership with the American Bar Association (ABA) Section on Energy, Environment and Resources (SEER). Most recently, Earth Force and ABA SEER teamed up for a youth training day in Pittsburgh. More than 20 ABA volunteers participated in a “Day of Service” held in connection with the SEER annual meeting. More...

8 Oct 2007 - . More...

5 Oct 2007 - Congratulations to Kathy Lee and her students at Philadelphia's High School of the Future for their recent recognition in Fast Company Magazine. Kathy is a long-standing part of the Earth Force family as both an educator and a member of our Philadelphia Community Advisory Board.

Kathy's students' community action work is depicted in the September edition of Fast Company as a demonstration of the classroom potential of combining action based approaches, like service learning, with real world civic problems and cutting edge technologies.

If you didn't get a chance to grab a copy from the newsstand, you can read it online here: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/118/microsofts-class-action.html More...

19 Sep 2007 - Peter B., a 6th grader from Villa Maria Elementary and active in the Earth Force program was invited to be a guest speaker at Wal-Mart, on Asbury Road, weekly staff meeting. More...

6 Sep 2007 - The flyer will describe Suncoast Earth Force's October training. Applications are being accepted for Earth Force teacher training for 2007-2008 school year. More...

5 Sep 2007 - Educators are invited to join community partners, Earth Force board members and funders for a wonderful day of education and celebration at the new TECO Environmental Center at Nature's Classroom. More...

5 Sep 2007 - The professional development and support we offer is incredible and we hope that you will take advantage of the opportunities. They will not only benefit your professional growth but will increase your students’ skills and knowledge. Some of the highlights:

* Kick Off Event (Sept 29th)
* Pilot Curriculum training (Sept. 4)
* Schoolyard Ecosystems (Oct. 6)
* Professional Growth Workshops (November & March)
* Earth Force Student Mini Grants (Jan/Feb)
* Saturday Field Experience - Solid Waste Disposal (Jan. 12)
* Youth Summit (April 23, 2008)
* and more More...

5 Sep 2007 - Suncoast Earth Force is excited to host its 4th Annual Kick Off Event on Saturday, September 29th from 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. The event will highlight several speakers and hands-on "wet" activities. An awards luncheon will top off the day. More...

5 Sep 2007 - Interested teachers should complete an application including administrator's signature, and mail to: Suncoast Earth Force, PO Box 7025, St. Petersburg, FL 33734. More...

26 Aug 2007 - When the students in Ms. Kennedy’s fifth grade class at Ellis Elementary walked around the school to identify issues, they realized that there were quite a few problems out on the playground. Students weren’t always respecting the playground equipment, or each other. More...

26 Aug 2007 - The Jaguar Student Council jumped right in by watching the Earth Force video. They were hooked on what they could do for their school with Earth Force’s help! More...

26 Aug 2007 - When Ms. Shamburg’s class at Lake Middle School began their Service-Learning project in March, they had no idea what was in store. In the end they pulled together to beautify the school grounds. More...

26 Aug 2007 - It’s a challenge…it’s hard, but Gilpin’s 6th grade can seem to do it. Although, everyone’s booth was interesting, Gilpin ROCKED the Summit!!! More...

26 Aug 2007 - In the Fall, fifty seventh graders at Bryant-Webster K-8 began a year long journey with Earth Force and Public Achievement coaches from the University of Denver. At that time they knew very little about the knowledge they would gain on the journey. More...

26 Aug 2007 - It all began with a walk around the neighborhood surrounding Gilpin. Acting as detectives, the students looked for issues in their community. Back at school the students read over their notes and discussed two of the major issues in their community. More...

26 Aug 2007 - In Denver, graffiti is a problem that Mr. Jones’ class tried to educate the community about. It all started when the class went out on their walk-about to take a community inventory, and take notes on the issues they saw. They found a lot of issues. More...

26 Aug 2007 - “We call them dumb animals…for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.” - Anna Sewell More...

26 Aug 2007 - Students in Miss Mashler’s class at Gilpin K8 did not always know that they wanted to work on a project around Curtis Park. It all began with students walking around their community taking notes about the strengths and the issues they observed. More...

26 Aug 2007 - Kids at Wyatt Edison and cityWILD came to the conclusion of Homelessness as a CAPS project by first walking around the school and the immediate neighborhood and putting together a list of issues and strengths. The students then used criteria-based decision making to determine that they wanted to tackle the homeless problem in Denver. More...

21 Aug 2007 - The data is in and Earth Force has once again successfully stimulated young people to be effective, engaged participants in environmental decision making. The data from our 2005-2006 participant and educator surveys point to positive impacts for the Earth Force program on both program participants and the adults working with them. Earth Force participants showed positive, statistically significant gains on a range of civic and environmental attitudes and skills, including their sense of civic responsibility and civic efficacy. More...

16 Aug 2007 - 6th and 7th graders collect toiletries for the homeless. More...

16 Aug 2007 - 5th and 6th graders at Mitchell launch a campaign against the unfair treatment of animals for testing uses. More...

15 Aug 2007 - 5th graders at Ellis Elementary leave a legacy for their school's playground worth following. More...

14 Aug 2007 - When Ms. Shamburg’s class at Lake Middle School began their Service-Learning project in March, they had no idea what was in store. In the end they pulled together to beautify the school grounds. More...

14 Aug 2007 - Students in Miss Mashler’s class at Gilpin decided to take action and keep their neighborhood park clean. More...

14 Aug 2007 - Five student groups at Bryant Webster with a little help form the Public Achievement coaches from the University of Denver and Earth Force turn out Five awesome service learning projects worth mucho,mucho aplausos. More...

13 Aug 2007 - Third graders at Oakland Elementary find a way to not only beatify, but also sustain a school garden. More...

13 Aug 2007 - Fourth Graders at Pinnacle Charter improve their playground. More...

13 Aug 2007 - Fourth-Graders at Lincoln Elemantary decided to educate their community and their classmates about the effect of dog waste in their neighborhood. More...

13 Aug 2007 - Students at Gilpin K8 decided it was important to raise awareness about the Black American West Museum in their neighborhood. More...

30 Jul 2007 - On March 20th we received a grant of $400 from the Erie Community Foundation for compact fluorescent light bulbs. Twelve families will receive three fluorescent light bulbs to use in their homes More...

30 Jul 2007 - Some garbage blew into our schoolyard. They were amazed by the amount of garbage that existed in our schoolyard as the result of point source and nonpoint source pollution. More...

30 Jul 2007 - Each student got their own one square foot plot for growing. We researched different fruits and vegetables. We looked at growing seasons, native crops and space needed. Then we decided what we wanted to plant in our squares. More...

30 Jul 2007 - We are the Erie Heights Earth Force Group. Our project is an organic community garden.

By the end of March we had surveyed the property at Erie Heights and picked out a location for our garden. More...

30 Jul 2007 - This year we successfully passed a resolution through Erie City Council that requires all public buildings to have a smoking station on their property outside. More...

30 Jul 2007 - We wanted to beautify our school grounds and to attract local butterflies by using native species. More...

30 Jul 2007 - We are the Skate Erie Adolescents. Our ultimate goal is to get a public skate park built in Erie. More...

30 Jul 2007 - Our team decided to study the rainforest and what we are doing to destroy it. Bananas, pineapples, papaya, coffee, cocoa, and beef are all major food products of the rainforest region. More...

10 Jul 2007 - Registration is still open for our Watershed Workshop to be held August 1 and 2, 2007! Please join us for a great training event. More...

27 Jun 2007 - In a first, a major foundation is offering the public a direct role in deciding who should receive some of its money, a process typically shrouded in mystery. The Case Foundation is asking you to send ideas for improving your community. The reward? Up to $35,000. More...

24 Jun 2007 - Suncoast Earth Force sets August training in place for new teachers interested in Earth Force. More...

26 May 2007 - Fall training is set for new teachers interested in joining Earth Force. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Many people are not aware of the small but significant actions that can be taken in their own home to lesson their impact on the environment. More...

20 Jun 2007 - We began our investigation into alternative energy sources. We looked at wind, water and solar power. We also looked at bio-fuels. Through hands-on activities we investigated how these technologies worked. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Our class has been working on water quality monitoring of the springs and streams that feed the Allegany River near our school. We have found that some of the springs and streams are very healthy while one of the streams behind our school is not. More...

20 Jun 2007 - We’d like to tell you about all that we’ve been doing this year to help make a difference in our community. More...

20 Jun 2007 - The fifth grade gave tips on what to compost and what not to compost. The whole school now uses the cafeteria’s compost bin. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Focusing on energy conservation, Hermitage Middle School designed and constructed solar ovens, sold compact flourescent bulbs throughout April and created a long term energy project for their future. More...

20 Jun 2007 - The AP Environmental Science students, led by teacher Mrs. Doreen Petri, conducted an energy audit of Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy. After researching global warming, energy efficiency, and learning about Governor Rendell’s Energy Independence Strategy, the students decided to find ways to make their school more energy efficient. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Harding Earth Force chose to focus on our school yard habitat as their sustainable project for the year as well as many more smaller projects. More...

20 Jun 2007 - We learned about garbage and how important it is to recycle. We conducted a survey in our neighborhood to find out how many people recycle. The results didn’t look pretty. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Thirteen students at Peabody High School, who are participating as part of the Earth Force project in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh's CAST program have been working to make a difference by recycling trash and keeping their school and communities clean More...

20 Jun 2007 - Our project is to protect our stream banks from erosion. We have studied what erosion is, we learned about the water cycle, and we learned what is in the soil. We are planning to clean up the stream and plant a butterfly garden. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Second graders at Claysville Elementary got passionate about energy conservation this spring. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Our fifth grade Earth Force team has taken on water quality issues this year and voted to adopt “storm drain stenciling” as our 2006-2007 Earth Force project. In order to ensure that Buffalo Creek remains a stream of good quality, we decided to take action and stencil Claysville’s storm drains with the words “No Dumping!” and a fish symbol. Prevention is the key in keeping Buffalo Creek healthy. More...

6 Jun 2007 - Project Updates, Our Third Annual Youth Summit, An Exemplary Project and more - it is all in the new Watershed Staple! More...

3 Jul 2007 - WJET TV 24 reported on July 2: A group of young Erie kids came together this afternoon to dedicate a new Earth Force Project. More...

4 Jun 2007 - The theme of the 2006-07 school year was this simple refrain: “quality, quality, quality!”

The staff of FrontRange Earth Force worked harder than ever to ensure that every young person, educator, advisor and administrator involved in Earth Force programming received the highest quality support and assistance. The result? More...

1 Jun 2007 - Ms. Sherwood reminds students of their school motto: “It’s Not About Me”. Fifth-graders have launched into Earth Force with the hope of making a real difference in their community. GPS and GIS technology played an important role in their issue – to map out where gopher tortoise holes are located. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Fifth graders in Ms. Segneri’s class launched into Earth Force with a special interest in habitat. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Students in Ms. Graf’s fifth-grade class are being led through the Earth Force process with Ms. Sherwood who is leading students in an in depth study of their community’s estuary. The Tampa Bay estuary is Florida’s largest and is one major reason for attracting many newcomers to the area. More...

1 Jun 2007 - The fifth-graders in Ms Jeker’s homeroom had high hopes of improving the health of the watershed on campus through study of stormwater. John McGee, from Hillsborough County Adopt-a-Pond, and Earth Force Associate, Michael Harrison, provided expertise in the management of stormwater. More...

1 Jun 2007 - The Young Einsteins, a group of fifth-graders in the Earth Force class led by Mr. Weihs and Ms. Sherwood, launched right into the Earth Force process and have begun to study how to address the many concerns in their quickly changing community. Not far from their school lies Bullfrog Creek which leads into Tampa Bay. More...

1 Jun 2007 - The students in Ms. West’s fifth-grade science class are alive and kickin’ now that they have officially launched Earth Force. They have begun their search for environmental issues by observing a nearby popular nature trail, Upper Tampa Bay Trail, which is in the Rocky Creek Watershed. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Third-graders led by Ms. Myers have officially kicked off their Earth Force year with a lesson on watersheds and the value of wetlands. This is an important issue for a school that will be moving into a new building located adjacent to wetlands. More...

1 Jun 2007 - When fifth-grade students led by Ms. Gibbs and Mr. Tamargo participated in their Earth Force Kick Off, they had a lot to say about issues in their community. Students come to this magnet school from a variety of neighborhoods yet safety – for children and animals – was on their mind. Dunbar is located in close proximity to downtown Tampa. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Students in Ms. Taylor’s class live in a charming town with a distinctive Scottish air, not far from the Gulf of Mexico. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Third graders in Ms. Uhe’s and Ms. Mitchell’s class are planning a school-wide educational effort on Earth Day. After completing an environmental inventory and science experiments testing water and air quality, students divided themselves into four committees and selected games, announcements, posters and songs to help inspire students at their school to conserve. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Seventh graders in Ms. Gembarowski’s science class just love the feeling of success that Earth Force involvement brings. This is their 2nd year of participation in Earth Force. More...

1 Jun 2007 - A passionate class of sixth-graders, led by Ms. Gembarowski, wants to bring the conservation message to their school community and they hope to make a big impact. They are exploring the possibility of encouraging recycling by church and school families. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Water quality and litter were the two environmental issues that concerned Dr. Brookin’s eighth graders the most. These topped the list of issues that included broken basketball hoops and weeds in flower beds. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Third-graders in Ms. Sheehan’s class created a list of issues they saw in their community here in the northeast part of Hillsborough County. When they read an article about wasted resources, they latched onto an issue they really want to tackle – recycling. More...

1 Jun 2007 - This is the 2nd year Ms. Mitchell’s Earth Force club has met. They are determined to improve water quality in their part of the community of Bradenton. Surrounded by two major rivers – the Manatee and Braden River – students are well aware of how storm water can pollute their waterways. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Fifth-graders working with Ms. Carmen and Ms. Kemp have surveyed individuals on school campus and found that campus litter is the number one problem. They have successfully gotten litter policies enforced while developing awareness of the problem among students. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Ms. Lopez’s Earth Force class had no problem finding environmental issues in their cozy community called Lutz. They were bothered by the waste in water and energy they observed in their homes and on school campus. Sandhill cranes, visitors to many homes and construction areas near the school, captured students’ hearts as they read of the abuse that is happening to so many. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Earth Force teacher Ms. Perez and fourth-grade teacher Mr. Senhauser, are excited to see what has resulted from their students’ interest in habitat loss. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Ms. Medkiff’s group of fourth and fifth-graders have been discussing “community” and their roles as citizens. They are learned about estuaries in science class. Water quality was a topic of concern for these students because they live in the “Land of Lakes” and they have seen a lot of development in the area. More...

1 Jun 2007 - When you visit Ms. Thomas’s group of Earth Force students, you get a dose of passion from these energized middle school students. They have began the year investigating and came up with a list of issues in their environment while maintaining a campus stormwater pond that will become an outdoor learning center. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Mr. Oliver’s class of 5th-grade Earth Force superstars live in a beautiful, well-kept community called Tampa Palms. Although it is a relatively new community, it is not without its problems. More...

1 Jun 2007 - Webb Middle’s Earth Force class of 8th graders live in a suburb of Tampa called Town n’ Country. Their school is part of the Rocky and Brushy Creek Watershed. More...

30 May 2007 - One of several Earth Force classes at Gilpin K-8, Mrs. Haller’s class completed their service-learning project to address the issue of hallway behavior. More...

30 May 2007 - The adventure began for the Bruce Randolph CityWILD afterschool group with the Earth Force video. From there, students decided to inventory their school by embarking on a picture hunt. More...

29 May 2007 - Suncoast Earth Force to offer 3-day training for teachers new to Earth Force. Training will be held August 6-9, 2007. More...

24 May 2007 -

2006 GM Annual Report

More...

17 May 2007 - For the third semester of the Pine Jog Fellowship, I worked with a youth group of 16 third to fifth graders at A.D. Henderson School. I had never worked with such a big group of students all by myself, so I had a lot to learn! More...

17 May 2007 - After a devastating hurricane season, the 4th graders at Calusa Elementary School were heartbroken to find that their very own butterfly garden had been torn to pieces. It was covered in bark, leaves, and completely destroyed. After months of no progress made by the administration, thirty-three 4th graders took the initiative and found the perfect opportunity to create a brand new garden during their Environmental after school program with the Pine Jog Fellows. The students were motivated and excited, which pushed them to work extra hard on making the new garden perfect. More...

17 May 2007 - Our youth group consisted of twenty-one third, fourth, and fifth graders at Del Prado Elementary. All of our kids going into the program were already very environmentally conscious and aware of many issues in their community and school. However, as we began to examine their school, they realized that much could be improved. We started off by educating our kids on each of the four suggested project areas: Energy, Waste/Recycling, School Grounds, and School Transportation. After dot-voting it became overwhelmingly clear that the students were angry about the state of their nature trail and wanted to fix it, as the School Grounds category was the clear winner. When everyone began looking into the history of the nature trail at Del Prado, we discovered that there had been nature trail cleanups, but it was neglected over the past 5 years due to hurricanes and lack of enthusiasm. There also had been many attempts to start something like the Earth Force Club to clean up the trail, but nothing was accomplished. We also discovered that there was an unused wetland area that was neglected which could be valuable to both students and teachers. The Earth Force Club then made it their mission to reduce the amount of trash on the nature trail, increase the use of the trail by students and teachers, and restore the wetland area out on the trail for student use. More...

17 May 2007 - The project of choice for our group at Florence Fuller ended up being to cultivate a native garden. Be it for the possibility of attracting the likes of butterflies and ladybugs or the sheer beauty of some of the plants and flowers, this one project had the children excited from the very beginning. More...

17 May 2007 - For our third semester project we decided to work with the students in the after-school program of Florence Fuller West. Our group consisted of 16 students in grades 3 through 5. We met with our students for a total of 21 hours between the months of January and March. After spending multiple sessions educating our students about environmental issues and concerns, they voted upon making a butterfly and bird garden as their Earth Force project. Although many sessions were spent working on our garden, we also spent a lot of time doing environmental related art projects and small-scale projects for the students to take home and enjoy. More...

17 May 2007 - The kids and I at Jupiter Farms Community Elementary school have really enjoyed participating in the Earth Force Project over the semester. It gave us all a chance to lengthen and increase our knowledge about the environment. The kids all started out with their own goals. More...

17 May 2007 - In January 2007 the Earth Force club was created at Lighthouse Elementary School in Jupiter, FL. The club consisted of about 15 first grade students from the school’s after-care program. The group first investigated some environmental issues of the community, and later brainstormed a project that would be beneficial to both their school and the earth. More...

17 May 2007 - Our project goal for Earth Force was to provide our students with the information and resources to identify environmental issues in their community, propose solutions to those problems, and work together to decide and work on one of the solutions. For our particular group, we decided to renovate a nearby run-down plot of land and turn it into a native butterfly garden. After further research, we decided to expand the garden’s purpose to other fauna, including hummingbirds with firecracker plants and other types of birds with a bird bath. More...

17 May 2007 - Our first decision as a group was choosing our youth group. After intense research we decided that Omni Middle School was the best place for our Earth Force program because of the excellent academic achievement and the behavior of the students. Following our introduction of Earth Force at our first meeting we explained to the students each of the four project topics; energy, waste and recycling, school grounds, and transportation. We then created many activities for the students, to help them narrow down which topic they wanted to use for our project. After a couple weeks of concentrated activities on each topic, the students voted. The final vote affirmed that the students’ main interest was recycling and waste. More...

17 May 2007 - I worked with a group of 18 fourth graders at Summit Christian School. Together we learned more about the environment, and then discussed issues we might address on the school campus. They came up with things like building a garden, protecting cypress trees from runoff, and catching and getting feral cats fixed. The cat project was shot down, though the kids were excited about it, because it was too dangerous. In the end, they decided to plant a garden. More...

17 May 2007 - This purpose of this project was to teach students about recycling and composting certain waste materials. Last year another fellow initiated a recycling program at the Benjamin Middle and Lower School, this project aimed to continue that work and take it one step further with composting. More...

17 May 2007 - Instead of having a traditional youth group, for my project I went out to various underprivileged elementary schools and after-school organizations to teach a curriculum on water conservation. I did this in conjunction with Pine Jog graduate students, and I went out to the sites with them and assisted. More...

10 May 2007 - Download your registration documents here! More...

2 May 2007 - Over 600 students from four counties in the Tampa Bay area gathered at Al Lopez Park in Tampa for the 7th Annual Earth Force Summit held on Thursday, April 26th. Students became more educated about a variety of environmental topics while celebrating their success completing youth-led projects that improve their community’s environment. Mayor Pam Iorio addressed the group, encouraging students to be lifelong environmental stewards. More...

13 Apr 2007 - On Tuesday, April 10, students from Mitchell Elementary joined thousands of their peers from across North America to monitor local water quality. The students, with guidance from General Motors volunteers, examined water at the Heron Pond Natural Area as a lesson in science, citizenship and community. The students geared up with sampling nets and chemical testing equipment to perform water quality monitoring. They joined over 9,500 other students in North America who will participate this year as part of the Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN). More...

13 Apr 2007 - A team of students from the Bolivar School have been working with teachers and community supporters to create an amazing and effective habitat behind their campus. More...

13 Apr 2007 - Governor Edward G. Rendell honored Earth Force and 11 other winners of the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty announced the winners during a ceremony with US Steel officials at its Clairton plant site. More...

12 Apr 2007 - Della Barbato is the Educational Programs Manager at the Galveston Bay Foundation. More...

12 Apr 2007 - Join the Galveston Bay Foundation and GBWAP students and their families as we help to restore our coastal nurseries. More...

6 Apr 2007 - Suncoast Earth Force received $5,000.00 from the TECO Energy Foundation to sponsor mini grants, written by students, to fund Earth Force student projects. Awards totaled $4,645.02. More...

6 Apr 2007 - Suncoast Earth Force received $5,000.00 from the TECO Energy Foundation to sponsor mini grants, written by students, to fund Earth Force student projects. Awards totaled $4,645.02. More...

2 Apr 2007 - This document is a great introduction to watersheds for students. It goes beyond the definition of a watershed and gives students a whole ecosystem understanding in narrative form. More...

2 Apr 2007 - This activity is designed to uncover current student understanding and assumptions about policies and practices related to their selected problem statement, and lay a foundation for upcoming research. More...

23 Mar 2007 - A Houston area high school has been running a rigorous science experiment to learn new information on the life cycle of widespread marine gastropod. More...

20 Mar 2007 - The gifted seventh and eighth grade science classes from Kirby District 140 in Tinley Park, Illinois have been awarded the “Promising Project Award” by the Illinois Association for Gifted Children at their annual convention which was held in Chicago on February 4 -6 of this year. The award recognized the students’ work with Earth Force by awarding Jo Ann Binotti, the Earth Force Partner and teacher, a plaque, a monetary contribution to support their efforts, and an opportunity to present their work at next year’s convention. More...

19 Mar 2007 - Help your water quality monitoring event go smoothly using this rubric for students. More...

16 Mar 2007 - If you are heading out to your local stream or river don't forget... More...

13 Mar 2007 - The Brazilian Pepper Tree, used for ornamental gardens, is a potential threat to our coastal ecosystems including parts of Galveston Island. More...

13 Mar 2007 - Need a great key to take with you to the river. We love this one. More...

13 Mar 2007 - The GBWAP partner, Artist Boat, is reaching Galveston Bay area middle-school students in a unique and memorable way. Through the Eco-Art Workshop and Adventure Program, students learn the importance of Galveston Bay by participating in an in-class workshop followed by a field experience. More...

13 Mar 2007 - This hands-on lesson shows how to use a tarp to illustrate the concept of a watershed to your students before monitoring. More...

10 Mar 2007 - Check out this clip raising awareness of the importance of a healthy bay ecosystem for the blue crabs of Chesepeake Bay! More...

9 Mar 2007 - Austin students have been gathering at Webb Middle School to connect with their food, the earth and with their community. More...

9 Mar 2007 - The Chinquapin Senior Class 2007 has been investigating ecosystem impacts from sand mining on the San Jacinto River. More...

16 Feb 2007 - This DEQ presentation provides some wonderful information on the River Basins of Virginia and the current health of our waterways. More...

16 Feb 2007 - Curious about the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality? More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Deitche's Earth Force Club remains very popular on campus and is made up of 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. Last year Ms. Deitche's students forged an alliance with the Science Center of Pinellas County to create a trail complete with a natural-mulch walkway, educational signage, and native plants.

Since there are still many members from last year's club still in the club, they plan to reconnect with the Science Center and resume the work they began last year. The students have identified a wide range of issues that interest them including, deforestation, pollution (particularly related to a nearby urbanized creek), and air pollution.

Students completed a campus survey and found invasive species including air potato and Brazilian pepper. Students have begun to identify working groups to explore issue topics in more detail.

The club led a campus beautification project in mid-October where they planted native plants and helped clean up the campus grounds. Additionally, the Club participated in a waterfront clean-up in December where 10 big bags of garbage and debris were removed. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Messina’s students are excited to begin their Earth Force project. They are beginning to learn about our regional watershed and are in the process of inviting experts to their class to provide basic information. The students identified littering, pollution, global warming, and deforestation as some of their major concerns about their environment.

Water-issue expert, Michael Harrison, visited the students and led a community walk to discuss problems related to erosion, water usage, drainage, and conservation. The students defined their “community” and discussed how they can make a difference through Community “activism.” Students invited Burt Henderson with the University of Florida to visit and share ideas about energy conservation. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Mrs. Mutert’s Earth Force Club is made up of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Azalea Elementary is primarily a neighborhood school located in west-central St. Petersburg. Students created a butterfly garden last year that was so successful that the Principal asked the students to plant several additional areas around campus.

Students recognize that there is a flooding and drainage problem in the central courtyard area. Students have also identified littering, trash, and wasteful people as other possible target issues for their project this year. To more clearly define their issue ideas the students invited experts to their classroom to give them more advice.

The Earth Force Club decided to take on three conservation issues. Recycling was selected as their primary issue and the students began by setting up paper collection for the entire school. Additionally, a group of the students want to educate the student body and school staff about the importance of conserving energy and water. The students are also continuing to maintain their gardens and have taken over maintenance of the campus butterfly house. They plan to use the house to grow native plant species for use in the gardens.

So far, the club is considering buying lamps for teacher to use after school as a way to cut down on use of electricity, cleaning and fixing drains and gutters to help with water conservation, and paper recycling. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. LoDico's Earth Force Club is composed of 5th-8th grade students. The campus is located in northeast St. Petersburg and has a marine wetland at the rear of the school. Thus, in selecting important issues to consider for their project, the students had a decidedly marine focus in their thinking. Issues identified were recycling, air pollution, water pollution, and littering. Red tide was also identified as a problem.

The students met several times before the winter holidays and worked on narrowing their issues. They conducted background research on water conservation and Florida friendly yards which incorporates use of native species, selection of plant species to aid wildlife, and choice of garden designs that reduce the need for watering.

A drainage and water-retention-pond lowland area that is adjacent to classrooms and that also borders a wetland estuarine area was selected by the students for improvements. Students studied plant species, discussed soil types, erosion control, and other factors specific to the habitat selected. They broke into work groups with each designing their “ideal” wetland and garden area. Designs were discussed and compared and a final selection was made. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Mr. Davies and Ms. Fisher's fifth grade Earth Force students identified air pollution, littering, adoption of stray pets, and taking care of stray animals as their most important issues. The students collected additional information, considered what projects could be accomplished and voted to try to help animals whose ecosystem is in jeopardy because of overdevelopment. They considered working at a park close to the school to improve habitat for the resident animals. The students also visited Tampa Bay Watch, a local organization that conducts restoration projects throughout the Tampa Bay area.

The students learned about the many ways they could help conserve ocean life including the building of habitat, including oyster bars and oyster domes. The domes are concrete structures that attract oyster which in turn create habitat and help clean bay water through their own filtering action. More...

9 May 2007 - Mr. Winkenhofer’s Earth Force 6th grade students listed landfills, global warming, and freshwater pollution as their main concerns. The students surveyed parents and neighbors for opinions on neighborhood issues and they identified issues that they found in their own communities. Several students live by lakes or creeks and trash in the water-bodies as well as the poor water quality there were at the top of their lists. More...

9 May 2007 - Mr. Winkenhofer’s Earth Force 7th grade students identified land-based pollution, protection of endangered species, and human-related environmental problems as their main concerns. They have surveyed parents and neighbors and identified issues in their own communities. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Students in Ms. Rychel’s 8th grade class learned first-hand last year that the school has a flooding and drainage problem after a period of heavy rains. The students began work on this problem last year and they realized that it might be a good idea to continue with that project again this year. However, they also identified flooding, air pollution, land-based pollution, and cutting down too many trees as important issues. Further discussion brought the students back to erosion, flooding and drainage in their courtyard.

Students have already identified reasons why the flooding occurs and believe that construction of a terrace and xeriscape-type of planting may reduce and control the flooding. Some cleaning of the drainage pipes has begun but the entire area is need of improvements.

The students invited a civil engineer from Heidt & Associates to speak to the class and the subsequent discussion of the area and drainage patterns based on GIS maps gave considerable insight into the causes of the problems. A professional survey team donated their expertise to delineate elevations in the school’s courtyard and drainage ditch area. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Last year Ms. Der and Ms. Lumpkin's 5th grade students improved the health of the watershed at Crystal Springs Preserve. This year the students have already planned a field trip to the spring and are interested in continuing their work there.

The students learned about watersheds while completing a "sum of the parts" activity and how their own actions can affect water quality. The school is located in an agricultural area so the students know that water is an import component of their community. Additionally, their long-term commitments at Crystal Springs and their personal experiences with short-term water shortages during hurricanes, has taught them the value of water.

The students also developed a closer appreciation for nature when they participated in a National Wildlife Federation-supported turkey release. They were featured on the local television news for their contributions and work at the release!

A side project that is especially important to these 5th grade students is their assistance with reading and education for their fellow 1st graders. The Earth Force students read to the first graders and accompany the reading with hand puppets to make it a fun activity. Additionally, they are making books that will continue to help the younger students that they “mentor” gain an understanding of and appreciating for the environment.

The students received 600 small plants from a nursery. The students used three cubic yards of potting soil and 600 larger pots to prepare the plants for transplanting at Crystal Springs. The plants are now ready to go and will be taken to Crystal Springs to become new habitat there in late April. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Karczewski's, Mr. Godshall's and Mr. Johnson's 5th grade classes began their first year in Earth Force working together to learn the basics and get started on their projects. The students identified air pollution, ocean pollution, energy waste, pollution affecting wildlife, and animals dying because of littering as issues that interest them most. They learned about civic involvement as they worked through their "Journey of a Citizen" booklet.

The classes have established rules for their democratic classroom and are preparing to invite experts to help define their issues in detail, particularly recycling and energy conservation. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Alvarez’s 5th grade class began their Earth Force year helping the school honor last year's Earth Force class's accomplishments! This class considers pollution, cutting down trees, and recycling among their most important environmental issues. They agreed that continued work on getting a dog park built would incorporate most of their concerns together into one project.

The dog park which was approved by Hillsborough County Commissioners with a $150,000 budget will have both large and small dog areas, a dog wash area, a public restroom, picnic shelters, parking, and access to a planned nature trail. The class participated in a public meeting to obtain public input into dog park plans. It was attended by 50 people, four media representatives, and was chaired by Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.

The students plan to be active in every step of the park's development and have created a Web site on “Time for Kids” about the project. They invited native plant and composting expert, Vicki Parsons to speak to them about plantings at the park. The park is scheduled to open in the spring. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Nesbitt's 5th grade students consider tire debris, air pollution, hunting, loss of habitat, recycling, and a pretty long list of other topics of concern for our environment.

The students had great ideas and were ready to take it to the next level by bringing in experts to tell them more about their issues. They invited Mr. Vahue, horticulturist at Great Gardens, to speak to them about plant types, plant soil and sun requirements.

The students took a community walk and found interesting possibilities at the neighborhood train depot that played a large part in the town’s history. They also touched base with the local library and made contact with the “Friends of the Lutz Public Library” group. The Friends group would like a garden area planted at the entrance to the library to beautify the entrance. The students would prefer a more natural garden area emphasizing water conservation and native plants. The students are learning the value of compromise and are working out garden details to satisfy all parties. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Terzino's 3rd grade class talked about all of the fun things they could do to improve their school. Their main ideas about improving their environment are toxic waste in the oceans, car exhaust (especially around the car circle area at school). One of their ideas is to have adults and students make a "contract" not to pollute.

The students took a community walk at the school and noted instances of wasted water, wasted electricity (lights left on when no one was in the classroom), and few birds anywhere on the campus which is located in a natural area that is surrounded by trees.

The students decided to build bird and squirrel feeders around campus. They created work groups to decide how they should proceed. They have contacted a company called “Wild Birds Unlimited” that might be able to supply information and resources to help them with their project. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Wallins' Period E science class is composed of 9th-12th grade students. They identified animal testing, coral reefs, global warming, and water pollution as their main environmental issues. In addition, over population, red tide, and brackish-water pollution were discussed and show that the nearness to the Manatee River and marine-related issues concern them.

After discussion, the students selected energy conservation as their issue. They invited Bill Martin from the Manatee School District’s Energy and Recycling Department to class for expert advice. In addition, students will take field trips to Crystal Springs Preserve to learn about watersheds, invasive species, and water conservation and to the Florida House Learning Center in Sarasota to learn about energy conservation.

The students studied school energy use and found many opportunities to save energy. They will address the problem through education of both faculty and fellow students that includes posters and student announcements. In particular, the students met with administrators and were able to persuade them to turn off soda vending machines while students are not in school as a start toward their “Unplugged Energy Conservation Project.” More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Wallins' Period A science class is composed of 9th-12th grade students. The students identified pollution, recycling, manatees, and littering as their primary issues of concern. In addition, they added deforestation, red tide, destruction of wetlands, and homeless people as other concerns.

After discussion, the students selected recycling as their issue. They invited Edie Hendricks from the Manatee School District’s Energy and Recycling Department to class for expert advice. In addition, students will take field trips to Crystal Springs Preserve to learn about watersheds, invasive species, and water conservation and to the Florida House Learning Center in Sarasota to learn about energy conservation. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Brookbank's 2nd grade gifted students showed their excitement as they identified a really long list of environmental issues that concern them. They listed littering, cigarette butts, and animal abuse as their main issues, but their list also included pollution, excessive use of fertilizers (and the pollution that results), people not cleaning up after their pet dogs, and people putting the wrong kind of things down their sewers.

The students are ready to narrow their list by inviting experts into their classroom to give them more information to better choose their project topic.

The students have completed a campus walk that included touring the wetland that is located on their school grounds. The wetland has a raised walkway through it that allows access but does not inhibit plant growth or reduce habitat development. The students have started to conduct water quality testing of water in their wetland from the boardwalk. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Bone’s Afterschool Earth Force Club is composed of 6th-8th grade students. The students identified water pollution, gas as a limited resource, and littering as their primary environmental concerns. In addition, animal mistreatment and garbage and trash were discussed.

After further discussion, the students have identified river clean-up as the issue they would like to take on. They invited Mark Williams, Lithia Springs County Park Manager, to talk about environmental issues at that park on the Alafia River. The students took a field trip to the park to see the issues first hand and to decide on how to best address their anticipated clean-up activity there. They are also deciding if signage would be best to help keep the park cleaned up in the future. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Madeiros' 2nd period sixth grade science class identified excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers, cleaning up lakes and ponds, car exhaust, loss of habitat, and injured wildlife as their main environmental concerns. The students have completed a campus survey and have narrowed their list of issues to concentrate on the trash situation around the school. They are interested in creating a situation where students are self-responsible and plan to create a program at the school focused on recycling. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Madeiros' 4th period sixth grade science class identified global warming, wasting paper, child abuse, animal abuse, and endangered species as their main environmental concerns. The students have completed a campus survey plan to “green” the school with more plants and creation of a more colorful surrounding area, particularly in the 6th grade courtyard area. Planting is scheduled for late April. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Madeiros' 6th period sixth grade science class identified water pollution, loss of habitat, global warming, oil spills, and red tide as their main environmental concerns. The students have completed a campus survey and have decided to build an outdoor classroom. They received a $7,000 grant from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program to help with construction costs. The outdoor classroom will have a concentration on run-off issues and will also showcase native plant species, good drainage practices, and soil studies. More...

12 Feb 2007 - Ms. Whitman’s afterschool Earth Force Club identified littering, lack of water conservation, over development and the resultant loss of animal habitat, wasting paper, and saving animals as their main environmental issues. The students went on a field trip to Crystal Springs Preserve at the end of September to observe and learn about natural habitats. While there, they also learned about the importance of preserving native species and participated in a removal of invasive plant species including hydrilla and stinkweed.

The student voted to continue their presence at the annual San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival where they set up recycling bins. They also worked on improvements to their recycling efforts to include lids on the containers and supervision of the containers to ensure that only recyclable items are deposited.

The students in the club continue to conduct a variety of environmental projects and have identified creation of habitat on their school grounds as their main issue. They invited Ms. Seney, Pasco Wildlife, Inc. to talk to them about ways to improve their environment. The students learned the proper way to become community activists to promote positive change and began by conducting a community project, “Mark a Drain for Only Rain” which promote proper disposal of waste water and clean drains.

In addition, the students maintain recycling boxes on campus, participated in the removal of invasive species at Crystal Springs Preserve, participated in World Water Day by monitoring water quality at nearby Lake Jovita, and continued to maintain their butterfly garden. The students began planting additional plants and shrubs in the rear of the school to increase habitat. More...

5 Feb 2007 - I decided to promote bats publicly to the community as well as to students in K-12 grades so that I could help or start to change the public’s view on bats. I created a brochure, a website to help promote bats, and an activity book which was about eleven pages long. The activity book was also a coloring book and included three coloring pages and eight activities including: connect the dots, a maze, unscramble the word and crossword puzzles. More...

5 Feb 2007 - For our project we decided to initiate our campus, the MacArthur Campus of Florida Atlantic University, in the Campus Climate Challenge. The CCC is a program that connects young people all across the country, and encourages them to win 100% clean energy policies for their schools. We held several events on campus to increase awareness about energy conservation, and encourage students, faculty, and staff to help decrease the amount of energy we use on this campus. More...

5 Feb 2007 - The goal of my project was to increase participation in the CSA program of Palm Beach County. There were various paths I could take: increase community participation, increase farmer participation, or increase both. More...

5 Feb 2007 - Our project's goal was to raise awareness in our community of the complications resulting from feeding waterfowl. More...

5 Feb 2007 - The goal of our project was to stop the release of these exotic pets into our natural environment. Our strategies for doing this were to create an informational pamphlet to hand out to customers at pet stores informing them about the dangers that releasing exotic pets poses to our environment, distribute stickers with the website to be placed on animal cages with the slogan "Before You Free A Pet, Find A Home", and constructing a website as an informational resource and forum for people to meet about adopting exotic pets. More...

5 Feb 2007 - In the world today Global Warming is becoming a more prevalent issue for humans and wildlife. With such a serious problem on the horizon we need to take action to prevent the acceleration of its potentially harmful effects. Our project was designed to do this. More...

5 Feb 2007 - The issue we chose for our Pine Jog Fellowship Program project concerns injured animals. We decided to dedicate our project to creating awareness about these helpless and often ignored animals. Most people will not help raccoons, possums, and turtles, and will often ignore cats and dogs. We discovered that in the United States, every eleven point five seconds an animals is killed on the road. It was a frightening statistic, so we decided we wanted to bring awareness about these animals to the general Palm Beach County population. More...

5 Feb 2007 - After long brainstorming sessions, continuous research and various phone calls, the group narrowed their project choices to ink cartridge recycling programs in schools. The goal was to ensure that all area schools had an ink recycling program, and if not, to establish one at that school. More...

5 Feb 2007 - My project was to remove invasive plants at Pine Jog Environmental Education Center and to prevent the spread of exotic invasive plants from local homeowner’s yards. More...

5 Feb 2007 - I chose a plan that involved changing the public’s ideas about native plants. My goal was to change their opinions in the places they would go to buy the flowering exotics they tended to buy. I had to do research on which plants were native, and also which had favorable attributes, like attracting wildlife. To affect the way people thought, I had to tell them which plants were native. At the point that I chose my project, only one out of ten of the plants in local nurseries and garden centers were native. More...

5 Feb 2007 - Project: Bright Idea’s main foci include educating the public about the benefits of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL’s) and having our local community switch out one thousand regular bulbs to CFL’s by December of 2006. In our project, we wanted to change peoples’ energy consumption habits, as well as having them change their views on light bulbs in general. Now, many people are aware of environmentally-friendly options for lighting their homes. We discovered that people were willing to do more than we asked of them. More...

5 Feb 2007 - Living in South Florida and close to the shore, I have always had a great interest in the marine life. My project for the fall semester was to make a difference by helping to reduce the destruction of South Florida’s coral reefs. From the research I conducted it is estimated that the coral reefs in Florida at the National Marine Sanctuary are dying each year at a rate of 10% due to coral killers (Culen, 2006). I found out that most of the damage is caused by people who are not even aware of the damage they are causing. Snorkelers, scuba divers, boaters and even everyday ocean bathers are all contributing to the reefs’ demise. Most of the time people are just not aware of the impact they have. My goal was to motivate and educate others to make a difference and work to change their actions and habits to help reduce their negative impact on the coral reefs. More...

5 Feb 2007 - I wanted to tackle the issue of lack of awareness about natural Florida ecosystems, and I thought that working through the butterfly garden/campus arboretum would be a great way to do that. I found that Alana Edwards was in charge of furthering the progress of the arboretum, and after speaking with her a couple times, I was on board with her as a volunteer. I was excited to teach people about what was happening with the green space on our campus and getting more students and faculty involved in maintaining and using it during these early stages. More...

5 Feb 2007 - The issues we chose to address were urban sprawl and encroachment into natural areas, as well as development without smart planning. Under the current laws, land use plans can be changed on a whim by city commissioners who at many times side with land developers instead of the community. Given the astronomical growth of Florida, such unchecked development would be harmful to both the environment and to its human inhabitants. More...

29 Jan 2007 - Spent every penny of your field trip budget already? We refuse to let financial issues stand in the way of our classes attending the Annual Youth Summit! Download your request for transportation assistance here! More...

27 Jan 2007 - Download this Speak Out Competition flier to share with your students. It contains important information, such as the rules about length of presentaions and how many students can participate. More...

25 Jan 2007 - The Benedictine sisters of Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force in Pennsylvania have published an environmental handbook for rural and urban Benedictine communities in Latin America. More...

25 Jan 2007 - The 2nd annual TREC Summer Teacher Institute: No Child Left Inside offers a 3-day (20 Act 48 hours) training for educators of grades pre-school-8. More...

- Specific instructions designed to assist Earth Force educators are provided here! More...

- Are you an efficient water user? Check out these links to learn more! More...

11 Jan 2007 - This document encourages data interpretation with suggestions for what to look for in your data set. More...

11 Jan 2007 - Help students understand the difference between policy and practice with this lesson. More...

8 Jan 2007 -

Friends' Central Students take their community by storm with their campaign to put a compact fluorescent light bulb in every nearby business and household.

More...

8 Jan 2007 - Students at the Philadelphia School were busy this year! See what they've been up to with their various habitat restoration projects. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Maritime students found an unlikely suspect creating an unhealthy environment for the student body: soap dispensers. Find out exactly what was going on with the soap dispensers and learn how the Earth Force class solved the problem. More...

8 Jan 2007 - These Maritime students find a unique solution to help improve indoor air quality at their windowless school. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Masterman students set out to conduct research about indoor air and water quality and recycling. They then created educational kits on each of these topics to educate their peers about those topics. More...

8 Jan 2007 - “Because of you I think I am more interested about the things around us,”
Fatima responded after being asked what she had gained from taking part in
the Green City Youth program. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Living along a rural section of Darby Creek and seeing deer in his backyard sparked Ewen Levick’s interest in the damage their over population has caused to the vegetation in Valley Forge National Park. More...

8 Jan 2007 - In world politics, energy issues have become very important. Yet even on
this grand scale, choices made by individuals and small organizations can
have a big effect, so say Wissahickon Charter School students. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Teacher Judi Eastburn has become an expert on how to fully integrate real world math skills into her environmental science classes. Find out how her students turn data into real world problem solving with their school recycling program. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Students at Grover Washington decided to beautify their school, but they knew it would be a community effort since one part of campus was a common dumping ground. Learn how these students tapped community resources to put an end to the dumping and beautify the school. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Jeanne Bender’s class began their Earth Force project in mid-September by
planting various flowers and a tree on their school grounds. With the help of Larry Stier from Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the class planted sunflowers, roses, daises, columbine flowers and even a blue spruce tree. More...

8 Jan 2007 - School lunches, uniformly described by students in Rosemary Elliott’s Allied Health class at Swenson High School as “nasty,” launched them into a project looking at nutrition and health. Globs of frozen cheese and More...

8 Jan 2007 - These Friends' Central students were determined to do something productive with all of the food scraps that were being wasted daily in their cafeteria.  Read more to find out what they did. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Patrick Perti’s class at Swenson Arts and Technical School decided that they wanted to do an environmental project that directly affected people in need. After researching a number of options and speaking with professionals and More...

8 Jan 2007 - Find out how a group of Friends' Central eighth graders convinced their school administration to try out biodiesel in some of their school buses. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Frankford High School students studies various global environmental issues, and found ways to curb their environmental impacts at home. Find out what students did and learn about the mural they helped create. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Clay Schofield’s class was eager to improve their school community and
quickly agreed on developing a schoolyard greening project. They connected
with Kensington WOLF Program students and even received trees from the
tree farm for use in their project. More...

8 Jan 2007 - See how different soils measure up in green roofing. Friends' Central students did a study and presented their findings at the Delaware Valley Science Fair. More...

8 Jan 2007 - The 7th graders of Sulzberger Middle School began their project by collaborating with the other five Green City Youth (GCY ) schools. The schools began by exploring their community and interacting with community experts. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Both fourth grade classes of School Lane Charter School started their
Earth Force project by looking at watersheds and sources of water
pollution. Initially they hoped to improve local storm water management
by designing a rain garden on school grounds. More...

8 Jan 2007 - “It’s a forest of invasives!” the Earth Force team exclaimed about the state of local natural areas, so they sprang into action. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Oprah Winfrey was the unlikely inspiration for Judy Winship’s 10th grade
class at Upper Dublin High School. A couple of the students saw an More...

8 Jan 2007 - Terri Maas Anger’s classes at W.B Saul High School took on a variety of
exciting service learning projects. Read on to hear about the variety of projects one class did with Fairmount Park. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Radnor students built on existing inter-school ties to restore the garden of the Gesu School in Philadelphia which had been overtaken by weeds and
trash. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Hear what Joseph Drumm has to say about his experience with Earth Force's partnership with Green City Youth. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Kensington CAPA students tackled low recycling rates at their school. Read more to find out how they boosted recycling rates. More...

8 Jan 2007 - See how this group from Saul helped campaign for better recyling in the City of Philadelphia. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Earth Force students at Northeast High School, in partnership with YouthWorks, worked on recycling at their school and also did an intensive watershed study. Read on to find out what they did to help improve their watershed. More...

8 Jan 2007 -

Students at Bucks County Alternative School (BCAS) took the initiative to create a school-wide paper recycling program.

More...

8 Jan 2007 - We are very pleased to share that two of our valued corporate foundation funding partners - the AMGEN Foundation and the ERM Foundation - have decided to continue their support for our Science and Environmental Stewardship Program! More...

8 Jan 2007 - Find out how this group of fourth and fifth graders restored a habitat on their urban school campus. More...

8 Jan 2007 - The 4th graders and special needs students of Bache Martin School, guided by teachers Lisa Liu and Louise Kiderry, decided to take on streetscapes as their project. More...

8 Jan 2007 - The Swenson Arts and Technology School’s culinary arts students
combined their horticultural interests and their culinary talents in a
project that honored the Pennsylvania National Guard 28th Infantry Division
Stryker Brigade. More...

8 Jan 2007 - See how students at Friends' Central built on a project started last school year that involved improving energy efficiency at schools across the globe. More...

8 Jan 2007 - The students of Ms. Avery’s fourth grade class from Willow Dale
Elementary School, decided that their Earth Force project would be to
build a Butterfly Garden. The class learned that the nearby butterfly
habitats were being destroyed for More...

8 Jan 2007 - See how students at Turner Middle School got rid of dangerous invaders at a nearby nature center. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Robin Bratt’s class took on topics of global significance this year: climate change, global warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rain and
overpopulation. Based on their research, More...

8 Jan 2007 - For nine months, Phyllis Green’s eighth grade science class decided to focus on natural disasters as their Earth Force project. Looking at brushfires, blizzards, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, lightening, mudslides, More...

8 Jan 2007 - Friends' Central Trasher Smasher groups discovered a creative solution to litter at local public bus stops.  More...

8 Jan 2007 - See what a team of classes at W.B. Saul can do when it comes to urban forestry and landscaping in this article. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Find out how these Pennridge High School students are saving pine trees on campus from being killed by development. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Cheltenham High School students explored the benefits of trees and campaigned to have some planted on campus. The students were exitced to have the opportunity to do the greening themselves. More...

8 Jan 2007 - Phoenixville Middle School students made the best of their local resources this year by tapping into an interesting lot of projects. More...

- Information and identification keys for aquatic macroinvertebrates. More...

20 Dec 2005 - Eight Earth Force classrooms in Loudoun County received a lab analysis of their local waterway from Fairfax Water! More...

20 Dec 2006 - Check out the progress of Capital Region Earth Force Students in the The Watershed Staple! More...

14 Dec 2006 - This fall, high school students from the Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School and mentors from General Motors have been monitoring the Long Island Creek in Sandy Springs, GA. After several visits to the creek, students were ready to voice their concerns about the condition of the creek to local decision makers. They chose to write letters to the Sandy Springs City Council and City Manager, detailing the issues they discovered during their monitoring visits and making suggestions for improvements. More...

13 Dec 2006 - Make connections between the different land uses surrounding your monitoring site and potential water quality impairments with this poster. More...

13 Dec 2006 - This datasheet helps students use their water monitoring data to find the land use conditions that may be contributing to their results. More...

12 Dec 2006 - Action stories from Earth Force teachers all over the country. More...

12 Dec 2006 - Use this datasheet while monitoring your local stream to calculate the Water Quality Index. More...

11 Dec 2006 - Our wonderful donors and funding partners have yet another reason to feel proud of giving to FrontRange Earth Force! Our organization recently passed the Better Business Bureau's rigorous "Wise Giving" review - we are now officially a Wise Choice for your generous support! More...

7 Dec 2006 - Read how Flint educators used the six step process. More...

1 Dec 2006 - Look here for links specific to the Great Lakes. Links include government agencies, radio stories and more. More...

7 Dec 2006 - Find Indiana environmental agencies, government links and more. More...

1 Dec 2006 - Find Kentucky environmental agencies, government links and more. More...

1 Dec 2006 - Poster to help you identify macroinvertebrates you have collected during water quality monitoring. More...

1 Dec 2006 - Find Michigan environmental agencies, government links and more. More...

1 Dec 2006 - Find Ohio environmental agencies, government links and more. More...

1 Dec 2006 - This poster assists in making connections between observed conditions at your monitoring site and potential associated problems and causes. More...

1 Dec 2006 - Reflection questions to help students look forward to what may come next and back at their challenges and accomplishments. More...

1 Dec 2006 - Use this poster to make connections between your chemical test results and potential associated problems and causes. More...

30 Nov 2006 - The Watershed Tarp Activity is a hands-on way to look at non-point source pollution with students.  More...

30 Nov 2006 - What are the environmental assests and issues in your school and community? Use these data sheets to guide your inventory. More...

30 Nov 2006 - This activity gets students thinking about the difference between policy and practice. More...

12 Nov 2006 - View the on-line "State of the Bay: A Characterization of the Galveston Bay Ecosystem", book for information on water quality, wetlands, and species in the Galveston Bay Estuary System. More...

1 Jan 2006 - An Educator Summit will be held Jan 23-25th on Galveston Island in conjunction with the biannual State of the Bay Symposium. More...

6 Nov 2006 - Suncoast Earth Force would like to welcome Christopher Noe as the new executive director. Christopher has joined the Suncoast team and field office with a vast background in issue advocacy, political campaign and non-profit management. More...

18 Oct 2006 - On Friday, October, 13th, at the 35th Annual North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, Earth Force GREEN partner Terry Wilson received the Walter E. Jeske Award. This is the highest honor that NAAEE bestows, and it is a great testament to Terry’s pioneer contributions to environmental education.

This award is given to recognize service to NAAEE and leadership within the field of environmental education. Terry’s contribution to the field of environmental education spans more than three decades. In addition to his current post as Director of the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Environmental Education at Western Kentucky University, Terry also served as president of NAAEE in 2002. More...

2 Oct 2006 - Brian has always had three career interests in his life: technology, science and education. While most people would choose to focus on one, Brian's background reflects his efforts to integrate all three into his career. More...

2 Oct 2006 - Aquariums have been a favorite pastime for many people for decades. They bring a diversity of plants and animals into many homes and classrooms. This greater diversity, however, may lead to risks to the local environment from improper disposal of aquarium organisms and wastewaters. More...

29 Sep 2006 - test More...

29 Sep 2006 - Earth Force has a new partner in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Western Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC) has joined the GM GREEN program as the new local environmental partner for the General Motors Grand Rapids Stamping Facility. WMEAC has been West Michigan's leading voice for environmental protection since 1968. WMEAC is an environmental advocacy and education organization committed to citizen empowerment. More...

14 Sep 2006 - The 18th Annual National Service-Learning Conference: Beyond Borders, Beyond Boundaries will be held March 28-31, 2007, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The conference is the largest gathering of youths and practitioners involved in the service-learning movement, drawing more than 2,900 people from all 50 states and 12 other countries.

NYLC is currently accepting workshop proposals for this year's conference and young people are strongly encouraged to submit proposals. More...

1 Sep 2006 - Background information for Earth Force porjects that deal with Waste managment issues. More...

1 Sep 2006 - background Information for Earth Force projects that deal with Waste Management issues. More...

1 Sep 2006 - Documents for Earth Force projects dealing with Waste Management Issues More...

30 Aug 2006 - The News (Lutz, Odessa, Keystone, Citrus Park) published an exciting article about the Lutz Dog Park project. More...

30 Aug 2006 - The Tampa Tribune - Pasco Tribune published this article on August 13th. More...

30 Aug 2006 - Suncoast's Summer 2006 Newsletter is in pdf format. More...

23 Aug 2006 - This page contains information on agriculture. More...

23 Aug 2006 - This page contains doucments on air quality More...

23 Aug 2006 - This page contains information on ecosystems. More...

23 Aug 2006 - This page contains information on water. More...

21 Aug 2006 - Review the PA Academic Standards. More...

21 Aug 2006 - Review the PA Academic Standards. More...

21 Aug 2006 - Review the PA Academic Standards. More...

21 Aug 2006 - Review the PA Academic Standards. More...

21 Aug 2006 - Review the PA Academic Standards. More...

21 Aug 2006 - Review the PA Academic Standards. More...

21 Aug 2006 - Review the PA Academic Standards. More...

21 Aug 2006 - Review the PA Academic Standards. More...

21 Aug 2006 - Review the PA Academic Standards. More...

21 Aug 2006 - Why is there still water that's too dirty for swimming, fishing or drinking? Why are native species of plants and animals disappearing from many rivers, lakes, and coastal waters? More...

- In need of an introductory presentation on water? Water--So What? is available for use in middle or high school. More...

14 Aug 2006 - Glossary for environmental projects More...

14 Aug 2006 - Continuation of glossary Q- Z More...

30 Nov 1999 - Explore background information on biodiversity More...

14 Aug 2006 - Explore background information on integrated pest management More...

14 Aug 2006 - Explore background information on nonpoint source pollution More...

21 Feb 2008 - Explore background information on agriculture and look at lesson plans and resources. More...

21 Feb 2008 - Explore lesson plans, resources and background information on air with your students. More...

14 Aug 2006 - Explore background information on ecosystems More...

14 Feb 2008 - Explore lesson plans, resources and background information on energy wit hyour students to conduct an environmental action and service learning project. More...

14 Aug 2006 - Explore background information on water quality and resources More...

11 Aug 2006 - Last spring, the students traveled to the County Center to ask the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to develop a dog park in the Lutz area. During the recent round of budget talks, Commissioner Hagan sought and received approval from the BOCC for $150,000 for the park’s construction. Plans of the park were also unveiled. More...

25 Jul 2006 - They called themselves the "Student Force," and wouldn't answer to any other name! These student leaders at Mitchell Elementary, led by Ms. Stephanie Reeh, took on several issues in their very first year of work. More...

25 Jul 2006 - Students in Ms. Julie Martinek's gifted and talented class at SkyVista Middle School learned first-hand about the disappearing praries of the West. More...

25 Jul 2006 - They were small, but they were determined! Nothing could stop the forward momentum of the Philips Elementary Youth Council once they realized the threats posed to them and their classmates by...flu germs! Under the guidance of Mr. John Bellamy and Ms. Jennifer Grant, the Council created positive and visible change for student health. More...

25 Jul 2006 - Even before they had ever heard of Earth Force, the members of the Park Hill Youth Council knew the importance of "student voice." Hands-on adviser Mr. Jim Fasnaugh made sure the students had every chance to drive their own work - and drive it they did! More...

25 Jul 2006 - When staring out the classroom window, most kids see trees and playgrounds and long to be outside. The students at Pinnacle Charter School see something different. The empty lot outside their school leaves a lot to be desired; they often long for something to long for. More...

25 Jul 2006 - Three sixth grade classes at Scott Carpenter Middle School expanded their horizons by using Two Lakes Park, a natural area near their school, as their real life science laboratory! More...

25 Jul 2006 - Well, not Scott Carpenter Middle School exactly, according to the students. They just knew they wanted to do something to help their school look as good on the outside as the work going on inside! More...

24 Jul 2006 - One of several groups at Bryant-Webster K-8 working with coaches from the University of Denver, the self-titled "Looney Tunes" championed their cause with an unflagging sense of humor. More...

24 Jul 2006 - Needing to go to the bathroom during class is a situation every kid faces eventually. But what about being AFRAID to go to the bathroom...because of ghost stories circulating through the school? More...

24 Jul 2006 - Kids spend a lot of their days in the classroom, in the halls, in the stairwells, in the schoolyard...but are any of those places that they can truly call their own? Students at Gilpin K-8 wanted to create just that, for themselves and their peers. More...

24 Jul 2006 - Ms. Jill Leitner's special self-contained class at Ellis Elementary has plenty of challenges. Many of the students struggle with learning disabilities or other special circumstances that make regular class rough. But nothing could stop them from amazing everyone with their hard work and enthusiasm on the "Recycle Express!" More...

24 Jul 2006 - In Mr. Jim Jones' fifth/sixth grade class at Gilpin K-8, student voice sounded a lot like dogs barking! Mr. Jones' students championed the cause of Denver canines and came up with a plan for creating more dog parks in the city. More...

24 Jul 2006 - Ms. Ruth Rhodes' class takes us through their CAPS exeperience step-by-step, right up to their triumphant project finish. The students made a huge impact on the community by reducing dog waste and planting attractive plants! More...

24 Jul 2006 - In the minds of students in Ms. Caryl Olson's second-quarter class at Merrill Middle School, their work to address issues in the school bathrooms and with school recycling took them all over the place - from very good experiences to not so great ones. More...

24 Jul 2006 - They may not be big, but they are loud, informed and passionate about the dangers of second-hand smoke. Ms. Bonnie Staack's second-grade class at Ellis Elementary took their energy right into the streets with an old-fashioned anti-smoking protest. More...

24 Jul 2006 - Ms. Caryl Olson's third quarter class wanted to figure out why students weren't allowed to eat outside - and wanted to see if they could break down the barriers to a more sunny lunchtime for the school! More...

24 Jul 2006 - ...especially about their school bathrooms. It's one place everyone has to spend some time during the school day...and yet its the most neglected. The Youth Council at Fairview wasn't going to let another year pass by without making some change! More...

24 Jul 2006 - During a community walk about Mr. Smith’s sixth grade students at Gilpin K-8 noticed something they could not get out of their mind...TRASH! Litter was all over their neighborhood. More...

24 Jul 2006 - Ms. Kelli Trotsky guided three full classes of high schoolers through quality CAPS projects in the last months before school let out for 2005-06. These students - mainly of debate - really knew their stuff...and how to talk about it, too! More...

24 Jul 2006 - When students in Mr. Mike’s sixth grade class at Gilpin K-8 were asked about what they would like to change at their school, students were ready to speak up about their school lunches. Not only were students concerned with the food that was served at lunch, but the portions that their growing sixth grade bodies received. More...

24 Jul 2006 - Don't ever let anyone tell you that you have to be older than the age of nine and tall enough to ride all the roller coasters to make a big difference in the world around you. This class at Centennial K-8 proved just that! More...

20 Jul 2006 - The '06 senior class from the Chinquapin School conducted a comprehensive study on the history and ecological health of Sheldon Lake. More...

20 Jul 2006 - Students at Arvada West High School continued the school's ongoing focus of community work at nearby Standley Lake, led by long-time Earth Force educator and committed science teacher Chris Madsen! More...

20 Jul 2006 - ...Bryant Webster Recycles! Calling themselves the "Better Community Better Life" group, students at Bryant-Webster K-8 were determined to show people what a positive impact recycling can have on their community. More...

20 Jul 2006 - ...Ya Que Todos Somos Humanos! The rallying cry for Bryant-Webster K-8's bi-lingual class was "Di no al la discrinimacion" - or, "Say no to discrimination!" More...

20 Jul 2006 - Despite all their challenges, the Teen Leaders after-school leadership group completed a project to celebrate their school through the arts. More...

20 Jul 2006 - What do blank walls and water quality have in common? Maybe nothing at first glance, but with a closer look, these students from the Brown Elementary School Youth Council made the connection. And a huge difference, once their project was complete. More...

12 Jul 2006 - View the GBEP video, "A Day on Galveston Bay" (14 min). More...

12 Jul 2006 - The EPA and The Weather Channel have produced an excellent 20 min video on watersheds, the impacts on waterways from polluted runoff, and ideas for making a positive difference in your local watershed. More...

11 Jul 2006 - Capital Region Earth Force is proud to announce that Michael Wollins' 7th graders from Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Arlington, VA are the recipients of the Exemplary Classroom of 2006! More...

11 Jul 2006 - Impassioned by their unit on insects, Ms. Sacca’s 2nd grade class at Allegheny Traditional Academy in Pittsburgh beautified their school and improved the habitat for native butterflies and birds for their Earth Force project. More...

11 Jul 2006 - Fifth grade students at Claysville Elementary School felt that it was about time they had paper recycling in their school and community. They learned about a company that would actually pay the school to recycle, and this seemed exactly what they were looking for. More...

11 Jul 2006 - MRS. WITTFELDT’S 4TH GRADE CLASS AT ALLEGHENY TRADITIONAL ACADEMY ELEMENTARY ON THE NORTHSIDE OF PITTSBURGH LEARNED ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF WATER ISSUES. THEY STUDIED WATERSHEDS, WATER POLLUTION, WATER FILTRATION, AND WATER CONSERVATION. THEY DECIDED TO DO THEIR EARTH FORCE PROJECT ON WATER CONSERVATION BECAUSE THEY FELT THEY’D HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT IN THAT AREA. More...

7 Jul 2006 - Find out how Capital Region Earth Force students have progressed throughout the year! Read the latest edition of The Watershed Staple!

Pictured to the left, Liz Castillo's 6th graders from Kenmore Middle School pose with the bags they collected for their Earth Force project.

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6 Jul 2006 - Mr. Weiss’s class 7C at Schiller Classical Academy is educating their community about non-point source pollution entering Pittsburgh’s Rivers through the City’s storm drains. Armed with spray paint and stencils, these students are letting people know that litter in the storm drains is non-point source pollution in Pittsburgh's rivers. More...

6 Jul 2006 - The 4th and 5th graders of the Youth LIFE after school program at Human Services Center Corporation in Turtle Creek, PA are very passionate about wildlife and wildlife habitat. They wanted to make a difference in their own backyard, so they decided to adopt a planter in the front of their after school site. More...

30 Jun 2006 - After a walk around their school grounds Mrs. Ward’s 2nd grade class realized there wasn't a place to put trash. In addition to spoiling the beauty of their campus, litter was also a threat to the stream that runs along the side of the Joe Walker Elementary School campus. More...

9 Jun 2006 - Mrs. Alvarez's 5th grade Earth Force class considered and listed many environmental issues at their school, neighborhood, and surrounding community. The students were interested in identifying a community-related issue outside of their school, so they focused their attention on Nye Park, a popular multi-use park near the school. After a field trip to the park, class discussion, and voting, the students decided to try to establish a dog park there. More...

2 Jun 2006 - Kids don’t really know anything, right? Well, at least nothing of importance, right? You would figure that a bunch of 3rd – 5th graders would only really know something pertaining to MTV, video games, or sports. Actually….you’d be wrong. I was very pleasantly surprised when my partner and I met with the Pearl City C.A.T.S after school program. More...

2 Jun 2006 - The first couple of meetings we introduced the students to all the aspects of environmental conservation without focusing on any one field so that when it came time to pick a project, the students could make a good decision about something they really wanted to do. We played several of the Earth Force games that we were provided with to help us teach them. Our students really enjoyed the Name Game and the poster of environmental problems. When it came time for our kids to select a specific project, they voted overwhelmingly to do an energy project. So, our next step was to narrow down possible project ideas that involved energy conservation. More...

2 Jun 2006 - I really liked working with the nature force group and completing three projects. The first project was making a birdfeeder for the tree outside of their after school meeting room. They had fun gluing and figuring out which nails went where although I had to do all the hammering for safety. The nature force group liked the garden planting days best judging from their reaction. They got to prance around and sprinkle each other with the hose after planting. More...

2 Jun 2006 - Our experience while working with the youth group was very challenging, yet very rewarding. It took time to get everyone on the same page and make things start happening, but once the group unified and focused we created a lot of fun and cool projects. In the beginning we had to start out small, doing things like on-campus field trips and artsy projects in the classroom. Our sessions escalated to talking about environmental issues, and what everyone can do to help out. One idea turned into another, and the kids created plans dealing with recycling and reuse, and plant species. More...

2 Jun 2006 - During the second semester of our course, we taught fifth grade after-care students at Jupiter Farms Elementary. We met with the students on Thursdays and Fridays at around 3:00 pm and stayed till about 4:00pm. Everyday we would have activities prepared for the students. Some of these activities included jeopardy, pictionary, and charades. We even came up with some activities of our own that were successful in holding the students' attention. More...

2 Jun 2006 - The Earth Force group at Greenacres Aftercare Center decided to tackle center grounds as their issue of choice. They chose this particular topic area because they wanted to do something to effect their immediate surroundings in a positive way. Within the grounds category, they focused in on increasing the habitat for birds. More...

2 Jun 2006 - Our story began back in the summer of 2005 when the Marshall Fellows gathered for our first semester together. It didn’t seem possible at the time that we would all eventually be in a classroom setting teaching young students about the environment. By the third semester the fellows all began to learn from each other and we became closer than that first day when we didn’t know what to expect More...

2 Jun 2006 - The 2006 Environmental Club of Manatee Elementary School in Lake Worth had a tough decision when it came to choosing just one issue to focus upon for their Earth Force Project. Our students chose “animal habitats” as their project focus and soon after decided to focus on the burrowing owls found on their campus. This specific issue was chosen based on the prevalence of the owls in regard to animals found at Manatee Elementary School. In fact, during the course of our research it was discovered that the burrowing owls inhabited this piece of land even before Manatee was built in 1994. More...

2 Jun 2006 - I worked with my students to expand and revamp the recycling program at the Benjamin School.
The students did a lot of work to work with the younger students, mentoring them, at our school. They taught them all about recycling and how it works. They also worked on their environmental awareness and were able to do some cypress tree plantings nearby.
The plan is to continue to teach the younger students as they expand the recycling program on campus. More...

2 Jun 2006 - A butterfly garden is an easy way to both see more butterflies and to contribute towards their conservation, since many natural butterfly habitats have been lost to urbanization and other development. A butterfly garden would require about six hours of direct sunlight a day, nectar plants, and host plants to maintain a stable population and for butterflies to lay their eggs at the garden. Certain kinds of butterflies (mostly males) often can be seen on moist sand or mud collecting around puddles of water where they feed. Food for adult butterflies usually consists of sweet liquids, such as nectar from flowers that provide energy. Some flowers contain more nectar, and are more attractive to butterflies. Often, specific types of flowers and flower colors also are more attractive. Some species feed on honeydew (produced by aphids), plant sap, rotting fruit and even bird dung. More...

2 Jun 2006 - For my Earth Force project I decided to work with the Environmental Club of Limestone Creek Elementary School. After an hour of deliberation in early January, the students decided that they wanted to learn about sustainable farming practices. With this in mind we decided that we would design, build, and grow our own garden that we could practice some of these ideas in. For the next six weeks we designed, built fences, laid canvas ground cloth walkways through out our garden area and tilled the ground to prepare it for cultivation. More...

2 Jun 2006 - This year’s Earth Force class wanted to address the problem of hurricanes destroying their school’s scenery, by creating something that would truly last. They wanted to leave their mark after they went on to middle school. They decided that they would plant the vegetables in big, movable pots. More...

31 May 2006 - The 2006 Galveston Bay Watershed Youth Summit was held at the Armand Bayou Nature Center on May 5th. More...

30 May 2006 - JS Robinson Elementary School was featured in the May 2006 In the Field Magazine. J.S. Robsinson Elementary and Earth Force Wins Prestigious Environmental Award. More...

30 May 2006 - Cypress Creek Elementary School Earth Force students were featured in the South Shore - Tampa Tribune on May 18, 2006. More...

23 May 2006 -

GM GREEN ANNUAL REPORT 2005.pdf

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9 May 2006 - Villa Maria Elementary School Students participate in a township meeting regarding Scott Park. More...

9 May 2006 - On May 3rd, 2006 over 650 students celebrated their participation in Earth Force with a Youth Summit at Presque Isle State Park. Over 50 facilitators engaged the students in workshops and nature walks.

See also the feature in Erie Times News in Education on May 16, 2006. (Youth Summit in Erie- PDF)

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5 May 2006 - Lake Erie-Allegheny Newsletter - Spring 06 More...

2 May 2006 - For more than fifteen years, Sam Maisano with input and assistance from his wife Coni, have headed the Saginaw, MI arm of the Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN), known locally as River Project.
This year, Sam and Coni are handing over the program to the new Science Coordinator of the Saginaw Schools, Mary Czieslak. As we welcome Mary to the GREEN family, we would like to thank Sam and Coni for all of their time and effort in making River Project a great success. More...

1 May 2006 - Students from Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC gathered along the Potomac River in historic Old Town Alexandria on Monday April 24 to celebrate the environment and showcase their youth-led environmental projects. Throughout the year, schools from the Washington, DC metropolitan area have worked with one of the areas leading environmental education organizations, Capital Region Earth Force, to bring watershed studies programs to students. More...

21 Apr 2006 - National Volunteer Week is about thanking one of America's most valuable assets – our volunteers – and calling the public's attention to all that they do to improve our communities. Here at Earth Force we would like to thank the 300+ General Motors volunteers that make the GREEN program happen in over 21 communities. Through GREEN, GM volunteers are making a visible difference. In 2005, GREEN enhanced the educational opportunities for 8,506 young people by giving them authentic experiences collecting and interpreting data, analyzing local issues, applying critical thinking skills and balancing opposing viewpoints. Through this program, these young people are becoming environmental citizens; making a difference now and in the future. More...

11 Apr 2006 - These activities help students understand the importance of wetlands for habitat, improving water quality, and protection from storm surges. More...

5 Apr 2006 - Interested in learning more about erosion? Wish you knew more about the erosion and sediment control practices that should be followed in Virginia when constructing new buildings? Learn more here! More...

3 Apr 2006 - The Gulf of Mexico Program recently announced that the J.S. Robinson Elementary School’s Suncoast Earth Force received a second place Gulf Guardian Award for 2005 in the Youth/Education Category for the “Suncoast Earth Force Water Helpers”. Judy Der and Chequittea Lumpkins received the award in Corpus Christi, TX on March 28th. Congratulations!

Mr. Bryon Griffith, Director, Gulf of Mexico Program and Colleen M. Castille, Secretary, Florida Department of Environmental Protection pose with Judy and Chequittea. More...

31 Mar 2006 - Northside Elementary School in Colleton County, South Carolina was recently informed that they were chosen to receive an amazing grant from the Lowe’s Charitable and Education Foundation. Little did they know, they were the grandprize winners of a $18,000 grant! Over 400 applicants nationwide applied for this grant and according to a Lowe's representative, the reason that this grant proposal stood out among the rest was because of its authentic focus on student involvement. "We received a large number of grants that were professionally written but very few were actually driven by student participation," said the representative. More...

20 Nov 2005 - GBWAP students spent the day at the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern shores of Galveston Bay. More...

28 Mar 2006 - The Earth Force Students at the House of Mercy have been reaching out to their neighborhood. More...

27 Mar 2006 - On Monday, March 27th, GBWAP students gathered at the Lower San Jacinto River for the annual GBF restoration effort! More...

27 Mar 2006 - Students from J.S. Wilson Middle School decided to study geothermal energy as their Earth Force Project. More...

27 Mar 2006 - The 7th graders at Blessed Sacrament School chose to raise public awareness concerning a problem with litter around their school campus. More...

23 Mar 2006 - You can now search for environmental education organizations in Tampa Bay with a few simple keystrokes. This is a valuable tool to find what organizations are in our area and the resources they have to offer. Suncoast Earth Force has created the Tampa Bay Guide to Environmental Education Resources (GEER). More...

21 Mar 2006 - Educators and Students in Six Cities Will Create Sustainable Solutions to Local Environmental Problems

Staples Foundation for Learning announced a $150,000 grant to Earth Force, Inc., a nationally recognized leader in environmental education based in Alexandria, Virginia. This marks the third year that Staples Foundation for Learning and Earth Force have worked together to provide educators and students with opportunities to learn about community environmental issues. More...

21 Mar 2006 - Dr. Orzetti's presentation on pH, streams and the impacts of stormwater runoff More...

21 Feb 2008 - Project Trash - Lesson plans, resources and background information for an Earth Force project dealing with waste management issues. More...

10 Mar 2006 - Mrs. McCulloch's 5th grade science class at Jamison Middle School have joined the GBWAP and have began making plans for a schoolyard habitat at their campus. More...

10 Mar 2006 - View a photo of the GBWAP restoration force that worked together on the April 2005 SJR restoration event. More...

10 Mar 2006 - The Kids In Pearland Preserving the Environment (KIPPERS) from Sablatura Middle School are new members to the GBWAP and have been busy bees making a difference in their community. More...

9 Mar 2006 - Explore background information as your students explore an watershed issue. More...

6 Mar 2006 - List of available Curriculum Re-alignment Materials offered through the Department of Education, Office of Environment and Ecology. More...

3 Mar 2006 - Students at North East Middle School started an Earth Force Explore group because they care about the world and want to improve their community. They learned a lot about the environmental conditions in their community, and finally decided to do their project in the Middle School. More...

3 Mar 2006 - The 5th and 8th grade students at Holy Family School decided that
for their Earth Force project they wanted to work on the invasive species problem that is affecting the Great Lakes. More...

2 Mar 2006 - The first and 2nd grade students at Erie's Montessori Regional Charter School decided they wanted to stop wasting food in their classroom. More...

2 Mar 2006 - Exotic species are defined as species that live in areas outside of their native range. Not all exotic species are invasive; some exotics such as the European honey bee are even beneficial providing benefits to humans and the environment. More...

2 Mar 2006 - This year, the Kindergarten students from Erie's Montessori Regional Charter School,decided to test their school's drinking water. More...

2 Mar 2006 - Download/View a photo of Horsepen Bayou near Bay Area Blvd. More...

1 Mar 2006 -

Northside Elementary School in Colleton County, South Carolina was recently informed that they were chosen to receive an amazing grant from the Lowe’s Charitable and Education Foundation. Little did they know, they were the grandprize winners of a $18,000 grant! Over 400 applicants nationwide applied for this grant and according to a Lowe's representative, the reason that this grant proposal stood out among the rest was because of its authentic focus on student involvement. "We received a large number of grants that were professionally written but very few were actually driven by student participation," said the representative. 

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1 Mar 2006 - View/Download a short presentation on Watersheds, Waterways, and Questions to ask when investigating a local waterway. More...

28 Feb 2006 - On Friday, February 24th, GBWAP students returned to Sheldon Lake to collect data and learn more about the lake ecosystem. During this trip, students were guided and assisted by TPWD aquatic biologists who generously took the time and effort to take students on an airboat to survey the lake and an electrofishing boat for collecting samples. More...

28 Feb 2006 - On Friday, February 24th, GBWAP students returned to Sheldon Lake to collect data and learn more about the lake ecosystem. On this trip, students were guided and assisted by TPWD aquatic biologists who generously took the time and effort to take students on an airboat to survey the lake and an electrofishing boat for collecting samples. More...

17 Feb 2006 - Exotic fish species have previously been considered rare occurrences in Texas’ coastal waters. The wider distribution being seen today in Texas appears to be directly related to accidental or deliberate releases by home aquarist and tropical fish farms. More...

15 Feb 2006 - On February 9, 2006 Earth Force students from three Erie schools completed a Youth Workshop Series where they explored watershed issues in depth. 120 students met four times over the last six months to learn more about specific issues as well as the Earth Force process. More...

14 Feb 2006 - The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes seeks nominations for its 2006 awards. The Barron Prize honors young people ages 8 to 18 who have shown leadership and courage in public service to people and our planet. Each year, ten national winners each receive $2,000 to support their service work or higher education. More...

14 Feb 2006 - J.S. Robinson Earth Force students are sharing their knowledge about the environment with first graders. The EF kids have taken first graders under their wing to teach them why it is important to protect our watershed and the native plants that surround them. More...

12 Feb 2006 - When collecting data on ecosystems, it is important to record information related to availability and quality of habitat. One method of doing this is to sketch the study site. More...

12 Feb 2006 - On February 4th, 2006 the LSJR restoration site was visited to check on the condition of the plants, the fencing, and check for evidence of herbivory. More...

5 Feb 2006 - Nutria (Myocaster coypus) are large rodents (up to 10 lbs) that were brought from South America to Louisiana in the 1930’s. Since their introduction, nutria have increased their range to include wetlands throughout the Gulf of Mexico’s coastal borders. More...

5 Feb 2006 - Cybister Sp. are members of the order Coeloptera and of the family Dytiscidae. Although most members of this order inhabit water at various phases in their life cycle, the Dytiscidae family are wholly aquatic and are known as the "predaceous water beetles". More...

3 Feb 2006 - Blessed Sacrament School students wanted to increase the school’s knowledge on how to reduce waste and garbage in their everyday lives. More...

3 Feb 2006 - The 5th graders at Edison School have adopted McDannel Run and are working at reducing litter and preventing dumping. More...

3 Feb 2006 - Galveston Bay Watershed Academic Partnership students spent another day at the Sheldon Lake system conducting water quality tests, interviewing local residents, collecting aquatic invertebrates, and talking with a local expert. More...

2 Feb 2006 - Great Egrets (Ardea alba) are as beautiful as they are graceful and are abundant in the Lower Galveston Bay Watershed. They can be distinguished from the smaller snowy egrets by their longer necks, yellow bill, long black legs, and black feet. More...

29 Oct 2005 - An ecosystem is an interactive system of a living community and its non-living physical environment. The living, or biotic, community includes the populations of organisms in a certain region, each with their own role to play in maintaining the health of the system. More...

29 Oct 2005 - A watershed is the area of land that contributes water to a designated waterway such as a stream, river, lake, or estuary. The boundary that surrounds the watershed is called the watershed divide. More...

27 Jan 2006 - The Educational Programs Manager for the Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF) visited GBWAP campuses as a part of their Galveston Bay Ambassador Program. More...

27 Jan 2006 - Earth Force students from the Chinquapin School started their study of the Sheldon Lake Reservoir located in the Lower Galveston Bay watershed. More...

27 Jan 2006 - Mary Ann Weber from the Houston Audubon Society (HAS) visited the the senior class at the Chinquapin school to help out with their watershed inventory. More...

27 Jan 2006 - Ms. Cranford's class at McDonald Jr. High has joined GBWAP and has big plans for the next several months. More...

1 Jan 2006 - The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has joined GBWAP in providing environmental service-learning opportunities for students in the Galveston Bay area. More...

25 Jan 2006 - This activity will help students understand interconnections between their community and their watershed. More...

24 Jan 2006 - Brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) can easily be identified by their chestnut and white necks, white heads with yellow crowns, brown streaked rump and tail, blackish-brown belly, grayish bill and pouch, and black legs and feet. More...

24 Jan 2006 - Cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.) are fish-eating waterbirds inhabiting many waterways in the Americas. They can be easily identified by their long bill with a downturned hook at the end. More...

21 Jan 2006 - Waterways contaminated by high bacteria levels is a major issue in coastal areas. More...

21 Jan 2006 - This activity introduces students to the use of aquatic invertebrates as indicators of water quality. More...

19 Jan 2006 - Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) are one of the largest members of the minnow family. More...

16 Jan 2006 - American Alligators are some of the most popular residents of the Trinity River Delta. They can often be seen lying on a log and soaking in some of the suns rays or slowly gliding along the shore line seeking out their next meal. More...

16 Jan 2006 - Download a b&w map of the Galveston Bay Estuary System. More...

10 Jan 2006 - Dr. George Guillen currently serves as the Director of the Environmental Institute of Houston and is a consultant for the GBWAP. More...

16 Jan 2006 - This activity introduces students to the links between land use and water quality and gives them practice working together and speaking in front of an audience. More...

16 Jan 2006 - Nutrients are important components for healthy aquatic ecosystems but can cause poor water quality when levels are too high. More...

15 Jan 2006 - View an aerial photo of Sheldon Lake (Nov 2004) More...

15 Jan 2006 - Dr. Cindy Howard is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Houston-Clear Lake and is working with GBWAP as a consultant and principal investigator. More...

15 Jan 2006 - View a photo of the Clear Creek Hwy 288 monitoring site (July 2005). More...

14 Jan 2006 - Green tree frogs (Hyla cinerea) are common to Southern and Southeastern regions of the U.S. More...

3 Jan 2006 - Elizabeth Shelton is a research assistant at the Galveston Bay Information Center at Texas A&M Galveston. Elizabeth Supports the Galveston Bay Watershed Academic Partnership (GBWAP) as a resource for current and archived documents and web pages related to waterways in the lower Galveston Bay Watershed. More...