December’s sustainability spotlight is shining on the garden club coordinator at Dawes Middle School, Lora Carpenter-Janike! With support from The Career Academy students and the CLC coordinator, new raised garden beds were built for Dawes in 2020. Since then, they have been thriving with help from the Dawes garden club students and their coordinator. [more]
We now have a sign up form! If you are interested in a sustainability experience for those PLC Zero Day schedules or some other type of grade level assembly at your school, please fill out this INTEREST FORM. Topics for activities range from waste to energy to climate action.
The 10th Annual Recycle Holiday Lights Drive benefiting Eastridge Elementary School PTO, the Science Focus Program, and Lincoln Fire Fighters has arrived! Lights are collected from November 15th - January 10th at drop off sites all over Lincoln. There are collection bins located at all of the Lincoln Fire Stations, outside of the LPS Science Focus Program, and in the Eastridge Elementary parking lot. Over the years more than 91,000 pounds of holiday lights have been recycled through this program!
Lights can be in working or nonworking condition. Once collected, they will be delivered to Scrap Central Inc. in Omaha to be separated and recycled.
Lincoln Public Schools Sustainability Team hosted their 2nd quarter school gardens gathering on Tuesday, November 15th at The Career Academy. The theme was “Harvesting Connections” and the event brought together community partners, school staff, parents, volunteers, and neighbors who are interested in supporting gardens and outdoor learning activities. [more]
The Arbor Day Foundation is dedicated to planting trees and has a worldwide impact, but did you know they are also headquartered right here in Lincoln, Nebraska? AND they have started a program specifically for schools called Tree Campus K-12. The program encourages schools and educators to create purposeful opportunities for students to interact with trees by offering resources as well as a framework for becoming recognized and celebrating their efforts with their community. Participating is simple:
Tree Campus Team: maintain a group with representation from staff, students, and community
Education Plan: conduct activities that connect student to trees and their global benefits
Hands-On Experience: Engage students in a project that brings the school’s tree spirit to the community
Arbor Day Observance: Hold a celebration of trees within the school or the community
With clean economy jobs on the rise there are more opportunities being presented for high school teachers to include information about green jobs in their curriculum. USGBC is now offering LEED Green Associate prep courses for teachers to designate themselves as leaders in green building knowledge to help students prepare for green careers. There are two course sessions in 2023, the first from Jan. 10 - Feb. 28 and the second from May 2 - June 20.
