“Connecting Kids to Nature” Activity Pages

We are creating a series of kids activity pages based upon PLT activities for “non-educators” (e.g. parents and families) to engage their children, grandchildren, neighbors’ or friends’ children in the outdoors. The following activities are available and posted online at http://www.learnoutside.org/familyactivities.html:

Activity 22: Trees as Habitats From their leafy branches to their tangled roots, trees provide a habitat for a host of plants and animals. In this activity, children will inventory the plants and animals that live in, on, and around trees and discover how plants and animals depend on trees in many ways.

Activity 23: The Fallen Log It’s amazing how many things live in and on rotting logs. In this activity, kids become familiar with some of those organisms by observing fallen logs. They’ll gain an understanding of how decomposition takes place and a better appreciation for microhabitats and communities.

Activity 64: Looking at Leaves In this activity, children will take a closer look at leaves and find out more about leaf characteristics and how leaves can be used to identify plants.
Activity 65: Bursting BudsIn early spring, the tiny, bright green leaves of many trees burst forth. Where do the leaves come from? How do they form? In this activity, children will find the answers to these questions through observation and research.

Happy Earth Day!

This Earth Day, Get Kids Outside!
Join PLT, the No Child Left Inside Coalition and Earth Day Network to take kids outside to learn on the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, 2010. Earth Day is a meaningful, simple way for educators to integrate environmental education into their classrooms and schools, and PLT activities provide educators with easy ways to get children outdoors and learning about nature. Some recommendations for suggested PLT outdoor activities for a variety of grade levels can be found on PLT’s Every Student Learns Outside website.
In addition, the Earth Day Network can help with online Earth Day and environmental education resources. For example, the Earth Day 40th anniversary environmental history curriculum unit is available at www.earthday.org/earthdaycurriculum. Also check out Earth Day’s Educators Network for more standard-based lessons, school greening tips, and grants for teachers. Other resources to help you organize Earth Day events, including a media advisory, can be found online at: www.nclicoalition.org.

EE Legislation Update
Environmental Education Is Receiving Much-Needed Attention in Washington, D.C.
Federal education policy is changing rapidly. More and more decisions are being made at the federal level that used to be up to states and local school districts. That’s why it’s good to see that Congress and the Administration are recognizing important subjects, like environmental education, in their plans. The House Education and Labor Committee has identified NCLI as one of their top four pieces of legislation for the year, which is a huge boost for environmental education and a true testament to all of the great support for the topic from educators and others across the country.

The U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has laid out the President's blueprint for the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which many people are now calling by it's previous name the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). As you know, we've been working to get the No Child Left Inside Act (NCLI) included as part of the NCLB/ESEA reauthorization.

President Obama included funding for environmental education in his budget request for the U.S. Department of Education this year, and he also included it in his blueprint for ESEA/NCLB reauthorization. However, in both instances, environmental education is included under a broad “Well Rounded Education” competitive grant program. While this helps to emphasize the importance of environmental education as a priority at the federal level, it does not address some of the key components included in NCLI—particularly the environmental education literacy plans and an adequate amount of funding.

As part of the NCLI Coalition, the national PLT staff and the American Forest Foundation are continuing efforts to get NCLI included in the NCLB/ESEA reauthorization. They continue to urge members of both the House and Senate education committees to include NCLI in their committee bills for ESEA/NCLB. AFF submitted a letter to the House Education and Labor Committee, urging them to include NCLI in their bill.

On the funding front, the appropriations process for 2011—like many pieces of legislation—was stalled by the healthcare debates. AFF submitted testimony for the record on key federal funding priorities to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. As part of the testimony, we urged the members of the Subcommittee to increase funding for environmental education grants through the National Environmental Education Act (NEEA). This program is funded through the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and we are urging them to fully fund the program at $14 million this year. This program has provided funding to PLT in the past, and we'll be following the appropriations process closely.