Dear Sue,
As another school year draws to a close, we wanted to thank everyone for their efforts to "Go Green" throughout the school year. So many teachers and students worked diligently to make their schools, neighborhoods and communities a better place. We love hearing about worm bins being used to compost lunch scraps and schools making efforts to conserve paper and use their paper twice (and in some cases 4 times!) to save our trees. Some schools conducted wasted audits to help keep natural resources out of the garbage and back into circulation and others held collections of gym shoes, school supplies and books for the same reason. The list of programs, projects, and teachers & students willing to volunteer to make a difference goes on and on.
We are so proud and, yet, so humbled by all of your efforts and commitment. Sometimes the news & media make things seem so hopeless. But, when we look at all of those young eager faces during our programs, we know that there is always hope and it is sitting right in front of us. All of you make a world of difference!
Thanks for all your support,
The SCARCE Team
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Congratulations to 
The 2009 Schools
Earning or Re-CertifyingEARTH FLAGS!
What do Pop Bottle Fish, Recycling Posters, Gym Shoe Collections, and Worms in the classroom all have in common? They are all projects used to teach students about saving our environment and to help schools earn their Earth Flags.
SCARCE is excited to announce the names of
the 2009 Recipients of the EARTH FLAG!
- Benjamin Middle School, West Chicago
- Elm School, Hinsdale
- Fry Elementary School, Naperville
- Granger Middle School, Aurora
- Indian Trail School, Downers Grove
- Lake Park School, Addison
- Naper Elementary School, Naperville
- Oak Elementary School, Hinsdale
- Our Lady of Peace, Darien
- Pleasant Lane, Lombard
- Reba O'Steck School, Aurora
- St Isidore School, Bloomingdale
- Stella May Swartz Elementary School, Oakbrook Terrace
- Walker School, Clarendon Hills
- Washington School, Wheaton
If your school is interested in earning or re-certifying their Earth Flag for the 2009-2010 school year, contact us now so you can start early!
Don't remember the steps, visit the SCARCE website and click on Earth Flag on the left.
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 Hats Off to North School!
North School in District 45 in Villa Park has been honored with two awards! The first grade teachers received a 2009 Illinois Department of Natural Resources Schoolyard Habitat Action Grant. With the grant, they will purchase plants for the school['s courtyard to create a butterfly garden.
Also, a fourth grader, Melinda Boehm, was named a statewide winner in the Illinois EPA Pathways, Poetry, Prose & Poster Contest. She created a poster using the theme, "Your Water Footprint, Keep It Small, Keep It Clean!"
Congratulations on both accomplishments!
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| Upcoming Teacher Workshops |
For 3rd-12th Grade Teachers
Wednesday, June 11 & 12, 2008
7:30 am - 4:30 pm
Do you enjoy hands-on fun? Join us as we splash around, explore & investigate in the water. Register for our educational watershed workshop; we'll hop on the bus, pull up our boots, step into the river, and learn about the quality of the waters of our own streams. We'll conduct water tests, and we'll identify benthic macro-invertebrates - those interesting bottom-dwelling mussels, crayfish, etc., that serve as indicators of water quality. We will even climb to the skies to learn - about green roofs.
The first day will be held in the classroom building watershed models and more, to learn what we (and our students) can do to protect our watersheds and keep them clean. Day 2 is filled with visits to several watersheds and stormwater management solution sites. Jump into this class with both feet!
FEE: $15 (AM & PM snacks provided)
CREDIT: 15 CPDUs (FREE) or 1 Graduate Credit from Aurora University ($100)
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Saving Energy is Just a Click Away!
Take a look at "Blackle", a search engine created by Heap Media and powered by Google. It is designed to save energy because it eliminates the colors and images that use additonal electricity.
'Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." Roberson et al, 2002'
The home page actually records the energy saved by using Blackle.
Log onto Blackle to see the site and to set as your homepage.
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 Is There a Phantom Lurking Around the Corner in Your School?
According to the 2009 PC Energy Report, there are approximately 108 million PCs used in business and about half of those are not properly turned off each night. The "Phantom" (or "Vampire") energy used to power these computers amounts to over $2.8 billion and over 87 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emitted into our atmosphere each year.
The question is: How many computers is your school leaving on during the day plus evenings, weekends & holidays that are not being used? How much could your school be saving? PLUS, how much would your carbon footprint be reduced?
The last page of the PC Energy Report US 2009 shows how these numbers were calculated. Log onto 1E Energy Awareness Campaign.
If you want to see how much energy something uses (phantom or not), use a Kill a Watt meter.
Simply plug your appliance, cell phone charger, computer, etc. into the Kill a Watt and then plug that into the outlet. This handy little device will tell you just how much energy you are using - especially when it is off! If you really want to be shocked, try plugging your plasma TV into it. According to Green Living Online, the average family wastes $100 to $200 a year on vampire energy. Click Kill a Watt to get more information.
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It's "Hairy" Business
Matter of Trust, Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is to "link ideas, spark action and materialize sustainable systems", is sponsoring a program which takes hair from beauty salons that would normally just go into a landfill and is, instead, using it to clean up oil spills. It makes sense - many people complain about oily hair. It's not that their hair is oily, it just feels that way because the hair is so good at absorbing oil! It's a natural fit! The hair mats are used for emergency oil spills, oil drip pans, leaky cars, machinery, etc.
Want more details on this and other really cool programs? Log onto Matter of Trust (MofT)
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Save $, Save Ink, Save the Environment with
A new font has been developed which uses 20% less ink. The idea behind this font came from the developers at SPRANQ Creative Communications in the Netherlands. The whole purpose of this font is to create environmental awareness. The font will use less ink, thereby allowing those using it to buy less cartridges and, consequently saving money. SPRANQ is offering this font as a free download for anyone to use.
So, give it a try! Log onto Ecofont and get your free download.
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Ironman Should Check Out These Cereals!
Have you ever wondered when you look at a list of ingredients on your cereal box what "fortified with iron" really means? Check out this video and try it with your students - it's amazing what a magnet can pull out of your cereal! Log onto Iron in Your Cereal.
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| Want to Find Out About Upcoming Environmental Events?
Click below to view the public events
for May & the beginning of June
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CELL PHONE Collections in June
to Benefit SCARCE
The following banks will be collecting phones during the month of June. Proceeds from the recycled phones will benefit SCARCE and the Book Rescue.
If you have an old cell phone, please consider dropping it off at one of these locations:
Hinsdale Bank & Trust
25 East First Street
Hinsdale, IL 60521
Community Bank of Willowbrook
6262 South Route 83
Willowbrook, IL 60527
Community Bank of Downers Grove
1111 Warren Avenue
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Riverside Bank
17 East Burlington Street
Riverside, IL 60546
Thanks for your help!
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DuPage County Rain Barrel & Native Plant Sale,  DuPage County Fairgrounds, 2015 W Manchester Rd, Wheaton, May 30, 8:30am-Noon
Rain Barrels will be available for sale for $70. Native plants will also be for sale. For more information, log onto DuPage County
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Document Shredding, Community Bank of Willowbrook, 6262 S Route 83, Willowbrook, May 30, Noon-2pm
Up to 3 boxes of personal documentswill be accepted for shredding. For more information log onto DuPage County.
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 Latex Paint Recycling
Resumes June 1-August 14,
Woodridge Greene Valley Wastewater Treatment Facility, 7900 S Route 53, Woodridge
Monday - Friday from 8:00am to=
2:00 pm
Selected Saturdays (June 13, July 11, August 8) from 8:00am to 2:00pm
Residents can drop off their usable unwanted latex paint during the designated days & times. (Usable Paint should be less than 10 years old & never frozen nor mixed with other products.)
Recycled paint will be distributed free of charge at the same location.
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Naperville Reuse & Recyle Extravaganza
Alcatel-Lucent, 1960 Lucent Lane (access from Freedom Dr off Warrenville Rd), June 6, 9am-3pm
Accepted Items: Bicycles and Bike Parts, Books, Cell Phones, Electronics, Eyeglasses, Flags, Hearing Aids, Ink Jet Cartridges, Keys, Scrap Metal, Tattered American Flags
Unacceptable items: air conditioners, animal carriers, crates and leashes, console televisions, construction material, gym shoes, household hazardous waste, lawnmowers, sheets, towels and tires.
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Celebrate the Burnham Plan of Chicago in DuPage
The Landmark Conservancy is making plans for a special exhibit celebrating 100 years of theBurnham and Bennett Plan of Chicago during November 13-December 12 at Mayslake Peabody Estatein Oak Brook. More detailed information will be available in the future on the exhibit at the Landmark Conservancy's website at www.landmarkconservancy.org along with ideasto help teachers learn how to incorporate this exhibit into activities for middle and high school classes in social studies, geography and art.
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We hope that you have the time this summer to smell the flowers and to know that your efforts are contributing to their beauty.
Ha=
ve a GREAT Summer!
Environmentally yours,
The SCARCE Team
Scarce Environmental Education |
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DuPage County |
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