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| Book Rescue |
| Our Book Rescue project "rescues" books that are no longer needed, and gets them into the hands of children in need. Please keep this project in mind when your schools gets rid of books or if you need some books for your classroom.
BookRescue Summer Hours:
MEMORIAL TO LABOR DAY:
-Monday - Friday
9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Normal Book Rescue Hours: LABOR TO MEMORIAL DAY:
-Monday - Friday
9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
-Tuesday evenings until 7 PM
-The 2nd Saturday of the month 9- 11 a.m.
Location 799 Roosevelt Road
Building 2, Suite 108
Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137
8:00AM-5:00PM
NEEDED! Reading Books -- If you are doing spring cleaning, we are in need of reading books for ages newborn - high school |
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| September 2008 Ripples
Volume 20, Issue 1 |
September, 2008 |
Dear Earth Stewards,
Welcome back to school and the International Year of Planet Earth! This is the time of new beginnings for schools when GREAT plans and expectations are set for the year. We can't wait to be a part of it!
This issue begins Ripples' 20th Volume. Last year we rocked your "ECO" world by going completely electronic – what a success!!! We saved trees, fossil fuel, and money!
To make Ripples even easier to use, we have more exciting & efficient changes coming!Ripples will be divided into 2 shorter newsletters that are easier to read & to access the information you need:
þ Ripples, Your Teaching Resource – This is a shorter version of our newsletter. The spotlight will be on the teachers, students, and schools of DuPage, and their eco-efforts. It will include articles, photos and information about new products, eco-books, technologies, trash to treasure crafts, lesson plans, and other green resources.
þ Keeping Eco-Current – This is an eco-list for educators which will inform you of upcoming workshops, special events, VIP dates, contest & grant deadlines, & other current environmental info to add to your calendars.
Let us know about your schools' upcoming environmental events, programs, happenings! We love pictures & want to tell others what is going on to give everyone GREAT ECO Ideas!
Kay McKeen
PS: Please let the new teachers at your school know about us & all we have to offer to DuPage educators.
Visit our website: www.s-c-a-r-c-e.org to subscribe.
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 Congratulations '07-08 Eco-Award Schools
We are proud to announce that Southeast Alternative School, part of the SASED Co-op, was the 14th school to earn its Earth Flag in the '07-'08 year. As of now 289 (90%) of DuPage County's 326 K-12 schools have earned the Earth Flag! (We are truly anxious to help the last "thirty-something" schools in DuPage earn their Earth Flag. We hope to hear from you soon!)
With the beginning of the '08-09 year, SCARCE is really EXCITED about the calls we have already received from schools who want to Re-Certify their Earth Flags! If you are unsure if your school is one of them, or if it qualifies for Recertification, just give us a call! We would love to have the "Greenest" schools in the country!
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Saving For a Rainy Day - The Rain Barrel Program
 We are thrilled to announce an INNOVATIVE, ECO-FRIENDLY Program offered by the DuPage County Stormwater Management Committee and SCARCE: The Rain Barrel Program.
The Rain Barrel Program will provide every public elementary school in DuPage county with a rain barrel to use to teach students about water conservation and stormwater management. But, your school has to let us know if it wants one! Educational materials that make connections to your curriculum are being developed in conjunction with the program. Ideas for Eco Clubs, science, math, art, American history and language arts will be included. Plus, we are developing other activities such as crossword puzzles and word finds. Our goal is to have schools incorporate the importance of using rain barrels into their environmental curriculum.
You can be creative with these! Instructions for painting the rain barrels will be included. Each grade can have a section of the barrel to decorate or a contest could be held to find the most innovative and creative environmental design. Whatever your school chooses to do with the rain barrel, the county is interested in finding out about your activities. It would like digital pictures with descriptions of the various ways your school has incorporated water and other environmental issues into your curriculum.
If you haven't heard about this yet, ask your principal. Soon, your school can start saving "ON" a rainy day "FOR" a drier one
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Fish Swim "Up-Hall" At Pleasant Hill
 The 2nd graders at Pleasant Hill School got busy and created their own "school" (of pop-bottle fish), to reinforce the concept of reducing the waste that goes to the landfill after a 3 R's presentation from SCARCE last spring. The project was so successful the colorful fish now swim up-hall - up a Pleasant Hall at the Winfield school!
According to teachers Phyllis Cayman & Cynthia Campbell, the fish "serve as a reminder to everyone that caring for the environment can be both fun AND rewarding."
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Very Important Planets DATES
You'll "Fall" For Our Colorful Teacher Workshops
From now on, you will find this information in Keeping Eco-Current, our new monthly publication of important dates and current events just for teachers.
APPROVED IL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROVIDERS SINCE TURN OF CENTURY ANNOUNCE UPCOMING FALL WORKSHOPS!
THESE TEACHER WORKSHOPS ARE FUN, FAST-PACED, FREE, HANDS-ON & ONE-OF-A-KIND! LOTS OF EDUCATION & RESOURCES TOO! |
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K-12 ECO-CLUB SPONSORS' WORKSHOP
TUES, SEPT 16 or THURS, SEPT 18, 4:30-6 PM, 1.5 CPDUs
þ We will help you prepare for this year's meetings
þ We have a host of ideas, activities, projects, and programs for you and your club members
þ Check out the posters, videos, activity sheets, brochures and all the resources available to you at no charge
þ See dozens of "trash to treasure" craft ideas
þ Learn about an upcoming opportunity for club member reps to convene w/other HS and college eco-club reps
þ Participants will receive fun products made from recycled materials to give to your club member
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ENVIROSCAPE WATERSHED MODEL WORKSHOP
FOR 3RD-12TH TEACHERS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 4:30-6:30 PM, 2 CPDUs
Prepare for World Water Monitoring Month 9/18 to 10/18. Every DPC public middle school has received a model & we have several for other schools to borrow. Teachers must be trained to use this unique model of a watershed.
þ Take the class, borrow the model, and drench your students with wonderful water ed
þ Cross language and cultural barriers
þ Take the complexity out of understanding serious environmental issues
þ Discover and learn to use the model that offers a birds-eye view of a watershed
þ Participants, trained to use it, may borrow the model for use in the classroom
þ ATTN: teachers of geography, science, health, spec ed (this model is hands-on & so visual), all interested educators
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GROUNDWATER FLOW MODEL WORKSHOP
FOR MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 8:00 AM - NOON, 4 CPDUS
Take advantage of this opportunity to expand or improve your environmental or science education program. We received a donation of 25 groundwater flow models (each worth approx. $200) which can be shared with public middle schools in the county! MS teachers are invited to attend the workshop. (Two teachers must attend for a MS to be given a model.) Participants will receive teacher training as they build their own sand-filled Plexiglas model that will allow their students to "see" groundwater and how it moves. All other K-12 public, private, and parochial teachers are invited to learn how to use the model to borrow for their own students.
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MAKE 'N TAKE A NATURAL RESOURCES GLOBE WORKSHOP
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 4:30 - 6:30 PM, 2 CPDUS
ONE OF OUR MOST POPULAR, HANDS-ON, WORKSHOPS!
 This very special interactive tool will entice your students to learn about natural resources: the differences between annually renewable, rapidly renewable, and non-renewable; where they come from; and how they are used. Participants will make a "Natural Resources Globe" - a one-of-a-kind teaching tool - and fill it with hands-on examples and learning games that will delight their students as they learn. A recent participant wrote: "The great activities (are) instantly useable; hands-on! Meaningful; will make a great impact!" Intended for teachers of Natural Resources, Alternative and Special Ed, ESL, and Geography; Environmental Club Sponsors; and all interested elementary-level educators.
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GREEN BUILDING WORKSHOP & TOUR for TEACHERS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Details still under construction - They will be linked to the Teacher Workshop page of our website for when the become available.
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"Very Important Planet" Community Dates Upcoming Environmental Events for Everyone
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Kane-DuPage Soil & Water Conservation District
Soil & Water Stewardship Poster Contest Winners: Three DuPage County students won the grand prize in their grade divisions in last spring's KDSWC Poster Contest. Congratulations all! (Look for information about the 2009 contest in March.)
þ Rachel P. (7-9) and Yvette R. (4-6), both from Woodridge
þ Conor W. (K-3), of Villa Park
$500 Mini-Grant: Requests for the KDSWC Arbor Day Mini Grant are due October 6, 2008. http://www.kanedupageswcd.org/pdfs/ArborDayRFP07.pdf
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 Don't Drop The Ball With This Collection!
Have any gently-used, no longer wanted volley/soccer/basket/ inflatable sports balls rolling around the gym or your garage? Bounce onto http://www.reboundsports.org/how.php to learn how you can keep the ball rolling right on over to needy kids 'round the world. Collection on Friday Sept 12 in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.
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Proper Retirement For (Very) Old Glory
The American flag is a time-honored symbol of our country's unity. What  does your school do with its faded and torn American Flags? All major veterans' organizations and Scout groups conduct flag retirement ceremonies. Old tattered and torn Stars & Stripes may be donated to your school Scout group, or dropped off many places, for a proper flag retirement ceremony:
þ Upcoming Recycling Events in Downers Grove, Lombard, and Wayne Township (see VIP Dates)
þ Cantigny in Wheaton, 668-5161
þ Lisle Convention & Visitors' Bureau, 4746 Main Street, 630-769-1000 (8:30am-5pm)
þ Most American Legions
þ Most VFW Posts
þ http://www.legion.org/members/locators/posts (type in your town to locate a nearby post)
þ http://www.dupageco-il-vetsmemorial.org/organizations.asp for a list of DuPage veterans' organizations
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Spring 2008 Gym Shoe Rescue "Footnotes"
 It's not the size of the shoe, but the size of the rescue that counts! The 2008 athletic shoe collection was a foot-stompin' success, and the final numbers are in:
þ 18,000 pairs were collected in 5 weeks.
þ 9,000 pairs were rescued and sent to various agencies for reuse in the following:
3 Local Organizations that help low-income people: PADS, the Center for HomelessVeterans, Wayside Cross and New Orleans Katrina victims
Ghana
Rwanda
Tanzania
the Philippines
India
ROMP (non-profit providing prosthetic rehab & education in developing countries)
þ 9,000 pairs were sent to NIKE for recycling into "NikeGrind" to make new products, from footballs to football fields.
Whew! Here's a 36,000 foot-long thank you note to the hundreds of schools, businesses, churches, groups and individuals that stepped up to help make this our biggest shoe rescue ever! Beyond all the natural resources and landfill space you have saved, you have given 9,000 people in need the chance to try to fill your shoes!
Thanks for the GREAT response! You have made more of a difference that you know!
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Start Off The Year Talking About "Reduction"
How many boxes of paper are consumed at your school each year? How long does it take to "grow" paper? Did you know it takes a 25 year old, 20-22 foot tall tree to make just two boxes of copy paper?
A common denominator at school (and almost anywhere) is paper; everyone uses it. Changing a few habits will reduce the amount of paper usage in your classroom/school, and go a long way to help save $$$, landfill space, and most importantly, the natural resource, trees. Make a few policy changes and make a big difference:
þ One note home per family
þ Use both sides of paper in the classroom; place a "be nice & use me twice" paper box in the classroom for paper that is clean on one side
þ Purchase only paper with recycled-content
þ Set your copier to default to copying both sides
þ Electronic newsletters, report cards, and e-mail messages to parents use NO paper
þ Recycle all classroom/office/magazines/cardboard boxes/art/news and ALL papers
A great visual that will intrigue your students to learn more, and help introduce the new rules and a discussion about the value of reduction: make a simple display with two copy paper boxes & a poster, photo, or model of a tree.
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Back To School Fair
The Catholic Charities Back to School Fair is held annually at DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton, to help "at-risk" DuPage County families prepare their children to go back to school.  As always, SCARCE was there with truckloads of books (10,000+) for children and their parents to choose for themselves. We brought many, many backpacks-full of school supplies, and every last binder, crayon, first aid kit, tote, and more was chosen by the 1,053 families that attended this year's Fair. The numbers proved to be record-breaking as more and more families struggle to make ends meet.
A special thanks to those who contributed both time and supplies to help make this event so successful.
SIMS, West Chicago - umbrellas, notepads, Frisbees & memo notebooks
Carol Stream Rotary - first aid kits
Glen Ellyn Kiwanis - provided a truck & manpower to move our books
We could never help these many children without the help of volunteers. Check out our website for some great photos of the Du Page Unitarian Universalist Church volunteers, the "DUU-Gooders," as they help prepare (sort, box, etc.) books for the Back to School 2008 Fair. Thanks, Duudes!
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Clean Up The World Weekend:September 19-21
 Clean Up the World Weekend is an international event held globally on the 3rd weekend in September. The organization encourages people from around the world to organize "Clean Up" events in their local areas.
Last year, millions of people worldwide participated. To see worldwide events that happened in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean, and West Asia, log onto the website. YOU can get involved, too! Grab some students, fellow teachers, or a few friends and begin at your own school or community by picking up, cleaning up and beautifying the world around you!
http://www.cleanuptheworld.org/en/Activities/clean-up-the-world-weekend-2008.html
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Let's Lift Air Quality Up Where It Belongs
 This year, air quality at school sure has a great chance to improve. For one thing, it is the 2nd year for Illinois' "no idling" law, which requires school buses idle for no more than 10 minutes. You can take simple steps, such as these five, to lift-off a Clear the Air at & around the School initiative, for your students, staff and community.
- Some districts include, as part of their contract, bus drivers must turn off engines as soon as they pull up to school, and may not start them up again until the bus is fully loaded.
- Many schools ask parents to refrain from idling their own engines while awaiting their kids.
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Schools & districts must use green cleaning supplies, which helps reduce asthma triggers in their schools.
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Celebrate Walk & Bike to School Day on October 2nd to promote healthy habits and safe walking & biking all ear, and help curb auto emissions in your community.
- We can all help by wearing no heavy perfumes or dry-cleaned clothing to school, not using smelly markers or aerosol cans.
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Like To Bike? Hike? Check Out DPC Web Site!  Did you know that DuPage County is home to 462 miles of bikeway facilities? Working in partnership with municipalities, park districts, townships, the Forest Preserve District and others, DuPage County and the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference recently announced completion of the new DuPage County Regional Bikeway Plan. The plan identifies a County regional trail network totaling 298 miles with 191 existing miles constructed to date and a local network of community bikeways totaling 471 miles with 271 miles completed.
To obtain a copy of the DuPage County Regional Bikeway Plan, send your mailing address to dfagan@dupageco.org. Maps, trail guides and information on current and future bicycle projects are available online.
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 More Laptops For Guatemalan Children
Last spring, the DuPage Regional Office of Education, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Central DuPage-AM and SCARCE, sponsored a laptop collection to help support very poor schoolchildren in Koban, Guatemala. The project was recently expanded to another Guatemalan community, Rio Palmeras, and all its residents have pooled their efforts and talents to help to build a new school. If you'd like to donate a laptop, bring it to SCARCE. The laptops are converted to solar power, so the laptop needs to work, but not the battery. Thanks!
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 Ocean "Dead Zones" Increasing Dramatically
Ocean dead zones are nutrient-loaded, oxygen-deprived ("hypoxic") places that no longer can support marine life. (Right: Dead zone at Louisiana's Gulf coast.) Researchers have discovered more than 400 dead zones around the world; they continue to grow larger and more toxic, and now cover a combined area bigger than the state of Oregon. But how do dead zones come to be?
Dead zones are the result of an excess of nitrogen (primarily from farm fertilizers, sewage, and fossil-fuel burning emissions from factories and vehicles), which flows untreated into our seas, and depletes them of their oxygen. Algae produces rapidly in nitrogen-overloaded waters; as the algae sink and decompose, the seafloor (the "benthic" zone) becomes unable to support bottom-dwellers. Annelids and other sources of food for fish and crustaceans also are killed off by low oxygen levels.
This fairly simple, but deadly, process has caused the doubling, every decade since 1960, of hypoxic (or dead) zones around the world. In the 8/14/08 New York Times, Alan Lewitus of National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration warns us, the dramatic increase in dead zones is "one of the major problems we face (for) the health of coastal ecosystems."
Sources: http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/scifocus/oceanColor/dead_zones.shtml (NASA),
Science Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post
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PUMPKIN JACK & The Circle of Life
 Will Hubbell has written and illustrated a great little book about the life cycle of a jack-o-lantern. The story follows a pumpkin through an entire year - from its glory days through backyard decomposition and eventually back again, as a new pumpkin emerges from old Jack's seeds. This October, check out this delightful, straightforward introduction to these concepts for young listeners and readers
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We're proud as peacocks because
the Central DuPage AM Rotary
has just named
SCARCE
"2008 Business of the Year!" | |
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