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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.
Jan 12, 2008 9-11 am
Normal Book Rescue Hours: LABOR DAY 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
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| January 2008 Ripples
Volume 19, Issue
5 |
January, 2008 |
|
Dear
Earth Stewards,
Happy New
Year! This is the year the United Nations has declared the
"International Year of Planet Earth". What a fitting time for
an Earth Flag! If you haven't yet made plans for your school
to earn or recertify a flag, there is still time to set the
big blue ball in motion. Teachers and schools can commemorate
this extra-special year many ways: schedule a staff
in-service, a classroom presentation, or an all-school
assembly; and/or register to attend a teacher workshop. Give
us a call; we look forward to celebrating IYPE with you and
your students!
Environmentally
yours, Kay McKeen
Your
email address will be kept strictly for use of send Scarce
email and will not be shared.
If you have other comments, questions, or suggestions,
we'd love to hear from you. Contact information is at the
bottom of this e-mail.
Our newsletters come from scarce.ecoed@sbcglobal.net.
Please take a minute to add this email address to your address
book to make sure your spam filter does not block it. If you'd
like to forward to a friend, use the link at the bottom of the
newsletter.
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|
 2008: UN INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF
PLANET
EARTH!
To
promote wise - sustainable - use of the Earth's resources, and
to encourage "better planning and management to reduce risks
for the world's inhabitants," the UN has proclaimed 2008 the International Year of
Planet Earth (IYPE): Earth Science for Society. This
biggest-ever effort to promote the Earth sciences, and
"greater and more effective use by society of the knowledge
accumulated by the world's 400,000 Earth scientists", will be
officially launched at UNESCO (United Nations Educational
Scientific & Cultural Organization) headquarters in Paris
on February 12. Eight research themes (each of which is
described in a downloadable brochure) have been chosen for
IYPE. The themes include:
Groundwater:
Reservoir for a Thirsty
Planer?
Hazards:
Minimizing Risk,
Maximizing Awareness
Earth
& Health:
Building a Safer
Environment
Climate
Change:
The 'Stone
Tape'
Megacities:
Going Deeper, Building
Safer
Deep
Earth:
From Crust to
Core
Ocean:
Abyss of
Time
Soil:
Earth's Living
Skin
Earth
& Life:
Origins of
Diversity
Resources:
Sustainable Power for
Sustainable Development
Additional brochures available include: Planet
Earth in our Hands:
The Rationale for
IYPE and Outreach
- Bringing Earth Sciences to Everyone:
How IYPE's Outreach Program works.
The
ultimate goal of IYPE is "to capture people's imagination with
the exciting knowledge we possess about our planet, and to see
that knowledge used to make Earth a safer, healthier and
wealthier place for our children and grandchildren." Download
the brochures at:
http://yearofplanetearth.org/index.html
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 Research Project Inspires Pleasant
Hill
3rd
Grader To Change
World
The
3rd graders of Pleasant Hill in Winfield (Wheaton
Dist. 200) have been working on a big project - researching
arctic animals - in order to write expository papers and
create power points. Teacher Annie Coulter Murray contacted us
about one student's response to this project. Madison D. was
so moved by what she was discovering in her reading that she
resolved to make a difference; she wrote the following letter
about what she and her fellow 3rd graders could do
and asked Annie if she could read it to her class:
Dear
3 M: Most of the arctic animals we are discovering are being
global warmed. We can help by turning off things like TV's
computers & lights (when your done using them.) We can
also do good to our earth by: picking up garbage, and even
using the 3 r's reduce reuse recycle! To make us and animals
and the earth Happy! Some Arctic animals are being harmed,
because of us human beings. We do not want to hurt anyone or
anything!
So
help your earth! Use creative ideas how to help the earth. Or
use some I listed! Even the smallest thing can make a
difference to our earth!
Using bottles or any garbage to reuse is great! Make
art projects! But if you have a banana peal or food that you
are throwing away that would probably not work well! I hope I
have inspired you 3M to go help the earth!
-Madison D.
Annie
wanted to share this letter and photo with her fellow
educators because one of her favorite rewards of teaching is
"when students surprise you with their individual initiatives
outside of the classroom. It never ceases to amaze me when a
child, who is so inspired by what she has learned during the
school day, applies that knowledge to the bigger community
that she lives in. This is true measurement of growth and
achievement." Thanks for sending it on, Annie. We think
Madison would make a great "junior ambassador" for the UN, to
spread the news that 2008 is the International Year of Planet
Earth!
|
 8 Tons
Of Texts Book
Passage To Ghana
A
team of Glen Ellyn volunteers has worked tirelessly on a large
project with BASIC (Brothers And Sisters In Christ) to improve
living conditions in Kasei, Ghana. Part of this mission
involved supplying text and library books for the town's
school children; the team gathered and shipped off 16,000+
pounds of books, many of which came from our Book Rescue -
some, perhaps, from your own school or district. Pictured are
delightful photos of grateful recipients carrying their head-y loads in
customary fashion, and filling once-empty library shelves in
November.
Heads-up!
BASIC plans to send another shipment to schools in Ghana this
year. Needed at the secondary
school level
are Math, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English Rhetoric &
Literature, and World History textbooks; Biology, Chemistry
& Physics lab equipment and charts; and suitable library
books covering the above topics & fiction. Junior
level
needs include: Math, Science, English Rhetoric &
Literature textbooks; suitable library books covering these
topics; and fiction.
If
your school plans to replace still-useable books and other
educational supplies, please consider donating them to our
Book Rescue project. Boxes of educational materials are still
going to Louisiana & Mississippi. School supplies, texts
& library books are desperately needed in many places.
These educational tools help young learners around the corner
and around the world build stronger foundations for more
promising futures!
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APPROVED IL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PROVIDERS SINCE TURN OF CENTURY ANNOUNCE UPCOMING WINTER
WORKSHOPS!
 "S'NO"
KIDDING! THESE WINTER TEACHER WORKSHOPS ARE FUN, FAST-PACED,
FREE, HANDS-ON & ONE-OF-A-KIND! LOTS OF EDUCATION &
RESOURCES TOO!
K-12 ECO-CLUB
SPONSORS WORKSHOP
THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 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
members
ENERGY BIKE WORKSHOP
FOR TEACHERS 3RD -
UP
TUESDAY, JANUARY 15,
4:30-6:30 PM,
2 CPDUs
þ
Pump up student interest! Recycle tire-d
energy unit! Put new spin on old lessons!
þ
Compelling "feet-on" learning tool helps
all students better understand energy use
þ
Student cyclists can see & feel
pedaling energy being transformed into light energy
þ
Attending teachers may borrow bike for
their own students
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
CHALLENGE MEETING FOR HS
TEACHERS
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 30,
4:30-7:30 PM
þ
Come
to this open Q & A session anytime
between
4:30 and 7:30, when it works for you!
þ
Pizza!
Network with Challenge sponsors from other high schools during
this time
þ
Resources! Hands-on! Product samples!
Take a look at several of students' last year's building
models!
GREEN BUILDING TOUR
FOR TEACHERS
3RD-UP
FRIDAY, FEBURARY 29,
2008,
8 AM - 2:30 PM, 5.5 CPDUs
þ
Where will you be on Institute Day? For a
fascinating experience, join us for a surprising educational
workshop
þ
Visit green buildings & be in the
know about this important new approach to building
design
þ
Discover the "emerald gem" of Chicago's
green buildings: The Center for Green
Technology
þ
Closer to home, climb upon a roof at
Lyman Woods in Downers Grove - more stops,
too
þ
Learn about conserving resources; healthy
indoor air; energy efficiency; beautiful landscapes; carpets,
tiles,
fabrics, etc. made from recycled materials; much more
for your own home and workplace
þ
Help prepare your students, especially
those interested in environment, construction, engineering,
design, architecture, technology, government and future
city
þ
We guarantee, you'll be the most
interesting table topics person at lunch the next
day!
We
have planned these teacher workshops just for you. Join us -
you'll be glad you did!
Please
contact us: 630-545-9710 or ecoed@sbcglobal.net, to learn more
and to register.
Presented
by SCARCE (ISBE Professional Development Provider #100363),
with funding through DuPage County's Environmental Committee,
at SCARCE Headquarters in Glen Ellyn.
Eco-Club
Representatives Meeting
(Sponsors Welcome)
Tue Feb 5 - 4:30-6:30 PM for HS Reps
Tue Feb 5 - 6:00-8:00 PM for College Reps
Representatives from high school and college
environmental clubs are invited to our very first meetings
just for them. The high school rep meeting is scheduled from
4:30-6, and the college reps will meet from 6:30-8. Pizza and
refreshments will be served from 6-6:30 for reps from both
groups; this overlapping period will give both high school and
college reps time to network with one
another.
Club
members will hear about speakers and field trips, and be given
the opportunity to check out the Resource Room, to see
activities, videos, posters, and more resources available at
no cost for their meetings and members. They will learn about
environmental volunteer opportunities for individual members
and entire clubs. And they will be given the chance to share
ideas, plan activities with their peers/counterparts and learn
from one another what works, what doesn't, and
more!
These
meetings are NOT for entire clubs to attend; please send one
or two representatives from a club. The meetings are free, but
club members MUST call to
register. |
A
Big THANKS To
Tellabs & DuPage Community
Foundations
We
would like to give a resounding note of thanks to two
wonderful foundations that really care about the environment.
Both organizations take seriously the conviction that they are
part of the solution, and have "put their money where their
mouths are" with generous donations to help support SCARCE and
its projects, and bring environmental education into schools
throughout DuPage. We are especially proud both have put their
trust in us - again - as we have been recipients of the
generosity of both foundations before.
The Tellabs
Foundation:
With these funds, we developed an exciting program, the
E-Rally, to teach K-8 students about energy and water
conservation and preservation, and what they can do
themselves, to save these precious natural resources. The grant has made it
possible for us to present 27 E-Rally assemblies to more than
6,000 DuPage school children.
The DuPage
Community Foundation:
We plan to use these monies for general support of our
not-for-profit organization, including our environmental
education programs, and all our projects. Teachers
are invited to contact us about classroom presentations and
assemblies for their students, and funds from The DuPage
Community Foundation can pay for part of the
cost.
We have age-appropriate programs available for K-12 students
in schools throughout DuPage covering diverse environmental
topics such as water, energy, green building, recycling, green
chemistry, and life in a trash-free (pioneer)
society.
Thanks,
Foundations: you made us feel like kids again, under the tree
on Christmas
morning! |
|
 New Posters Flow into
Environmental Ed. Resource Room
We're
pumped to share our
latest Resource Room acquisition with you. Make a visit and
pick up "The Story of Petroleum," a poster/brochure about the
natural resource which introduces and explains the
exploration, drilling and refining of oil. It is a publication
of the Illinois Petroleum Resources Board (IPRB),
self-described as "a state agency formed from the desire by
oil & gas producers and royalty owners in IL to share the
truth about the oil industry."
IPRB
has also developed a Traveling Field Trip Exhibit Trailer and
a video; they are free to the public and all IL schools. This
program meets ISLS science & social science learning
standards. Contact Nancy Karch, 618-242-2861 or iprb@yahoo.com. |
|
7th Annual
"Shed Those Watershed Blues"
Workshop
Official Aurora U. title
and course number: Watershed Issues for Teachers, OEDC
6158
WHO?
Intended
Audience, 3rd-12th Grade
Teachers
WHAT?
Workshop,
to learn the importance of watersheds with hands-on
activities. Pull on waders for stream monitoring; build
watershed models; perform water tests; climb onto a green
roof. We'll travel by bus to three watersheds and several
stormwater management solution sites.
WHEN?
Thursday,
June 12 & Friday, June 13, 2008 from 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
WHERE?
Central
location at SCARCE in Glen Ellyn
WHY?
Watersheds
are important to the health of our rivers. Management of storm
water is something that involves everyone. Learn about what
teachers and students can do to protect our watersheds and
keep them clean.
HOW?
Contact
us, 545-9710, to reserve a spot (registration is limited)
HOW
MUCH?
$15
Fee; AM & PM snacks provided
CREDIT?
15
CPDU's (FREE) or 1 graduate credit from Aurora University
($100)
10th Annual Environmental Issues & Concerns: Where Is
Away? Workshop
Official
Aurora U. title and course number: Environmental Issues and
Concerns, OEDC 6979
WHO?
Audience, K-12
Teachers
WHAT?
Workshop to explore
solid waste problems & solutions. We'll travel by bus to
landfills, recycling centers, and other sites; we'll round out
each day with discussion and hands-on activities.
WHEN?
Monday-Friday, June
16-20, 2008 ~ 8 AM-4:30 PM
If taking
class for graduate credit, a follow-up meeting is required. It
has been scheduled for
6/26, 8 AM-Noon. A
2nd date will be chosen, during that same week, by
the teachers who cannot make the 6/26
date.*
WHERE?
Central meeting
location at SCARCE in Glen Ellyn
WHY?
To
understand the many processes that deal with the trash we make
each day
HOW?
Contact us, 545-9710,
to reserve a spot (registration is limited)
HOW
MUCH? $75 Fee; AM & PM
snacks provided
CREDIT?
7 CEU's (FREE) or 3 graduate credit hours from Aurora
University ($225)
*
If taking WIA for graduate credit, please note: All lessons
must be presented to fellow participants during this week so
lessons can be graded & recorded within Aurora Univ. time
limits.
Those
taking either summer course for graduate credit will have a
project to complete.
Participants
need to pack waste-free lunches every day.
Call
us, 630-545-9710, for more information & to register.
Workshops are presented by SCARCE, with funding through DuPage
County Environmental Education
Program |
|
St.
Jude's Ranch For Children and Greeting
Cards
St.
Jude's Ranch is a home for abused, abandoned, and neglected
children. For years, the children of SJR needed greeting card
fronts to make the delightful "Born Again Cards" they sell to
raise funds for some of their activities and projects. The
kids still make the cards, but the public has responded so
abundantly that St. Jude's now has a lifetime supply of card
fronts; please DO
NOT
SEND any to the Ranch! To help support this project and the
children of St. Jude's, consider buying Born Again Cards; just
call SJR at 702-204-7100. The kids are sure to be "greet-ful"
for your support! |
|
 Zero Waste
Grant
IMPORTANT! CONFERENCE CALL TO ANSWER
QUESTIONS: TUES. JAN. 8 AT 3:30 PM
NEXT GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEBRUARY
15, 2008
Zero
Waste Grant is a funding opportunity for IL K-12 schools to
implement or expand waste reduction and recycling programs.
The purpose is to help IL schools to achieve zero waste status
to decrease the amount of solid waste going to IL landfills.
Funds may be used to buy project-related capital equipment
such as erasable classroom slates, reusable cafeteria
utensils, and collection containers. Zero waste grant monies
are to be used for projects to begin in the fall of
2008.
Department of Commerce
& Economic Opportunities (DCEO) has planned a conference
call to answer questions about the grant application process:
call 1-877-322-9648, access code535802 on Tuesday,
January 8 at 3:30pm.
Download a Request
for Application at istep or Illinois Recycles.
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 Used Office Equipment Goes Back To Work
For Others
When Glencoe's Public Works Facility was remodeled recently,
the city held a "garage sale" for all the file cabinets,
desks, dividers and other office furnishings that were being
replaced. At day's end, all the unsold pieces were packed into
two pods and donated to our Tools for Schools
project.
Volunteers and representatives from nearly a dozen
not-for profit (NFP) organizations and schools from DuPage,
Chicago and other nearby towns were quick to relieve the pods
of their loads. They hauled 35 file cabinets, 10 modular work
stations/desks, 10 60" wall partitions, 8 metal bookshelves,
and a partridge and a pear tree (oops, that's another story)
out of those pods and into the back end of their cars, SUVs,
minivans and trucks to their centers and schools! Thank you,
Glencoe; you went a long way to ensure that these still-useful
items ended up in NFP offices and classrooms, and NOT in the
landfill.
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Statewide Poster & Poetry/Prose
5TH & 6TH Grade
Exhibit
ENTRY DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 8,
2008
The
2008 Environmental
Pathways 5th-6th graders contest
focuses on the importance of clean air & protecting our
environment. Questions: call Kristi Morris-Richards:
217-558-7295. For full explanation/rules, see
EPA website.
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Winter
2008 VIP Dates
2005-2015 United
Nation's International Decade for Action: Water For
Life
2008
U.N.
International Year of Planet Earth
2008
U.N.
International Year of Sanitation: 2 issues to be
addressed: Water Quality & Wastewater
Treatments
January 7
Deadline: Lexus
Environmental MS/HS "Climate" Challenge
January 9
11:30-5 pm
DuPage
Environmental Summit: Clean Water: We Can't Live
Without It! Krasa Student Center,
Benedictine University
January 10
4:30pm-6pm
Eco-Club Sponsors
K-12 Teacher Workshop
January 15
4:30pm-6:30pm
Energy Bike
3rd -12 Teacher Workshop
January 30
4:30-7:30pm
Sustainable
Design HS Challenge Meeting (w/Pizza) for
Tchrs/Sponsors
February 5
4:30pm-6pm
HS Eco-Club
Student Reps' Meeting (sponsors welcome)
February 5
6pm-6:30pm
Pizza
(and network op) for HS & College Student Reps
February 5
6:30pm-8pm
College
Eco-Club Student Reps' Meeting
February 8
Poster
Contest
February 12/13
UNESCO
officially launch of International Year of Planet
Earth
February 15
Deadline:
Zero Waste Grant
February 29
8am-2:30pm
Green
Building Tour For Teachers 3rd-12th
June 12-13
8am-4:30pm
7th
Annual Shed Those Watershed Blues MS/HS Tchr
Wkshp
June 16-20
8am-4:30pm
10th
Annual Where Is Away? K-12 Workshop
June 26
8am-noon
Lesson
presentations for teachers taking WIA for grad
credit | |
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