On the last day of January, the SCARCE team conducted its very first “E-Rally” at St. Mary’s School in West Chicago. This energetic school assembly, which was made possible by a grant from Tellabs Foundation, is aligned with IL Learning Standards and brings energy education right into K-6 schools. Students are introduced to the many forms energy takes, its importance in our lives, why we need to save energy, and how we are learning to conserve this vital resource with new technologies and with changes in our own behavior.

The audience participates in this interactive program by guessing letters in Wheel of Fortune fashion to discover what word or phrase is hidden behind the letter cards. One or two lucky peddlers hop onto the Energy Bike and try to light up bulbs (incandescent vs. CFL’s) with their pedaling power. A few kids even don costumes (such as Tree, Sun, and Caveman) and join the SCARCE team up-front. Dynamic “bit players,” lively music, great visuals projected onto a screen, the E-Team, and the entire “letter-guessing audience” really bring energy education to life! Currently, this pilot program is available at no cost to 27 elementary schools (they have been contacted about this opportunity); we plan to extend this empowering program to more schools next year.

Three Roselle schools: Spring Hills ES, Waterbury ES, and Roselle MS are the latest on the growing list of schools that have learned how to reduce costs relating to their lunchroom waste the Tap ‘n Stack way. The middle school has reduced their lunchtime waste from 9 bags to 2! Call us at 545-9710 to learn more or to schedule a free teacher modeling program and save big bucks at school! Tap n’ Stack’s Cantastic! (pictured left: Roselle middle schoolers stacking and tapping away!)

ES Art Teachers, K-8 Eco-Club Sponsors, all interested K-MS Teachers
Teachers, learn about hazardous wastes and art supplies. Discover new, creative and resourceful reuse ideas to save money on craft and classroom supplies. Your students will have fun as they learn, hands-on, about conserving natural resources through reusing.

Teachers of 4th grade, Natural Resources, ESL, Geography, Alternative & Special Ed Eco-club sponsors; all interested elementary-level teachers
ONE OF OUR MOST POPULAR, HANDS-ON, WORKSHOPS!

This very special interactive tool will entice your students to learn about natural resources:

• how they are used
• where they come from
• the differences between annually renewable, rapidly renewable, and non-renewable

For Middle School/High School Teachers
For all MS/HS teachers interested in environmental considerations and practices used in today’s industries that are not yet being taught to tomorrow’s workforce. Green Chemistry is “a highly effective approach to pollution prevention because it applies innovative scientific solutions to real-world environmental situations.”

The concept of Green Chemistry will be introduced, along with several fun and easy hands-on activities that illustrate chemistry principles in safe, green and practical ways. The planned activities are “sweet” – your students will love them!

WHO? Intended Audience, 3rd-12th Grade Teachers
WHAT? Workshop to learn about the importance of watersheds with hands-on activities. Pull on waders for stream monitoring; build watershed models; perform water tests; climb up on a green roof. We’ll travel by bus to three watersheds and several storm water management solution sites.
WHEN? Thursday, June 14 & Friday, June 15, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
WHERE? Central location at SCARCE in Glen Ellyn
WHAT? 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. Travel by bus to 3 watersheds & stormwater management solution sites.
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)

Official Aurora U. title and course number: Watershed Issues for Teachers, OEDC 6158

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 18-22 ~ 8 AM-4:30 PM (If grad. credit, follow-up meeting Thursday, June 28, 8 AM-Noon)
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) Official Aurora U. title and course number: Environmental Issues and Concerns, OEDC 6979

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 for all workshops. These workshops are presented by SCARCE, with funding through DuPage County Environmental Education Program

This year marks the 37th Anniversary of Earth Day and the 135th Anniversary of Arbor Day. What have you planned to observe these two VIP environmental dates? Both days were established by men who were passionate about the environment and realized they needed to impart their enthusiasm to others. Learning about these founders can serve as a springboard to your Earth Day and Arbor Day commemorations.

To find a way to focus public attention on natural resource conservation and other environmental issues – what he called “the most important challenge the human species faces on the planet,” Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005) founded Earth Day on April 22, 1970. The Senator wrote letters to the governors of all 50 states and the big-city mayors, asking them to issue Earth Day proclamations. He also wrote an “Earth Day” article explaining the event and sent it to all college newspapers, and to Scholastic Magazine, which went out to most K-12 schools in the country. All his efforts paid off; more than 20 million people participated in community events and educational activities to demonstrate their interest in the environment.

On the very first Arbor Day, J. Sterling Morton proposed a tree-planting holiday that was to be called “Arbor Day.” The journalist (and eventual Secretary of Agriculture under President Grover Cleveland) asked that counties, groups, and individuals plant trees across the then-treeless plain of Nebraska on April 10, 1872, to act as windbreaks to keep soil in place, for fuel and building materials, for shade from the hot sun, and just because he and his fellow pioneers sorely missed the trees they left behind. It is estimated that an astounding million plus trees were planted on that first Arbor Day – before the advent of TV, radio, internet and other modes of mass communication! What an honor it is for DuPage to be home to Morton Arboretum, which was established by environmental hero J. Sterling’s eldest son!

S’now kidding, it’s been cold lately, and (as we go to print) we are surrounded by snow. With a bit of luck, the snow may grace the landscape long enough to entertain our children with this fun outdoor activity. Fill empty mustard (or other squirt type) bottles with warm water and a few drops of food coloring, and send them outside in the mittened hands of your students. Once the kids have been given a few well-articulated rules (i.e., squirt ONLY snow on the ground!), the schoolyard can become a snowy canvas for young artists, who might even elect to practice math or their penmanship with their silly, chilly squiggles!

ORDER DEADLINE: MARCH 9
In January, Ripples readers were introduced to Wangari Maathai, the “Billion Trees Lady” who, along with The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), launched a program to plant a billion trees worldwide. One of this month’s (pg. 4) environmental heroes, J. Sterling Morton, advocated the planting of a million trees in the 19th century. To help carry on the tradition of planting trees that began in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day in 1872, and continues today with the “Billion Trees” program, Kane DuPage Soil & Water Conservation District (KDSWCD) is offering free trees for public and private Kane and DuPage County schools.

This year, a school may request one hackberry seedling, which will be distributed on April 25th – just in time to plant it on Arbor Day. Each seedling comes in a one-gallon pot and measures about 3-4 feet tall. Principals should have received a form to participate in this program. Order deadline is March 9. Contact: KDSWCD Education Coordinator: Elizabeth.Hagen@il.nacdnet.net.

All K-12 students in Kane and DuPage Counties are eligible to participate in the Soil & Water Stewardship Poster Contest. This year’s theme, Conservation’s Power, gives students a chance to share their thoughts and concerns about natural resource issues, and urges us all to become part of the power of conservation to ensure readily available, affordable energy for the future. Contestants enter in one of four divisions: K-3, 4-6, 7-9, or 10-12.

• Grand prize & first runner-up winners in each division will be awarded gift cards.
• Grand prize posters from each division will compete in the Association of IL Soil & Water Conservation District’s annual poster contest, and may possibly advance to the National Conservation Poster Contest.

For guidelines and entry form, call 630-584-7961, Ext. 3, or visit :

Teachers: integrate science, language, & fine arts in your curriculum. The American Chemical Society is sponsoring an illustrated haiku contest for K-12 students. (The haiku is a 3-line poem with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third; is typically nature-related; does not rhyme; & consists of no more than 25 words.) Entries must demonstrate this year’s theme, Recycling – Chemistry Can! and should reflect “some aspect of the chemistry of recycling: materials, processes, or uses for recycled materials.” Each teacher may submit one entry per class. Two winners (1st & 2nd Place) from each division (K-2, 3-4, 5-8, 9-12) will receive Amazon.com gift certificates. Contact Asst. Prof. Chemistry, Mary Newburg: newburg@cod.edu or

WHAT? Athletic shoe collection; any brand, any condition, “light-up” shoes are okay – we want to save every last holey sole! NO spikes or cleats; NO dress shoes, slippers, sandals, or anything else that is not a gym shoe.
WHO? Schools, churches, businesses, scouts, individuals – everyone is welcome to donate gym shoes.
WHEN? Monday, April 23 to Friday, May 25
HOW?

1. Let us know of your plans to collect
2. Coordinate a collection at school/church/ workplace/etc.
3. Check out the training kit
4. Publicize your collection
5. Please tie shoes together
6. Call us to schedule a drop-off day & time

All of us are affected by exposure to chemicals in the environment. But it is believed that children may be more vulnerable than adults: they are still developing; they eat, drink, and breathe more in proportion to their body size; and their behavior can expose them to more chemicals and organisms.

The EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP) works to improve scientific understanding of children’s environmental health concerns. Through one of its projects, the Toxicity & Exposure Assessment for Children’s Health (TEACH), it has targeted 18 chemicals or chemical groups, chosen for their potential effects on children’s health. The goal of TEACH is to complement existing children’s health resources. It does not evaluate scientific research and federal regulations; rather, it summarized, compiles, and organizes the information from many resources into a searchable format, for one online resource: the TEACH web site. OCHP hopes its efforts lead ultimately to identify and evaluate ways to minimize negative impacts of the environment on our children.

The 18 chemicals of concern (to date) are

• Arsenic
• Benzo(a)pyrene
• Benzene
• Formaldehyde
• Manganese
• Mercury
• Nitrates/nitrites
• Phthalates
• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
• Trichloroethylene
• Vinyl chloride 2
• 4-D
• Atrazine
• Dichlorvos
• DEET
• Pyrethroids: (permethrin & resmethrin)