The National Wildlife Federation is offering two grant opportunities for HISD schools. Applications are due Monday, June 15.
One grant focuses on secondary schools interested in developing nature-based solutions to community stormwater runoff or flooding. The second is open to all grade levels and emphases energy literacy.
Energy and Sustainability Quality Assurance Analyst Stephanie Walker said schools should apply despite the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue readingThe National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA program is looking for HISD schools interested in joining the third year of their USA-Taiwan Eco-Campus Partnership Program.
The program, designed and coordinated by the NWF, U.S. Environmental Program and EPA Taiwan, matches schools in the United States directly with sister schools in Taiwan to work together on a global level to address environmental- or sustainability-related issues.
The National Wildlife Federation once again has partnered with HISD to help reverse the decline of the monarch butterfly, launching its Monarch Heroes Program for grades six through eight.
“The goal of the Monarch Heroes Program is to help the monarch butterfly, whose population has declined over 90% in the past two decades, while giving students the opportunity to become engaged in and empowered to help solve a current and tangible ‘real-life’ environmental problem,” National Wildlife Federation Senior Education Manager Marya Fowler. “The monarch butterfly is a species that students can have a direct positive impact on that they see in their schoolyards, their backyards and their parks.”
The Houston Independent School District announced a new collaboration today with the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools program. The announcement was made during a press conference at Westside High School. The NWF has worked successfully for nearly 10 years with HISD with the goal of helping to close achievement gaps for disadvantaged students and to improve science and math learning through the use of outdoor environmental education.
The new Eco-Schools USA initiative will expand on the current Schoolyard Habitat program between HISD and NWF. It will also allow for further expansion and development of the Green School Challenge, launched in December 2011, by helping schools develop and implement plans to green their schools by making buildings and campuses more eco-friendly.
HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said this partnership is the latest initiative in HISD’s ongoing commitment to promote green schools. “This collaboration will offer a new, innovative approach to teaching environmental education in a non-traditional classroom setting, while providing students with more opportunities to learn about the importance of protecting our environment, “Dr. Grier said.
“We are excited to be working with HISD to advance the district’s very ambitious and commendable sustainability goals,” said Susan Kaderka, Regional Director for the National Wildlife Federation. “This effort is a win-win for students, for the district, and for the environment. Students will be better prepared for 21st century careers and life choices, teachers will see greater enthusiasm for science and math, and the natural world will benefit from reduced energy and water use and better care from a new generation of environmental stewards.”
At the press conference Westside High school environmental science and urban agriculture classes and the school’s ecology club were recognized for their accomplishments. Students there worked to restore 1.5 acres of Gulf Coastal Prairie, one of the rarest ecosystems in the nation.
“We’re proud of the work of our students, teachers, and staff at Westside High school and their ongoing efforts to make their campus green,” said HISD Chief Academic Officer Julie Fox Baker. “We’re pleased HISD is the largest school district in the country participating in the Eco-Schools USA program.” The NWF launched the Eco-Schools USA program in 2009. Nationwide, there are currently 2,000 schools and more than 1 million students registered in the program. For more than 70 years, the NWF has been educating people about the environment. NWF’s education efforts annually reach more than 5,000 K-12 schools and nearly 4 million students through a variety of programs, including Schoolyard Habitats and Eco-Schools USA, which is committed to building a sustainable, comprehensive green school movement in the U.S and abroad.