Interdistrict Discovery Magnet School, Bridgeport, Conn.

Interdistrict Discovery Magnet School (IDMS) serves 524 students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade, with 100 percent of students receiving free breakfast and lunch.  The urban school offers a learning environment that is rich in outdoor and field experiences.  IDMS’ curriculum has a strong environmental theme, supported by partnerships with local environmental educators, including the Discovery Museum, Fairchild-Wheeler School, the Connecticut Audubon Society, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, the Maritime Aquarium, and the Bridgeport Lighthouse after school program.  Each experience allows students to apply what they learn in the school’s 90-acre wooded campus.  Students learn through hands-on work, in the sustainable garden, while raising Trout in the Classroom, and during the Discovery School BioBlitz.  In addition, IDMS is a LEED Gold-certified facility, with an extraordinary building.  From the rooftop solar photovoltaic system, to low-flow fixtures, students use green technology to learn about sustainability. >>>

Hurley K-12 School, Hurley, WI

Hurley’s science department is fully invested in incorporating environmental education, and the energy cycle is taught in all phases of the curriculum.  The physics department developed and implemented a classroom energy-monitoring team to identify positive and negative energy-consumption habits in school buildings.  Students study the local bird population through an annual service-learning project examining the nesting success of area loons and enjoy ice fishing using tip up/downs during a unit on simple machines.  All students have been trained in using scientific equipment, learning about monitoring methods such as forestry surveys, soil surveys, water quality monitoring, and wildlife surveying.  To improve energy efficiency and health, the school replaced lighting and windows, insulated the roof, and upgraded the HVAC system.  They also installed a water bottle filling station to encourage students to reduce the use of disposable plastic water bottles. Hurley has received multiple grants to increase availability of healthy food and fitness programs.  All elementary school students plant a variety of vegetables to be used in the lunch program and sold at the local Iron County Farmers Market.  A schoolwide Walk to School Day held in the spring encourages exercise for all members of the community.  >>>

Encinitas Union School District, Encinitas, Calif.

Consisting of nine traditional schools serving 5,400 students, Encinitas Union School District (EUSD) contains a National Wildlife Federation Eco-School, two Alliance for a Healthier Generation schools, and four National Wildlife Federation certified habitats, and is home to a strong districtwide green team and wellness committee.  Both groups meet monthly, with the superintendent, school board members, department directors, teachers, parent volunteers, representatives from local businesses, and leaders of community organizations among them.  From farming efforts, waste diversion, and daylighting to hand dryers, daily yoga, and solar-panel installation, EUSD is becoming a model for sustainability in the region.  EUSD’s ten-acre Agro-ecology Learning Center (ALC), opening in 2014, is poised to be the focal point of the district—and community—for years to come.  Leveraging public and private partnerships, EUSD will grow organic food for the district’s farm-to-cafeteria program while showcasing cutting-edge sustainable farming techniques and renewable energy technologies.  Opportunities for hands-on learning about hydroponic and aquaponic farming, renewable energy generation, and fuel cell storage will facilitate a learning center like no other. >>>

Wellington Elementary, Lexington, Ky.

Wellington Elementary was built in 2010 and is designed to be one of the most energy efficient and sustainable schools in suburban Lexington, Ky.  The school features photovoltaic solar panels, a rainwater capture and reuse system, a geothermal hot water system, permeable pavers, a rain garden, automatic lighting controls, native landscaping, and an outdoor classroom.  Wellington has a student- and teacher-led sustainability team that monitors and holds the school accountable for its sustainability initiatives.  An energy assessment is conducted annually and plan of action implemented.  Students have worked to implement a nightly computer shutdown, to monitor energy use, and to provide conservation reminders during monthly energy patrols.  Student energy teams collect recyclables, educate their peers about how and what to recycle, audit waste bins for recyclable items, and transfer them to a recycling dumpster. >>>

Shadow Lake Elementary, Maple Valley, Wash.

Shadow Lake has been designated a National Wildlife Federation Schoolyard Habitat since 2005, and students have daily opportunities to increase their appreciation of the local wildlife that benefit from the school gardens.  The school uses a stormwater curriculum in which students study salmon habitats, including how stormwater is the number one source of pollution in the Puget Sound.  Students focus on recycling and composting every day, but work even harder each Waste-Free Wednesday to reduce waste to as close to zero as possible during lunch periods.  Student leaders monitor lunchtime waste, recycling, and composting, and give out raffle prizes of reusable lunch containers as incentives.  Students who serve as Green School Ambassadors work before school to ensure that breakfast waste is managed efficiently.  Students create and maintain the gardens and trail, and become familiar with the natural environment not only on their campus, but on an adjacent nature trail and on field-trip visits to the nearby Shadow Lake Peat Bog.  >>>

Bring Back the Monarchs: Free Milkweeds for Schools and Non-Profits

As your students may have learned, monarchs and pollinators need help due to habitat loss.  If your school or non-profit organization is interested in this conservation measure and learning opportunity, Monarch Watch, a nonprofit educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas, with funding from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), can help you create a habitat for monarchs and pollinators. If your school or organization qualifies, Monarch Watch will provide a free flat of 32 milkweed plugs as well as guidance on how to create a new habitat or enhance an existing garden.  >>>

NEEF Invites You to Upload Your Earth Changing Moment from Your Smartphone

The National Environmental Education Foundation invites you to pull out your mobile phone and create and upload a short video sharing your "aha" Earth Changing Moment -- the moment when you realized the importance of the environment and your connection to it.  Your submission makes you eligible to win a $100 gift card. >>