School News You Can Use – November, 2016
Hope you all enjoyed the super moon on Nov. 14; the next is Dec. 13. (NRRA archive photo)
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
- CLUB Conference News – Save The Date!
- CLUB News – MMS Hosts TOLD
- Grant & SWIP News -Recycling Webinar for Teachers
- In The News – Capt. Planet to the Rescue
- Contests, Scholarships & Fundraisers – RecycleBowl
- EPA & NHDES News – Water Conservation
- Activity – Thanksgiving Place Card Ideas & Coloring Page
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CONFERENCE NEWS
Plan Ahead for the School CLUB Conference!
We have a theme: Back to the Future for Recycling..It’s Time
and we have a date: Tuesday, May 23, 2017
and we have a location: The Radisson in Manchester, NH
Mark your calendars for this important recycling event and expo! Be prepared for activities, workshops, games, exhibits and a lot of FUN!
Remember, NH schools may apply for Conference Registration Grants through
NH the Beautiful!
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CLUB NEWS
Milford Middle School in Action
Once again, Milford Middle School in Milford, NH hosted a Trash On the Lawn Day (TOLD) event for their students on October 27. Their Recycling Club members helped all day with organizing the students, singing a new recycling song and asking recycling trivia questions for the student waiting their turn at the sort.
Here are some pictures:
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GRANT & SWIP NEWS
Free Webinar for Recycling Educators!
frpa.org
Through generous USDA funding, NRRA has implemented a Train-the-Teacher model that assists economically challenged schools avail themselves of the quality programming NRRA’s School CLUB offers. Once trained, participants will receive the tools to do their own programming and to integrate students and local facility staff into the overall program.
All educators who take part in NRRA’s Train the Teachers webinar program, will receive the corresponding classroom workshop power points and the revised Teaching Toxics (Creating Solutions to Household Pollution) and Teacher’s Resource Guide (3 R’s of the Common Core) curricula that has been aligned with the Common Core Standards. We offer ninety-six (96) positive, fun and hands-on lesson plans and classroom activities about environmental protection, pollution prevention, and stewardship!
By addressing the topic of what is being thrown away with household trash, students in the classroom learn about an integral component of increasing the public’s awareness of hazardous, recyclable, and compostable products. The success in teaching these issues lies in presenting the information in a way that empowers students.
Educators may view the hour-long webinar training at:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5140113881257056515
NRRA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination write, USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
BCSWA School & Business Outreach
epodunk.com
BCSWA contracted NRRA and the School CLUB to provide outreach and training to schools and businesses in the Alliance area regarding Vermont’s Universal Recycling Act 148.
We are currently reaching out to Alliance schools to provide this free programming. Contact BCSWA or the School CLUB if you would like to get on the schedule.
The Bennington County Solid Waste Alliance serves the communities of: Arlington, Bennington, Dorset, Glastenbury, Manchester, Pownal, Rupert, Sandgate, Searsburg, Shaftsbury, Stamford, Sunderland and Woodford, VT.
Business outreach will resume in 2017.
The Alliance website is up and running and full of useful links. Here is the link to the Alliance Webpage. They also have their own School Newsletter!
Scheduling Now
Free Workshops Available for BCSWA Schools
clipartpanda.com
Outreach to the Alliance schools continues for this school year. BCSWA schools interested in receiving FREE programming for the next school year should contact: [email protected] to get on the calendar.
Would you like to host a TOLD, Garbage Guerrillas or another Workshop at your school? Let the CLUB Help!
- Improves academic performance, especially in science and math
- Can lead to financial savings for schools
- Decreases the school’s carbon footprint through practical solutions that reduce energy and water consumption
- Reduces school waste and conserves natural resources
- Encourages student environmental awareness and stewardship
- Increases parental involvement
- Helps students and teachers develop stronger relationships with their communities
School CLUB set up for TOLD event
Previous EPA EE-funded research at over 200 New England schools completed by the NRRA School Recycling CLUB (the CLUB) found that the single most challenging area for school recycling programs was in providing curriculum integrations that brought recycling and sustainability into classrooms to be used as the subject matter for meeting state and local curriculum standards. The intention of the CLUB programs is to address just that issue in schools across all six New England states. Our goal is to use the CLUB’s workshops and technical assistance programs, all experiential and hands on, as a tool for educating K-12 students about consumption, proper diversion of waste, the resulting impacts on climate change and what they can do to change it. Through these offerings, we are also afforded the opportunity to link these priorities to curriculum standards. In addition, these workshops will model, for educators or community leaders, exemplary ways of teaching in creative, effective, and efficient methods about human health threats from environmental pollution as well as how to minimize human exposure to preserve good health. Click here to learn more or contact us at [email protected] or call 1.603.736.4401 ext. 19
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IN THE NEWS
From our Friends at Waste360
Leonardo DiCaprio to Create Captain Planet and the Planeteers Movie
Waste360 Staff | Oct 18, 2016
Paramount and Appian Way, Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company, are supposedly in talks of creating a Captain Planet and the Planeteers movie, which would focus on environmental issues.
Read the full story HERE.
From our Friends at Plastics News
‘Painting’ with PVC
Bill Frymire, left, and Olynk with the portrait in Kamloops. (Courtesy of Plastics News)
September 8, 2016
Catherine Kavanaugh
From Pillar to Post
Bill Frymire Artist Bill Frymire used scraps of vinyl siding to create a giant portrait of basketball player Kelly Olynk that will withstand weather conditions for years.
A 16-foot mosaic portrait of Boston Celtics player Kelly Olynk looks out from a chain-link fence at a basketball court in Kamloops, British Columbia, where the NBA sharpshooter grew up.
For the full story, click HERE
From our friends at Waste360
Austin High School Gains National Attention for Recycling and Composting Efforts
Eastside Memorial High School raises chicken and has a number of gardens onsite.
Waste360 Staff | Oct 03, 2016
Eastside Memorial High School in Austin is gaining national attention for its strong recycling and composting efforts. Last year, students ran an audit and found that 82 percent of items that were thrown into the trash could have been recycled or composted.
Wecyclers Start-Up in Africa
We heard about this story from one of our loyal members and found this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGYFHfc_ONg
cliparts.co
Interested in green cleaning? If you would like to host a workshop in your school, please consider The CLUB’s Healthy Home, Clean Waters Workshop or our Technical Assistance Training for facilities staff on Green Cleaning & Indoor Air Quality Evaluation & Review.
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Contests, Scholarships & Fundraisers
From our Friends at Keep America Beautiful
RecycleBowl Reminder
For more information, click HERE
For our Friends in Vermont … Let’s TRY
TRY for the Environment Nov. 15 Deadline
Greetings,
November 15 is America Recycles Day! It’s also the deadline for TRY teams to register for this award winning program. That’s right! The TRY for the Environment – Climate Change through Waste Solutions programs will help you meet some of those SWIP requirements and will make you incredibly proud of the students in your SWMEs! The curriculum has been revamped and is now easier and more fun than ever before!
Please encourage your junior high and high schools to create a team. The best part is – after spreading the word and encouraging schools in your SWME to participate, you don’t have to do a thing. Lauren Traister, UVM 4-H Teen & Leadership Coordinator will do all the follow up and data recording for you.
No reason not to strongly encourage your schools to take advantage of this personalized-learning and leadership development opportunity while passively meeting your outreach and education SWIP requirements.
If you have questions, comments or suggestions – let me know or contact Lauren directly at the email address below.
For more information, click HERE.
For the Teen Application, click HERE.
For the Mentor Application, click HERE.
Nashua Recycling Center 2017 Calendar Contest
Once again, students in Nashua, NH will have the opportunity to add their artwork to the annual Recycling Center Calendar. We are looking for a theme for 2017. Here are a couple of the past themes to get you thinking:
2014 – Think Outside the Trash … RECYCLE
2015 – Be Smart, Use a Cart … RECYCLE
2016 – Be Cool, Recycle at School
2017 – ????
If you have a great idea, please send it to The CLUB at: [email protected]
Contest theme and rules to follow in future newsletters.
From our friends at EPA
New application period for PEYA program
Applications are now being accepted for the next round of the President’s Environmental Youth Award (http://go.usa.gov/3u7XB). Applications are due March 1, 2017.
The PEYA program promotes awareness of our nation’s natural resources and encourages positive community involvement, through recognizing outstanding environmental projects by K-12 youth. The award celebrates student leadership in protecting the environment and building a livable, sustainable global community. Recent award winning projects included activities such as:
- creating a new eco-friendly fertilizer;
- fighting deforestation;
- educating communities on the need to protect various animal species;
- restoring and conserving local habitats;
- promoting community gardening;
- promoting recycling and other waste reduction methods in schools and communities;
- banning polystyrene (Styrofoam);
- researching the impact of energy consumption methods;
- analyzing the impact of solar panel installation;
- inventing a new water pollution mitigation method;
- educating communities on water conservation; and
- analyzing storm water flow and flood risk.
Other School Grant Opportunities
(Collected from NWF Eco-Schools Newsletter)
http://www.nwf.org/Eco-Schools-USA/Newsletter.aspx?s_email_id=20150819_ECO_ENG_Educators|#schoolyardhabitats
DonorsChoose.org – Can list on site up to 4 months
http://www.donorschoose.org/about
Helps classrooms and students in need
DoSomething.org offers many ways to earn scholarship money.
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EPA & NHDES NEWS
Report Drought Related Economic Impacts to NHDES
Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is now collecting information on economic impacts related to the drought to help assess the location and severity of drought impacts and manage drought response efforts. Homeowners on private wells and public water suppliers, as well as industrial, commercial, institutional and agricultural water users withdrawing water from wells or surfaces waters that have experienced or are experiencing water supply issues are asked to report drought impacts. An electronic survey to report impacts for homeowners on private wells as well as a survey for all other water users has been posted at www.des.nh.gov on the home page under What’s New or on the Drought Management Program webpage: http://m1e.net/c?172392889-3nmZ8lNoaIpWc%40387564454-G7qZodwIi2I0M
While southern New Hampshire is experiencing the most severe drought, water shortage issues are occurring across the state and should also be reported. It is unlikely that enough rain to fully recharge water resources in drought areas will be received before this winter. NHDES will continue to collect information on economic impacts associated with the drought until drought conditions are alleviated.
For some tips on how to save water, click HERE!
We also found this neat activity at DiscoverWater.org.
For a bit of history, we found this old government poster on Wikimedia.org.
EPA’s WasteWise encourages organizations and businesses to achieve sustainability in their practices and reduce select industrial wastes. WasteWise is part of EPA’s sustainable materials management efforts, which promote the use and reuse of materials more productively over their entire lifecycles.
To learn more, go to WasteWise Fact Sheet.
As part of EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge, organizations pledge to improve their sustainable food management practices and report their results. The FRC is part of EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Program (SMM). SMM seeks to reduce the environmental impact of materials through their entire life cycle. This includes how they are extracted, manufactured, distributed, used, reused, recycled, and disposed.
To learn more, go to: EPA FRC
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ACTIVITY
Thanksgiving Place Card Ideas
There were so many cute ideas on Pinterest and Google, we compiled a gallery of pictures to inspire your place card crafts for Thanksgiving:
Here’s a Thanksgiving coloring page:
From our Friends at Activity Village in the UK:
To access the picture above, click HERE!
For more great coloring pages, click HERE!
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GREEN CALENDAR
11/15/16 – America Recycles Day – An initiative of Keep America Beautiful (KAB), America Recycles Day is the only nationally-recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the U.S. For ideas, contact www.americarecyclesday.org.
03/22/17 – World Water Day – To plan your event, visit www.unwater.org.
04/22/17 – Earth Day – To plan your event, see future newsletters and visit www.earthday.org.
04/28/17 – Arbor Day – To plan your event, visit www.arborday.org.
05/22/17 – NRRA’s 36th Annual Recycling Conference & Expo Begins
05/23/17 – School CLUB’s 8th Annual School Recycling Conference (the Conference within the Conference); Registration assistance available for NH schools through NH the Beautiful.
06/05/17 – World Environment Day – To plan your event, visit www.unep.org.
06/08/16 – World Oceans Day – To plan your event, visit www.worldoceansday.org.
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING BE FILLED WITH THE 3 R’S:
REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE,
AND THE 4 F’S:
FAMILY, FOOD, FUN AND FOOTBALL!
Thanks to Cliparts.co
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WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL CLUB UP TO? The NRRA School CLUB always loves to hear what its members and other schools are doing to recycle and help the environment so we can share it through our newsletter. There are so many different things being done, and you are our best source of information about what is working in your school. It can be a new program, a long-term project that’s been proven over time, a field trip, etc. Always feel free to contact me or submit something and you may see it in the next School News You Can Use! – Gwen Erley, [email protected] 1-603-736-4401 Ext. 19