This site includes a list of resources, including resources developed by NAAEE, designed to help educators and learners of all ages center equity in their work in the field of environmental education.
Category: Education
Answering the Call: EnviroAtlas Team Supports Teachers and Educators during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Read the full story from U.S. EPA.
EPA’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic has been broad—ranging from developing an approach for monitoring the virus in wastewater to finding the best approaches for cleaning and disinfection. EPA is also assisting in an unexpected way: helping educators quickly adjust to teaching in the virtual environment.
EPA’s EnviroAtlas team is no stranger to environmental education. Over the past four years they have worked to create educational lesson plans that help K-12 and higher-ed educators incorporate EPA science into their curricula. Starting with the 2016 Building a Greenway Case Study, to the suite of ecosystem services mini-lessons published in early 2020, EnviroAtlas lesson plans on ecosystems, mapping, watersheds, and eco-health connections are aligned with state and Next Generation Science Standards and give students the opportunity to engage with real science, data, and maps from EPA.
As the reality of COVID-19 set in, the need for online-based resources surged. The EnviroAtlas team worked with EPA regions and programs, teachers, and education-focused organizations to not only get educators up to speed on EPA’s existing online educational resources, but also to adapt lesson plans for complete virtual use to meet the new demand. One such partnership came from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, who hosted a virtual summer course for educators called, “A Right to Nature in the City: The Importance of Urban Environmental Education” that explored an investigation of how natural systems can help communities and schools create change for a greener, more equitable future. The EnviroAtlas team partnered with members of EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice to include environmental justice considerations in their Greenway Case Study educational activity and convert it into a fully virtual format.
Indianapolis Public Schools Is Recognized As National Leader In K-12 Sustainability
Read the full story at Patch.
After years of dedicated energy conservation efforts, including a partnership with Cenergistic LLC, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) attained Goal Achiever certification from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Better Buildings Challenge for 2020.
April is Citizen Science month
April is Citizen Science Month. It offers thousands of opportunities for you to turn your curiosity into impact. There’s something for everyone, everywhere. Join a project or event from wherever you are to help scientists answer questions they cannot answer without you.
In just a couple of years, Global Citizen Science Month (April) has grown from a single day of events, to a coordinated effort supported by SciStarter, the National Library of Medicine, Arizona State University, the Citizen Science Association, Science Friday, National Geographic, and many other collaborators from around the world. Global Citizen Science Month encompasses online events and opportunities to contribute to projects from home.
A Guide to Green Chemistry Experiments for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Labs
Beyond Benign, My Green Lab, and MilliporeSigma have teamed up to develop a comprehensive teaching guide for undergraduate labs featuring Green Chemistry alternatives to traditional organic chemistry experiments and Green Chemistry lab practices.
Green Chemistry JV InvenTeams Activity Guide
Expose students to the ways of creating a sustainable future and tackling the world’s biggest societal challenges through chemical science and invention.
The new JV InvenTeam Green Chemistry Activity Guide will encourage students to use green chemistry principles to invent bioplastics. Students will learn how chemists can apply green chemistry principles to invent products and materials that reduce harmful impacts on humans and the environment. Educators and students will be lead through a 7-part project to explore sustainable invention.
Topics Include:
- Invention Introduction
- Inventing for a Sustainable Future
- Reuse and Explore
- Experimenting with Bioplastics
- Optimizing our Bioplastic Inventions
- Prototype
- Communicating Green Chemistry Ideas
Purchasing the Invention Kit:
The invention kit is designed for 20 students and two educators, and contains most materials and tools. Kits may only be purchased with a credit card. Purchase orders unfortunately cannot be accepted at this time. Invention kit costs do not include shipping. Shipping costs from our east coast distributor for each JV InvenTeam kit range between $20 and $120 depending on location and kit. Instructions for ordering the kits is here.
University of Illinois offers recycling of single-use masks
The University of Illinois Facilities & Services (F&S) Waste Management department provides campus-wide recycling and waste hauling, with an aim to continuously reduce total the volume of waste being sent to a landfill. The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) sets a vision of Zero Waste for campus, and the State Waste Reduction Plan provides a five year plan for continuing to reduce total landfill waste.
F&S collaborated with TerraCycle this semester to recycle disposable masks across campus. The program is free to university departments and units thanks to Student Sustainability Committee support.
Research fraud: a long-term problem exacerbated by the clamour for research grants
Lee Harvey (2020). “Research fraud: a long-term problem exacerbated by the clamour for research grants.” Quality in Higher Education (26)3, 243-261. DOI: 10.1080/13538322.2020.1820126
Abstract: This account explores the form and extent of research fraud, the time it takes to investigate these frauds and the inadequacy of university investigations. There also appears to be reluctance to communicate details about fraudulent papers to the scientific community. The sensationalist reporting of fraud is explored. Underlying the analysis is the question as to whether the structure of rewards in higher education encourages research fraud. The analysis addresses the structure of rewards in higher education and the impact that has on researchers, creating the potential for the normalisation of research fraud.
EPA Awards Grants to 32 Student Teams for Innovative Technology Projects
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced approximately $792,036 in funding for 32 student teams through its People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) grant program. Each team will receive funding to develop and demonstrate projects that help address environmental and public health challenges.
“As EPA celebrates its 50th anniversary, this month, we are highlighting ways the agency supports the next generation of environmental leaders,” said Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, EPA’s Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science and EPA Science Advisor. “The P3 program helps foster environmental education among students to support the next generation of scientists and engineers working to tackle some of today’s most pressing environmental issues.”
The Phase I teams will receive grants of up to $25,000 each which serve as their proof of concept. This year’s winners are addressing a variety of research topics including efforts to reduce microplastics waste and food waste, creating innovative and solar-driven nanomaterials, building a stand-alone water treatment system that can provide potable water for indoor use in single family homes, and removing PFAS from water using liquid extractions. These teams are also eligible to compete for a Phase II grant of up to $100,000 to further implement their design in a real-world setting.
Phase I grantees include student teams from the following universities:
- Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, Ohio
- Smartphones to Reduce Food Waste and Insecurity
- Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa.
- VOC Sensors for ppb-Level Detection and Speciation
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo.
- MAP-HABS: An Innovative Platform for the Early and Ongoing Detection of Harmful Algal Blooms
- Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Fla.
- Single-Stage Process for Biogas Purification
- Hamline University, St. Paul, Minn.
- Increased Sensitivity for Lead Detection in Drinking Water Using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
- Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill.
- Sorbent-Amended Caps for PFAS-Contaminated Sediments
- Marshall University, Huntington, W.Va.
- Nanoclay Reinforced Recycled HDPE to Replace PVC and PE Water Pipe Materials
- Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
- Perstraction for the Removal of PFAs from Water
- Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Montana Technological University, Butte, Mont.
- Biochar Wattle for Enhanced Surface Water Quality
- New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.
- Induction-Surface-Heating Membrane Distillation
- New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.
- Microwave-Catalytic Membrane for PFAS Degradation
- New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.
- Remediation of PFAS-contaminated Soil and Sediment
- New York University, New York, N.Y.
- Urban Food Lab: Composting Plastic in Aquaponics
- Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla.
- Solar-Energy-Combined Desalination Systems
- South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, S.D.
- Efficient Solar-Driven Water Desalination Based on Nanomaterial Design
- Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Ill.
- HAB Early Mitigation by Magnetic Photocatalysts
- Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
- Electro-Assisted Wastewater Nutrient Recovery
- Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa.
- Biochar Filter for Philadelphia Water Pb Removal
- Tulane University, New Orleans, La.
- Advancing Next Generation Genomic Tools for Detection of Naegleria Fowleri in Potable Water
- University of Akron, Akron, Ohio
- Waterborne NIPU Epoxy Hybrid Coating
- University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
- Cryptosporidium Capture in Sewage Impacted Waters
- University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
- Functionalized Membranes for Removal of PFAS
- University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Ala.
- Distributed Fiber-optic Turbidity Sensor Network
- University of California, Riverside, Calif.
- Small-Scale Solar Desalination for Drinking Water
- University of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla.
- Desalination using 2D MoS2 Nano-solar Evaporator
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
- Biodegradation of Microplastics in Water Treatment
- University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio
- Wet Wipes That Turn into Toilet Paper When Flushed
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Fungi-bacteria Based Biodegradation of PFAS
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Va.
- Rare Earth Elements Recovery Using Food Waste
- Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.
- GSI-Informed Urban Groundwater Monitoring Networks
- Western Dakota Technical Institute, Western Dakota Tech, Rapid City, S.D.
- Tertiary Wastewater Treatment through Aquaponics
- Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
- Solar Window for Water Collection and Purification
Learn more about the P3 Phase I winners.
Background:
The P3 program is a two-phase research grants program that challenges students to research, develop and design innovative projects addressing environmental and public health challenges. Phase I serves as a “proof of concept,” where teams are awarded a $25,000 grant to develop their idea and showcase their research in the spring at EPA’s National Student Design Expo. These teams are then eligible to compete for a Phase II grant of up to $100,000 to implement their design in a real-world setting.
Racial microaggressions contribute to disparities in STEM education
Read the full story from the University of Illinois.
Careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are one of the fastest-growing areas of work in the United States, yet racial and gender disparities remain in STEM occupations.
A recent study from University of Illinois researchers examining reasons for such disparities shows the overall racial climate on a college campus—informed by experiences of racial microaggressions—is a contributing factor in the lack of representation of students of color in STEM education programs…
The researchers hope the findings from the study, published in the International Journal of STEM Education, will encourage STEM-related academic programs to address the larger campus culture in their classrooms and other academic settings. “The aim is not to call attention to a particular campus, but we do make the connection to the broader national context. Colleges and universities play an important role in the STEM pipeline,” Collins says.
Penn pledges $100 million to the School District of Philadelphia
Read the full story from the University of Pennsylvania.
University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, School Board President Joyce Wilkerson, and Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia William R. Hite Jr., today announced that Penn will contribute $100 million to the School District of Philadelphia, representing an unprecedented commitment to the City and its public schoolchildren. This is the largest private contribution to the School District in its history.
Penn’s $100 million contribution to the School District—$10 million annually for 10 years—will be used to remediate environmental hazards, including asbestos and lead, in our public school buildings. This funding will have an immediate impact, supplementing the ongoing efforts of the City and District, and enabling them to dramatically accelerate and expand their response to environmental concerns in our public schools.
Bowdoin Steps Forward on Renewable Energy Plan
Read the full story from Bowdoin College.
Two large energy projects Bowdoin has been pursuing this year will get the College to its goal of offsetting 100 percent of its electricity with Maine-based renewable energy.
Case Study: University Air-Travel Offset Policy
California State University East Bay (CSUEB) established a University Air-Travel
Offset Policy (the policy) to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from university-funded air travel. The policy went into effect on July 1, 2020. CSUEB now charges a $9 carbon fee for every air-travel round trip funded by the university or affiliate. The monies are deposited into the university’s Climate Action Plan Fund. The Campus Sustainability Committee will invest the funds in on-campus projects that reduce GHGs.The University Air-Travel Offset Policy aims to help CSUEB meet goals laid out in its Climate
Action Plan (CAP). The CAP requires that all state-funded travel be carbon neutral or 100%
offset by 2022, and that CSUEB achieve campus carbon neutrality by 2040.
Adjusting to these ‘ever-changing times’
Read the full story from the University of Illinois.
Working in an epidemiology laboratory and the COVID-19 pandemic have taught undergraduate student Rachel Lupas about managing infectious disease.
School Ventilation for COVID-19
The goal of this paper is to outline the learning and wellness benefits of improved IAQ [indoor air quality] in schools and to provide actionable design strategies to achieve those benefits as well as connections to further resources.
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