2009 Classroom Earth Professional Development Grants

Environmental education aims to increase student understanding of how natural systems interact with each other and with human-made systems. It allows students to make decisions based on sound evidence and build skills that can have a positive impact on the environment. It is education that should be an integral part of every discipline, building student awareness, knowledge and action. 

A 2008 National Environmental Education Foundation survey of 1,350 businesses found that:

• Sixty-five percent of company respondents currently value job candidates’ environment and sustainability knowledge.
• Seventy-eight percent of company respondents believe that the value of job candidates’ environment and sustainability knowledge will increase as a hiring factor within five years.

Environmental literacy will be increasingly valuable to employers. Preparing students for their future means incorporating environmental education into high school curricula.

Classroom Earth Professional Development grants are designed to support teachers new to the field of environmental education who want to increase the environmental literacy of their students.  Twenty grant awardees will be chosen in June 2009. Each will receive $1,500 grants to take two graduate level courses online offered by University of Wisconsin Stevens Point’s Environmental Education and Training Partnership. One course will be taken each semester of the 2009 - 2010 school year.

The courses are:

Fundamentals of Environmental Education (EE) - Fall 2009

This course will not only help you to develop a better sense of EE, but will also expand your skills as an educator. Through this course you will become familiar with many resources that will assist the environmental educator in you!

Making EE Relevant for Culturally Diverse Audiences - Spring 2010

The course is designed to provide course participants with the basic knowledge and skills needed to make EE relevant to culturally diverse audiences. Through this course you will:

• Broaden your perspective of EE to encompass interests and issues of concern to culturally diverse audiences,
• Assess barriers to participation among culturally diverse audiences, and
• Appraise the role and significance of building relationships and partnerships with members of an audience you intend to work with in the future.

As part of this course you will adapt a component of your program to make it more relevant for a culturally diverse audience of your choice.

The application deadline for the 2009 Professional Development Grants has passed.  For more information about future Classroom Earth grants, please sign up for our monthly newsletter.