Get busy circulating NAAEE's new video on YouTube, spreading our message quickly around the world. Video production is by our fabulously creative 2008 Summer interns. Thanks, ladies, for your energy and excitement this summer.
(Pictured Left to right: Jessica Williams, Albright College, PA; Bethany Boland, Eastern University, PA; Erika Schmitt, Ohio University; Elly Adeland, Carleton University, Ottowa, Ontario)

The first Environmental Justice Commission workshop "A Walk About Wichita," is a wonderful opportunity to explore how the city of Wichita is addressing urban blight with an environmental frame of revitalization. In addition to a bus tour and lunch, there will be interactive panel discussions with city officials. The goal is to showcase models of environmental justice and environmental education cooperation. As a result of a grant, we are able to offer this extraordinary learning day for only $30.00. Space is limited (tour-lunch) so register NOW.

Have Fun While Learning at NAAEE Conference
Lots of fun is on the agenda for the NAAEE conference in Wichita. Friday night brings everyone together at Exploration Place for the annual fundraising auction. The buffet dinner will feature locally-raised vegetables, poultry, and pork, served on compostable tableware that will be sent to Botanica after the event. To close our time in Wichita on Saturday, our Grande Finale co-hosts for the evening are Kent Cummins of Magic Hotline and Chris Walden of Walden Magic Productions. In addition to performing their special form of environmental magic, they will introduce our variety show entrants and keep you entertained during set changes. Will a member of the NAAEE leadership really dare to be sawed in half? Be there to find out!


NAAEE Conference Gets Lots of Sponsor Support
Companies, agencies, and nonprofits that support excellence in environmental education are generous supporters of the NAAEE conference in Wichita. Be sure to visit their booths in the Exhibit Hall and thank them for their support.

Please visit this section of the NAAEE Web site and be sure to book soon as hotel cut off dates are approaching fast and once they pass the special rates will not be available. Hotel Info >>

Looking for a roommate? Go to the online bulletin board and see who else needs one or post your own message:

With so much attention now focused on how to help solve our environmental challenges, members of the North American Association for Environmental Education are ready to answer the question "What can I do?" For over 36 years, NAAEE's annual conference has provided hundreds of ideas for how to teach others to help our planet be more sustainable. This year's NAAEE conference, in Wichita, Kansas, on October 15-18, features many ways to share the message that every action matters in sustaining our planet. During the four days of events, participants also will be inspired by a host of artistic expressions in words, pictures, and songs.
Start here >>
Pre-registration closes October 1st

Are you a preK – 12 educator? Would you like to attend the NAAEE Conference on Saturday October 18, the day we focus almost 100% on presentations that meet your EE needs? Well, you are in luck … we have extended the special $60 Saturday rate until September 17. Be sure to register before then, as it jumps to $100 the next day. You may go here to register:

NAAEE conference attendees can learn how the City of Wichita is cleaning up 5-½ square miles of contaminated groundwater while avoiding the EPA’s Superfund list. The solution is the Wichita Area Treatment and Education Center (WATER Center), an interactive, water education facility featuring hands-on exhibits, artwork, trails, aquaria, and a creek for treated water disposal. The center also operates a public education program to help prevent future groundwater contamination. The WATER Center is located in Herman Hill Park in south Wichita.
Learn more about the WATER Center:

Do you have a fabulous, award winning printed materials that you would like to share in a communication session at the NAAEE conference – a brochure, poster, newsletter, annual report?
Please contact Sue Bumpous at sbumpous at naaee.org or Garry Enns at garryenns at genesisnetworks.ca

Deadline: October 31, 2008
Project Learning Tree® (PLT) awarded 24 GreenWorks! grants to schools and organizations across the country to involve students in community-based environmental projects. GreenWorks! is PLT’s service-learning program that engages PLT educators and their students with their local community in "learning-by-doing" neighborhood improvement projects. Since 1992, PLT has distributed over $565,000 to fund 810 grant projects in communities across the country. Proposals for the Fall 2008 cycle of grants are due on October 31, 2008. Grants up to $5,000 are available.

September 2008
NSTA, the Siemens Foundation, and Discovery Communications are launching a new sustainability education competition for middle school students to develop innovative green solutions for their schools, homes, and communities. This national middle school competition will involve a team of students identifying, researching, and recommending a solution to an environmental problem in their community. The competition will expand to kindergarten and elementary students in 2009 and to high school students in 2010.

Are We Ready to Ride the New Environmental Wave?
This newest "EE and Diversity" installment is now available online and divided into six key areas:

·Assessment tool: Do environmentalists know how to connect with the culturally diverse populations that are showing interest in the environment?
·Articles of Interest: The Whiteness of Green
·Vignette: Your next strategic plan
·Mini-lesson: "SWOT" to becoming more inclusive
·Success stories: Center for Diversity and the Environment
·A Glossary on Cultural Diversity

May 10-14, 2009 ~ Montreal, Canada
The 5th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) theme, "Live Together on Earth," invites participants to contribute to this most important project. The search of "better living together" implies tackling the questions of identity, solidarity, and socioecologic action. Explore the links between ecology, economy, and ecosophism, and consider how environmental education can help connect these three dimensions of our relationship with the world. WEEC is being presented by the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM), Lucie Sauvé and the University of Québec in Montréal, Bob Jickling of Lakehead University in Ontario, and the Quebec Association for the Promotion of the Environmental Education (AQPERE).

With many funding agencies requiring program evaluations, this new, free online resource from the University of Michigan will help you through the process step-by-step, starting with choosing approaches and resources based on your experience/skill level. Funded by and in partnership with the US EPA and US Forest Service, MEERA helps educators evaluate to what extent they have met the goals and objectives of their project.
Read the press release and get started!

October 24-25, 2008 ~ Ponca, Nebraska
The Nebraska Alliance for Conservation and Environmental Education (NACEE) conference theme is "Opening Doors: Conservation and Environmental Education for Nebraska." Visit the Web site to learn more about keynote speakers, sessions, and workshops.

September 19 - November 7, 2008 ~ Online
Are you seeking a K-12 professional development opportunity that will enhance your qualifications, competency, and self-confidence in integrating Earth system science, climate, and global change into your science classroom? This Fall the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is offering a series of seven-week online courses for middle and high school teachers that combine geosciences content, information about current climate research, easy to implement hands-on activities, and group discussion.

October 18, 2008 ~ Melville, New York
The Earth Education Workshop is designed to introduce leaders to earth education programs, methods, and materials that help learners of all ages build broader understandings of earth's systems of life; deepen feelings for the earth; and encourage individuals to craft more harmonious lifestyles. Examples of indoor sessions include Leadership Guidelines, Concept Building, and Environmental Habits; outdoor activities focus on ecological concepts, observation skills, and solitude enhancing in a natural place.

September 22 - December 12, 2008 ~ Online
This Montana State University graduate course is designed for educators of students in grades 6-12 who are interested in integrating inquiry oriented, experienced-based, environmental studies into their educational program. Participants will learn basic ecological field study techniques and conduct studies in their local environment. Instructor: Michael Brody
Credit: 3 graduate

September 19, 2008
National Park(ing) Day is an all volunteer effort to celebrate city parks while promoting the need for more parks by creating temporary parks in public parking spaces.

October 17-18, 2008 ~ Albuquerque, New Mexico
The "Soar to Greater Heights: Professional Development for a Sustainable Future" conference is jointly presented by the EE Association of New Mexico, New Mexico Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and New Mexico Science Teachers Association. The conference begins with "Field Trip Friday," with visits to local EE programs, workshops, and events, followed by New Mexico’s Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish moderating "Educating for a Sustainable Future." Guest panelists will represent the fields of science and technology, mathematics, social issues, and the environment. Saturday's events include concurrent sessions on math, science, environmental, and inter-disciplinary tracks.
Read the latest newsletter EE Connections here >>

Are you interested in continuing professional development? Would you like to learn at your own pace? "Facing the Future: Educating & Inspiring a Global Generation" is an online, independent continuing education course for educators of grades 5-12, to build upon their teaching expertise and to think creatively about how to integrate global issues, sustainability, and local solutions into their curricula.

CLEARING is one of the oldest publications for environmental and place-based education in the country. First published in 1978, CLEARING is a quarterly magazine for formal and non-formal educators that features thought-provoking perspectives, insightful resource reviews, grade- and subject-specific activities and lesson plans, and news from regional EE associations in the western US and Canada. Available in print and online.

The latest Green Schools Initiative newsletter, A Green Back to School, is packed with helpful information on shopping green for the start of the new school year.

MeetTheGreens.org kids' guide to looking after the planet has just added a new activity guide. It pairs hands-on activities to deepen kids' understanding of topics like recycling and global warming with campaigns to reduce junk mail and get drivers to stop idling cars. This innovative, Web-only project comes from WGBH in Boston, the producer of shows like ZOOM, ARTHUR, Frontline, & NOVA.

For only $55 (professional membership rate), you get a wealth of member benefits that include the new Members-only version of EE-News, discounts on conference registration and publications, access to our membership directory for valuable networking, the ability to influence NAAEE policy through participating in Committees and Commissions, and more !

Join Online >>

Making a contribution to supporting NAAEE's work to improve the EE profession has never been easier.

This email bulletin is provided by NAAEE , with funding from the Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP). Read the latest EETAP Bulletin >> . EETAP is funded by U.S. EPA's Office of Environmental Education. The NAAEE promotes excellence in EE and serves environmental educators for the purpose of achieving environmental literacy in order for present and future generations to benefit from a safe and healthy environment and a better quality of life. Read the latest EETAP Bulletin >>

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NAAEE Communicator
Quarterly print publication mailed to all NAAEE members >>
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