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National Wildlife Federation's
Eco-Schools USA
Eco-Schools is an internationally acclaimed program that provides a framework to
help educators integrate sustainable principles throughout their schools and
curriculum. Started in 1994 in Europe, it has expanded to 47 countries around
the world, involving 30,000 schools, 8 million students and 400,000 teachers. In
December, 2008, the National Wildlife Federation was named host for Eco-Schools
in K-12 schools in the United States.
Eco-Schools USA supports the development of school-based action teams of
students, administrators, educators and community volunteers, who combine
effective "green" management of the school grounds, school facilities, and
curriculum. Eco-Schools is designed to improve academic performance, especially
in science and math. It helps reduce costs for schools, while reducing the
school's carbon footprint and reducing school waste.
Eco-Schools also encourages student environmental awareness and stewardship,
increases parental involvement, helps students and teachers build stronger
relationships with their communities, and provides links to national and
international efforts.
Schools begin by registering for the program, and establishing an Eco-Action
Team. The Team performs an environmental review of the school, focusing on areas
like energy use, water use, transportation, waste generated, and the school
grounds. The Team identifies needs and opportunities and develops and implements
a plan to address them. The plans link the activities to the school curriculum
and involve the school and larger community. The school can track its progress
through levels of the program.
Although we currently do not have funding to provide on-site help for Nebraska
schools interested in becoming an Eco-School, materials and much information is
available on the National Wildlife Federation's
Eco-Schools USA web site.
Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary |
