Cultural Competency: What It Is and Why It Matters
By Laurie Olsen, Jhumpa Bhattacharya, and Amy Scharf. Have recently published a study titled Cultural Competency: What It Is and Why It Matters. This report takes a deeper look at the cultural implications of environmental growth and sustainability and emphasizes that these aspects cannot be ignored. Through integrating cultural cognizance into environmental practices, these authors feel that the desired goals will be more obtainable and sustaining.

Go Team Green! Samantha Cleaver investigates how engaging children in outdoor education has proven to be a positive compliment to the traditional classroom setting. Cleaver analyzes the effects of integrating non-traditional methods of teaching and shows the immense benefits gained through this approach.

Ontario Government Adopts All EE Recommendations:
On July 07, 2007, the Ontario Government released the Report of the Working Group on Envrionmental Education Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future, and announced that the government will adopt and implement all 32 recommendations in the Report.  The far-reaching recommendations will create policy, and affect curriculum, teacher preparation, professional development, pre-service and in-service resources, outdoor education, and a new grade 11 course focused on environmental education. 

Most Americans Believe Environmental Groups Too Extreme
Moore Information Opinion Research Poll shows that a solid majority of American voters are of the opinion that environmental groups are too extreme.   This study covers a multitude of topics including race and white privilege. The posting includes an excerpt from Robert Jensen's book The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege, City Lights Books, 2005. This piece examines the various fears that keep white people from asking themselves the difficult questions. Not asking such questions helps maintain the racist practices and systems that permeate American society. Another section reports on a program broadcast by PBS that asked: What is race? While there is no biological basis for the concept, race continues to affect most aspects of American society. Another section of the installment highlights an excellent Web site with tools for evaluating racial equity.

Taproot Outdoor Education Journal This press release  from the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors at the State University of New York , (SUNY) contains Ecopsychology issue links to tools to increase personal, social and environmental well-being and sustainability.

Green School Grounds and Physical Activity
"Grounds for Action: Promoting Physical Activity through School Ground Greening in Canada" is a 2006 Evergreen report, presenting the findings of a national survey indicating that green school grounds enhance the quantity and quality of physical activity by increasing the range of enjoyable, non-competitive forms of play at school.

Greenbacks for Green Schools This compilation by the Green Schools Initiative catalogues funding sources for eliminating toxins, using resources sustainability, creating green, healthy spaces, and teaching stewardship.

Wanted - Air Quality Education Programs
Do you know of place-based learning programs that monitor air quality?  The EPA-funded study, Quantifying a Relationship Between Place-based Learning and Environmental Quality, is seeking examples of place-based learning programs that engage students to monitor local air quality.  Your program results can contribute to this national study.

Tore and the Town on Thin Ice This  is part of the Tunza Environmental Series for Children sponsored by the United Nations Environmental Programme. Like the rest of the series it is beautifully illustrated by Adrienne Kennaway and aims to inspire caring for the Earth through creative literature that sparks the awareness and interest of children, their parents, and teachers.

Frog Calls Videos
This page provides links to audio clips of frog calls and video clips of scientists discussing frog issues, including declining amphibians and malformed frogs.

Africa Environment Outlook (AEO) The Africa Environment Outlook for Youth (AEO) is the youth version of the AEO report and has resulted from the combined efforts of young people from all over Africa. It is a report of Africa 's environment through the eyes of Africa 's youth. This book presents its message through articles, poems, proverbs, drawings and paintings. 

Attention Environmental consensus Teachers!    A new book entitled "147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability:
Connecting the Environment, the Economy, and Society" gives advice on ways to incorporate sustainability your curriculum.  This is a good way to foster sustainable behavior in your students.

Education on Energy - Teaching Tomorrow's Consumers From the European Commission's Energy Transport DG.ManagEnergy survey report "Education on Energy - Teaching tomorrow's energy consumers" was published by the European Commission's Energy and Transport DG in early 2006 and is being distributed widely throughout Europe  . Survey results show student interest in environmental and energy issues.

ECO Workplace Diversity Survey The Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) is conducting a national research project on initiatives/activities/programs (i.e. fellowships, scholarships, field research education programs, K-12 programs, etc.) which aim to educate, recruit, support and retain underrepresented groups within the conservation field. The end result will be two-fold - a report of trends and findings and an interactive online directory of activities. ECO would like to include your activities in this important project and free online directory. At their Web page linked above, you can provide them your information by answering 6 questions. Please respond at your earliest convenience. As a thank you for your time, they will enter your name into a drawing for a $300 American Express gift certificate upon submitting your information. If you have questions, contact the Project Manager, Marissa Glowac at mglowac@eco.org or 617-426-4375 X131.

Water, Our Way of Life: An Action Guide for Community Leaders This guide explains key principles in encouraging participation in water protection and conservation.  The goal is to be a catalyst for creating ways to engage residents in improving their water resources.

Survey Results of Public Attitudes towards Natural Resources Responsive Management specializes in opinion and attitude research on natural resource and outdoor recreation issues. The 2004 e-reports are   on how the public values natural resources; what the participation and   attitudes are toward specific issues such as the management of wildlife, endangered species issues; and many more.

How Schools Work and How to Work with Schools on a Health Issue This conference, sponsored by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,  was the first in a series of seminars on working with schools on sexual violence prevention issues. This session, however, provides an introduction to working with schools and did not address a specific violence issue, but rather the goals of this session were to help participants: Learn how schools work at the district, state, and national levels.  Learn practical ways to work with educators, administrators, and policy makers.  Increase your understanding of where policy and decisions are made in the educational system. 

Economic Co-operation and Development Factbook Online version of new Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Factbook of economic, environmental and social indicators for the world's core economies. "The OECD Factbook will become a key reference for anyone interested to know 'where we are' and 'where we are going' in terms of social, economic and environmental development."

Report from the Green Schools Initiative The Little Green Schoolhouse: Thinking Big About Ecological Sustainability, Children's Environmental Health and K-12 Education in the USA  . This report establishes a framework that brings together a variety of school-related environmental health and sustainability issues under one conceptual and strategic roof. Report presents a vision of green and healthy schools and offers policy recommendatio ns.

Fish Consumption- Health Risks and Benefits Fish are chock full of nutrients, but they are often contaminated with pollutants that can have serious health effects, particularly on growing babies and children. It can be difficult to know what to do with this good and bad news--if you are already aware of it. Due to language, cultural or other barriers, many who depend on "catching their dinners" may not be in the information loop. A new education program, Fish School: Taking Stock of Risks and Benefits, will involve scientists, nutritional experts, extension educators, teachers and students who will reach out to southern Lake Michigan communities at school fairs and local festivals to raise awareness about the risks, as well as the benefits of eating fish in those who need it the most--women in their child-bearing years and families who fish for their food.

Australian Study on Sustainability   The study documents the experiences, achievements and lessons learned from nationwide, whole-school initiatives developing around the world. International initiatives such as Enviroschools, Eco-schools, Learnscapes and Green  Schools were reviewed to assist in identifying key features and critical success factors which characterize a Sustainable School .  E-copies are downloadable from the Web site .

Engaging People in Sustainability This   new international publication by the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication provides some compelling and exciting case studies from around the globe of how others in the field have put the concepts of Education for Sustainability into action. It is framed around five key themes essential to developing a successful program in this area.

Nature Helps Fight ADHD "A Potential Natural Treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence from a National Study" by Frances Kuo, PhD, and Andrea Faber Taylor, PhD, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign shows that hands-on structured outdoor activities improve behavior and produces positive results for students with ADHD.

Teaching Issues and Experiences in Ecology   Seeking submissions. Teaching Issues and Experiences in Ecology (TIEE) is designed to enhance ecology teaching by assisting faculty with more student-active lessons within lectures and lab sessions.  TIEE is constantly accepting submissions, reviews and evaluations of successful ecology programs for the classroom.  Accepted items will be edited and published for educational material available through the Ecological Society of America (ESA). 

EPA Launches Online Science Inventory Database This is a searchable, Agency-wide catalog of science activities such as research, technical assistance and assessments, along with more than 750 peer-reviewed products.  The database contains more than 19,000 records in the archives including project descriptions, products produced, types of peer review, links to related work and contacts for additional information.

South Carolina Middle School Uses the Environment as an Integrating Model A recent report that shows that South Carolina middle school students who have been using the Environment as an Integrating Context (EIC) model are doing better in the classroom, are engaged in real-world, community-based, and standards-aligned environmental investigative and service-learning projects that improve their behavior, attitudes and grades.  The EIC model is based on national research conducted by the State Education and Environment Roundtable (SEER) and it employs natural and social systems as the context for learning while taking into account the "best practices" of successful educators.  Teachers in the South Carolina middle schools, together with parents, local businesses, universities, and federal, state, county and non-profit environmental groups are helping students stay in class and improve their learning.  Teacher confidence and classroom management skills also improved as students responded.   Information provided by The National Environmental Education & Training Foundation, 2004.

Create a  Nature Center The National Association of Interpretation has announced the publication of the revised version of The Nature Center Book:  How to create and Nurture a Nature Center in Your Community.  The revised edition, co-authored by Brent Evans and Carolyn Chipman Evans, provides up-to-date information and expanded discussion of topics key to nature center development.  The 200 page full-color book also successfully provides readers with an understanding of the connection between the formal classroom setting and nature centers in their community.  It outlines lessons learned since the first edition and important new developments in the field of nature center development and environmental education.

New Book Investigates Environmental Online Communication This new book investigates how the Internet helps manage the explosive growth and dwindling lifespan of environmental information.  How can we leverage new technologies to advocate sustainability?  To answer this question, 60 authors analyze communication from four perspectives: Raising Environmental Awareness, Environmental Science, Corporate Sustainability, and Networks & Virtual Communities.  Download the preface, sample chapter, abstracts, author biographies and the complete list of references with 1000+ entries from the Web site.

"Interaction with Nature during the Middle Years: It's Importance to Children's Development"   This is an article by Randy White, discussing the importance of the greening of schoolyards as natural schoolyards where children can interact with nature and as a result develop positive environmental values.

Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth   This book By Rochelle Strauss is for ages eight and up and shows how living things are classified into five kingdoms and how each has much to tell us about all aspects of life on our planet.  If a leaf on a tree represented every known species on Earth, then the Tree of Life would have 1,750,000 leaves.  Since humans count for just one leaf on the tree, we have a lot to learn about the millions of other forms of life with which we share the world. 2004, 40 pp. ISBN 1-55337-669-2.  $16.95

Excellence in Non-formal Environmental Education The North American Association for Environmental Education has issued new guidelines for excellence in non-formal environmental education as part of its National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education.