Going “ green” is a popular term that means awareness and action to preserve, restore, and improve the natural environment. Students these days are very aware of these issues and have strong feelings about being part of the solution. January seems to be a great opportunity for student to make a statement regarding this issues. Here are some great sites that can help your Generation YES programs “go green”.
Planetfesto’s purpose is to build an environmental educational and action movement that creates a virtual ribbon long enough to wrap around the earth. To do pieces of the ribbon, students simply choose a photo on the site (or upload their own photo or drawing), say why they love the planet, and what they’re personally going to do to protect it. This activity is perfect for introducing the many ways students of all ages can make small changes in their daily routine that may improve the well being of the planet over time. Check out my previous blog post ” Do your part- create a ribbon” to see my ribbon and how others are getting involved.
The Global Cooling Collective- http://globallycool.ning.com/
The “Year of Global Cooling” network is dedicated to worldwide plans, student-organized and student-promoted global Earth Day concerts. This network includes forums, groups, photos and videos that discuss global environmental concern. Most discussion topics are targeted towards high school aged students.
Community Learning Network- http://www.cln.org/themes_index.html
Here you’ll find over 5,800 annotated links to educational sites with free resources, all organized by theme pages and keyword search. Many of the resource websites do have actual lesson plans that are geared towards middle and high school aged students.
Go Green Initiative- http://www.gogreeninitiative.org/
The Go Green Initiative is a simple, comprehensive program designed to create a culture of environmental responsibility on school campuses across the nation. The goal of this initiative is to promote “earth-friendly” behavior such as recycling, reducing waste and conserving energy into your schools everyday structure. This website can show your elementary or middle school students creative activities that schools are doing to be pro active with environmental issues. Each school involved can earn national recognition on this websites “go green school” list!
Reading, Writing, Recycling: One Oregon School is Making the Planet a Better Place
http://www.edutopia.org/green-building-students-curriculum
A great article on one high school’s holistic approach to environmental awareness. Examples and tips on how students both study and practice ways to live lightly on the land.
And as always, be sure to check the GenYES Project Archives-
Login to check out some past GenYES projects that have helped bring awareness to saving the planet. ( must have a GenYES login to do this) http://student.members.genyes.com/archive/display.php?archiveID=331324
Have fun and feel good about making a positive change in the environment!
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi
