Care for Our Earth! Grants for Teachers
Schools Save Energy, Cut Traffic and Pollution
Santa Barbara County 4th-12th grade teachers are
encouraged to apply for 2011-2012 Care for our Earth Grants, through a
program that is a collaboration of the District, the Santa Barbara
County Education Office, the Southern California Gas Company, and
Pacific Gas & Electric Company.
Deadline for 2011 was November 18. Application is through the County
Education Office, for more information, see
this page. The program offers $200 grants to teachers to do
environmental service projects with students to save energy or cut
traffic and pollution at the schools sites. See below for links and
resources, and contact
Mary Byrd
at 805-961-8833 for more info. For information on last year's
grants, see
this issue of the District
newsletter.
Reducing energy use
Examples: Students could measure energy used by
particular appliances, and/or identify times when lights are left on
or equipment is left plugged in and turned on. Students could review
school energy bills, identify potential savings, and make
presentations to principals. Students could develop and institute an
energy-saving program. Grant funds could be used to purchase
measuring equipment, compact fluorescent lights, plug strips, or
supplies for charts and presentations, or for field trips or
speakers.
Resources:
Cutting traffic and pollution at schools
 Examples: Students could draw map of school and
neighborhoods and place pins on the map for development of "walking
school buses" or multi-family carpools. Students could do a
transportation survey and make recommendations to parent groups or
administrators. Students could plan a celebration of "Walk to School
Day" or "Bike to School Day."
Resources:
Teachers Awarded
Grants in 2011.
Twenty-two county teachers in nine school districts were
awarded
"Care for Our Earth" grants in February of 2011. To view descriptions of the grant projects, see
this issue of the District
newsletter. The teachers are conducting projects with their students
to save energy or cut traffic and pollution at school sites.
Several of the teachers earning 2011 Care for our
Earth grants were honored at a Santa Barbara County Education Office
event in February. Back row from left: Riccardo Magni, Pioneer Valley High
School, Santa Maria Jt. Union High District ;
Lori Collins, Carpinteria Family School, Carpinteria Unified School
District; Michael Muscio, Santa Maria-Bonita School District; Kelly
VanAllen, Pine Grove School, Orcutt Union School District; Lise Pawley,
Alice Shaw School, Orcutt Union School District; Kevin Reed, Rincon High
School, Carpinteria Unified School District; Christopher Scott, Santa
Ynez School, College School District; and Laura Branch, Righetti High
School, Santa Maria Jt. Union High School District. And front row from
left: Valerie Trenev, Alice Shaw School, Orcutt Union School District;
Emma Rodriguez, Delta High School, Santa Maria Jt. Union High School
District; Lisa Savaso, Alice Shaw School, Orcutt Union School District;
Santa Barbara County 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr, a District
Board Member who represented the District at the event; Lee Ann Knodel,
Santa Barbara High School, Santa Barbara Secondary School District; and
Mary Byrd, District Public Information Officer.
Wheel of Change
The District offers countywide classroom presentations for K-12th grades
and college classes with lessons on our atmosphere, air pollution, global climate change,
and what we can do to make a difference.
Presentations can be tailored to the particular focus and level of
the class, and can include a game using the Wheel of Change (pictured
below with District Public Outreach Intern Karly Kaufman).
To schedule a presentation, contact Mary Byrd
at the APCD at 961-8833. See more resources on
this page.
The District also makes presentations for clubs and afterschool programs, and attends
science nights and other school events.
Safe Routes to School discusses efforts to encourage kids to bike or walk to school (or carpool or take
the bus).
Air Pollutants
& Your Health describes the pollutants of greatest concern in Santa
Barbara County, and their health effects.
Daily Air Quality Index
provides the AQI for
air throughout Santa Barbara County.
Ozone data shows levels of
ground-level ozone measured
at county monitoring stations, updated hourly on this website.
Toolkit to Reduce Diesel Emissions at
Schools provides resources for schools to hear about effects of diesel
exhaust pollution, and reduce emissions.
Air Quality and Air Pollution
Videos are available free in English and
Spanish from the California Air Resources Board, click on the title to go to
the order page on the state's website:
"A Breath of Air: What Pollution is Doing to Our Children," and
"With Every Breath: Health Effects of Smog".
Lessons and activities for K-12 from Project A.I.R.E. (Air
Information Resources for Educators) are available for download (free) from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website.
Air
Pollution: What's the Solution?
activities from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency curricula help students learn about
ground-level ozone.
The National Science Teachers Association
includes lesson plans and activities to teach air quality concepts - search
at NSTA Science Store under the
term of interest.
Air Care Air Quality Education Program
from Think Earth
includes a curriculum for middle school www.EDSpecialists.com.
The California Air Resources Board website's
Know Zone
page includes information on air pollution, lesson plans, and resources for
students: www.arb.ca.gov/knowzone/knowzone.htm.
Alternative transportation
Safe Routes to School
Lesson Plans for
the Classroom , developed by Marin County teachers, includes
plans for
multiple grade levels. (For more on the Safe Routes to School program locally, see
this page.)
For more information on local programs encouraging alternative
transportation, see Traffic Solutions' webpage here:
www.trafficsolutions.info.
Additional alternative transportation resources and links are on
this page:
www.italladdsup.gov/resources/
Car Care for Clean Air
The National Safety Council's
Cleaner Cars Module
encourages responsible car care habits for future drivers. Fact sheets and other
resources are also available on this page of the agency's website:
www.nsc.org/ehc/airqual.htm.
Community events such as Earth Day offer an opportunity to
showcase environmental education projects.
Shop teacher Mike Shallenberger (right) was honored with an air
pollution education grant from the APCD and the Santa Barbara County
Education Office. He and his students
at La Cumbre Junior High School in Santa Barbara converted a diesel Mercedes to run on
100% waste vegetable oil from a local restaurant. The students added a
second fuel system to the car, with a tank in the trunk for the
vegetable oil, a filtering system, and a hot-water circulation system. Said one student: “Before
this project, I never knew that a car could run on vegetable oil.
I learned a lot about how cars work, too.” The project was showcased at
the South Coast Earth Day Festival. For information on countywide Earth
Day events, see this page.
The CREEC Network (California Regional Environmental
Education Community Network) has information about environmental education
resources for teachers, including a Resource Directory for Region 8 (Santa
Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and Kern Counties). See www.creec.org/region8.
 US EPA's Office of
Environmental Education - Kids' page, teachers' page, regional programs,
students' page.
School Health page from California Air Resources Board - environmental
health conditions at schools and resources to reduce pollution.
How
Your Lungs Work (American Lung Association)
UCI Science Education Programs
Science education programs for teachers and students developed by UC Irvine.
Rocky Mountain
Institute pages for students and teachers on energy.
Also see the Students and
Related Links pages on this website for additional
links to air pollution and other environmental resources.
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