Some of you may have seen Will's editorial last week in the Star Tribune raising awareness about the importance of climate literacy.  He wrote:

"Teaching and understanding climate change is a process involving scientific inquiry and educational pedagogy; it is not about politics or partisanship. There is virtually unanimous scientific agreement about climate change."

Reading through the comments that follow the editorial, it is clear that there is a lot of education that is still needed.  This presents a great opportunity for all of you and your students to practice rebutting the misconceptions and denial that still permeates the public.  How empowering for your students to know that they are "smarter" than the average commenter to the Star Tribune!  You can read the comments here or download a document we compiled with all of the comments here.  Ask your students to choose one and write their response and if you are comfortable with it, send your responses to the Star Tribune or share them with us.  As always, we are excited to hear about how things are going in your classroom.

REMINDER!  Please take a few minutes to take our survey about how you have used Minnesota's Changing Climate Curriculum OR why you were unable to do so.  We are in the process of editing the curriculum and creating a new edition for next year.  THANK YOU!  Take the survey here.

Resources and Opportunities
Registration Opens for 7th Annual Summer Institute for Climate Change Education!: PLEASE Share with your colleagues and consider coming back for new sessions and also to share how you used Minnesota's Changing Climate this year.  Information here.

New Website Shares Tools and Resources to Make Minnesota Schools Healthier and More Sustainable:  The Will Steger Foundation is an active participant in the Minnesota Green Schools Coalition – a group of the state’s strongest advocates for our children who are working to create a Minnesota infrastructure of green schools – healthy, high performance schools that are conducive to learning while saving energy, resources and money.  Use this website as a resource and to share with others you know.

Apply for national recognition as a Green Ribbon School!  Applications due February 22, 2012 :  The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is partnering with the U.S. Department of Education to recognize green schools with the newly launched Green Ribbon Schools program. To be considered for the program, a school will have achieved or made considerable progress toward the three pillars established in the program: 1) energy efficient buildings; 2) healthy students and school environment; and 3) environmental literacy of all graduates.  The combined achievement in these three areas will be the basis for the Green Ribbon Schools award.  More information & a link to the application are found on the MDE website.

In the news…
The USDA Unveils New Plant Hardiness Zone Map  Read More
More on this and how it impacts Minnesota

We want to thank you for being a part of our community of climate literacy ambassadors!

Kristen   

Ann

Winter greetings!  The cold has finally arrived and hopefully with snow right on its heels.  For those of you interested in keeping up on student observations of the Metro area, Great River School has been doing a phenomenal job of getting outside and letting us know what they see!  Also many thanks to Proctor for hosting Will, Nicole and myself a few weeks ago.  It was so much fun to hear what you have learned and get outside to see your journalling plots and observations.  Keep up the good work!

Keep your eyes open for next summer's first institute blast.  We are hoping to have some return teachers that are part of a teacher panel or just want to participate again.  If you enjoyed last summer, PLEASE share with your colleagues and encourage them to attend.  We are able to offer mileage and accommodations for those traveling outside the metro again and will have some great sessions.  The dates this year are August 7 and 8 and the location, the School of Environmental Studies in Apple Valley.

There has been an exciting development in climate change education this week, as the National Center for Science Education has taken up the fight against climate change denial and support of teachers teaching climate change.  Some of you are probably aware of NCSE's many years of work on making sure evolution was included in science education.  More on this on the Climate Lessons blog.

Cool Website of the Week- Check out this great interactive on how science works. 

Viral Climate Video of the Week

What does this mild winter mean for Midwest Forests?  Read More Now. 
Check out the latest issue of the Young Scientist's Journal focused on Climate Change. 

Opportunities:
Apply for national recognition as a Green Ribbon School!  Applications due February 22, 2012  
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is partnering with the U.S. Department of Education to recognize green schools with the newly launched Green Ribbon Schools program. To be considered for the program, a school will have achieved or made considerable progress toward the three pillars established in the program: 1) energy efficient buildings; 2) healthy students and school environment; and 3) environmental literacy of all graduates.  The combined achievement in these three areas will be the basis for the Green Ribbon Schools award.  More information & a link to the application are found on the MDE website. 

Stop by the Department of Education to hear from high school students talk about why Learning Outdoors is “Way Cool”  Monday, January 23, 12 – 1 p.m.
Last semester several Minnesota high school students from Mahtomedi and Roseville were busy learning the usual subject matter – history, literature, science, phy. ed., math. Hear why their academic experience was so exceptional.  These fortunate students will be at the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) to share their experiences at Conserve School (www.conserveschool.org) in Northeastern Wisconsin. Learn why for many of them it was their greatest experience with academics and was also life-changing.
Visitors are welcome, but please notify Jeff Ledermann, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , if you would like to attend.

YEA!MN is teaming up with MPIRG to plan a youth-centered lobby day at the Capitol Building in St. Paul for middle school and high students!  
Lobbying will focus on promoting the Recycling Refund Act which incentivizes and encourages Minnesotans to recycle and reduce litter, and on a bill that would commit Minnesota to a new solar standard of 10% solar energy by the year 2030.  
All are invited to join us as we participate in and learn about an important aspect of our political process.  Participants will have the opportunity to be trained on lobbying and on the particular issues they are interested in lobbying for, meet other youth activists who are working toward a more environmentally sustainable Minnesota, and lobby in the capitol building in front of a legislator.
Here is the information regarding the event:
What: MPIRG/YEA!MN Lobby Day
When: Tuesday, February 28th, 2012 9:00am-2:00pm
Where: The Minnesota Capitol Building, 5 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.  Saint Paul, MN 55155 (the specific room in which we will first meet is TBD)
*Free lunch will be provided*
Please ask your students to register if they'd like to attend.

The big news in the world of climate change education this week has been the National Center for Science Education's new climate change education initiative. 

"Long respected for its work in defending and supporting the teaching of evolution in the public schools...NCSE launched this new initiative to defend and support the teaching of climate change."

When asked why NCSE decided to take on climate change, Executive Director Eugenie Scott responded;

"We have been receiving more and more reports of teachers being pressured against teaching climate change, much as they are pressured against teaching evolution. Right now the evidence is anecdotal but we have heard enough to suggest that it is a problem."
Source

Read more coverage on the initiative below and make sure you check out their new webpage  for tips, tools and other information!

Read More:
Evolution advocate turns to climate
http://www.nature.com/news/evolution-advocate-turns-to-climate-1.9811

Climate change skepticism seeps into science classrooms
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-climate-change-school-20120116,0,2808837.story

Climate in Classrooms
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/climate-in-classrooms/

Climate Change Causes Heated Battles For Science Teachers
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/climate-change-skeptics-science-teachers_n_1214049.html

National Center For Science Education Launches Fight Against Climate Change Denial In Schools
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/01/18/405831/national-center-for-science-education-climate-change-denial-in-schools/?mobile=nc

Listen:
New Initiative to Promote Climate Change in the Classroom
http://www.thetakeaway.org/2012/jan/18/climate-change-classroom/

A Second Science Front: Evolution Champions Rise to Climate Science Defense
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=a-second-science-front-evolution-ch-12-01-16

Point of Inquiry:  Eugenie Scott - Defending Climate Education
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/eugenie_scott_defending_climate_education/

Will made a visit to Proctor during the first week of January to speak to the students of Jedlicka Middle School and Proctor High School and to hear from Leah Moore's eighth grade students.  After his presentation students asked him questions that ranged from "What is the coolest thing you saw in the Arctic?," to "What have you done to help fight climate change?." 

Following the presentation we had the opportunity to go outside and do some journal observations with the eighth graders that included recording the temperature, cloud cover and natural history observation.  To conclude the visit Will spent some time inside with the eighth graders taking questions and hearing from them what they have learned so far using Minnesota's Changing Climate.  Many thanks to Ms. Moore's class and the Proctor community for such a warm welcome and keep up the great work!

Greetings!

It is hard to believe we are almost to Winter Break!  For Ann and I this means, believe it or not, Summer Institute 2012 is in the works. Please help us in spreading the word that August 7-8 we will hold our 7th Annual Summer Institute for Climate Change Education.  We will once again be able to offer mileage and accommodations to those traveling from outside the metro area within Minnesota.  Details and registration will be available by the end of January.  In addition to sessions similar to last summer, we are planning on offering an "advanced strand" for teachers who have used MCC.  If you have suggestions for topics to address please let us know!  Finally, we hope to persuade some of you to come back to participate in a panel of experts discussing how you implemented this curriculum.  

I wanted to take a moment to recognize the amazing work you are all doing.  You are clearly putting in extra time and creativity to make this project work and it is so much fun for us to hear from you about the different directions you have taken.  This newsletter we wanted to acknowledge students at the Great River School who have been consistently posting their observations to the online classroom.  Keep up the great work!

Have a lovely winter break, hope for snow and we'll be back in touch in the New Year!

Kristen and Ann

Resources

COP 17 Recap:  Nicole wrote a nice recap of the outcomes of COP 17 in Durban.  For those of you looking for ways to include this in your class, check out the lessons in our very own Citizen Climate.

President's Environmental Youth Awards: The PEYA competition has two parts — a regional certificate and a regional award. The regional certificate program is conducted year-round. Therefore, applications for this program can be submitted at any time. All qualified applicants will receive a certificate honoring them for their efforts to protect human health and the environment.

Sustainable Energy Award: The $10,000 Sustainable Energy Award will be presented to each of the top three high schools that can demonstrate how they have engaged students and teachers in school-wide energy savings through the creative and innovative use of technology. Applications are due February 10, 2012. 

Document Your Environment Student Contest:  The National Archives in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a student multimedia contest, “Document Your Environment”. Drawing inspiration from a collection of environmental photos from the 1970's, this contest invites students ages 13+ to create any type of graphic art, a short video, or a poem using a Documerica photo as a prompt. The grand prize for this contest will be $500, courtesy of the Foundation for the National Archives.  Entries will be accepted until January 6, 2012.

Read about the repercussions of bees waking up earlier and share with your students doing observation projects this spring.

A photo submitted when we had snow on the ground from Lilli from Great River School

 It is hard to believe that November is already here!  We have been busy posting the online classroom submissions and doing a few school visits with Will.  Read more about the visits here.  We hope to start hearing about any projects that you have worked on with your students in the next few months.

Will Steger will be speaking at two public forums in Princeton and Grand Rapids, Minnesota in December.  The focus will be clean air, climate and health.  More information

Congratulations to the Heritage E-STEM school for receiving a Parks Climate Challenge grant to conduct water quality testing on a local water source, identify the problems and design a plan for improvement.  We hope to see more grant proposals from the Parks Climate schools soon!

As always, PLEASE feel free to contact us with any questions or feedback, but also to share what you are up to!  We love seeing reports, journal entries, posters, movies and photos and will be sure to feature them in upcoming newsletters and our blog.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Kristen Poppleton
Ann Benson

Featured Public Service Announcement Video from Wellstone Elementary

In the News
"Challenges to climate change education are common in the classroom, according to a poll of science educators conducted by the National Science Teachers Association. Although 60% of respondents to the on-line poll reported that they were not concerned about how climate change is taught in their school, 82% reported having faced skepticism about climate change and climate change education from students, 54% reported having faced such skepticism from parents, and 26% reported having faced such skepticism from administrators."  Read more

This recent article posted to SEEK gives some great ideas for ways to find support for getting kids outside.  

Project Funding Opportunities
Lexus Eco Challenge: Focus on Air/Climate

Captain Planet Foundation

America's Home Energy Challenge

SEED Grants for Energy Efficiency Projects

Compost Awareness Week Poster Contest

Disney Planet Challenge

Scholarships for Visitng Audubon Center for the Northwoods

Professional Development Opportunities
NOAA's Teacher at Sea Program

Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowships

Many educators who attended our Summer Institute expressed an interest in having access to Mary Spivey’s informative presentation about climate change and Minnesota’s biomes. We now have a video available of her presentation if you would like to review it, it is embedded below.

Mary Spivey’s PowerPoint presentation from the Summer Institute is also available to download from the online classroom if you would like to share it with your students. It can be found on the agenda of the Summer Institute page:  http://classroom.willstegerfoundation.org/about/summer-institute

 If you received an email from Ann with a survey about a possible spring event and have not yet responded, please do so. We would greatly appreciate your input, and thanks to those who have already responded!

Going to Education Minnesota on Thursday? Don't forget to stop by the Will Steger Foundation table or send colleagues to Kristen's session Explore Minnesota's Biomes in Your Classroom, 2:45-3:50 in Room 10!

As always, contact Ann, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Kristen, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions or feedback as you are using the Minnesota’s Changing Climate curriculum and online classroom.

Enjoy the cool autumn weather!

Kristen Poppleton

Ann Benson

Funding Resources
CERTs Seed Grants
The 2012 CERTs Seed Grants have been released, which support community-based clean energy projects.  They are looking for projects that inspire other community groups to take action and provide models that can be replicated. Past funding has gone to projects in schools. For more information: http://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/rfp  
Application deadline: November  15, 2011

Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow Video Contest
Grades 6-12 public schools can win a technology kit to create a video and then compete for technology grants for your school. The videos need to show how science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) can help improve the environment in your community. For more information: https://pages.samsung.com/us/sft/home.htm
Application deadline for project proposal: October 31, 2011

Future Opportunity
Want your students to get involved with YEA MN and learn about current climate events?

Join the YEA MN video conference with youth at the UN Climate Conference in Durbin, South Africa. This will take place Saturday, December 3 at the Edina Library from 12pm to 2pm. Contact Joe, YEA MN Coordinator with any questions about this event, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Co-sponsored by the Citizen’s Climate Lobby and Cool Planet.

On October 12 representatives from the Climate Literacy Network came together to provide an all day workshop at the North American Association for Environmental Education Conference.  The workshop, Climate Change Education:  Science, Solutions, Inspiration, and Empowerment, gave participants an introduction to climate science, common climate change misconceptions, educational materials educators can use to integrate climate education into curriculum & professional development programs, and the importance of integrating climate solutions into climate change education.  The following syllabus from the workshop has a description of each section, the presenter and includes powerpoints, when provided.

CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION:
SCIENCE, SOLUTIONS, INSPIRATION, AND EMPOWERMENT
AGENDA
NAAEE October 12, 2011

8:30 - 8:50         Introduction                        Linda Morris

8:50 – 9:00         NASA “Global Temperature” Quiz                         Louise Huffman
    Quizzes can be accessed at: http://climate.nasa.gov/quizzes/index.cfm

9:00 – 9:40         US Ice Drilling Program                         Mary Albert, Linda Morris
                                                                                                                          
                        “Decoding Clues from the Past; Empowering Decisions for the Future”          

Linda briefly introduced the US Ice Drilling Program, its goals and resources. Mary provided an overview of ice core research and share key findings that have impacted our knowledge of climate through the past 800,000 years.  

9:40 – 9:50          Group Activity: Weather vs. Climate                                         Louise Huffman

9:50 - 10:00         Break    How Does Melting Ice Affect Sea Level? Voting…

10:00 – 10:45   Misconceptions and Hurdles                                            Emily Kellagher

This session provided an overview of how to identify misconceptions in climate change and what common misconceptions to look for in students.  Strategies for handling misconceptions based in controversy or misinformation were addressed.    Download Powerpoint  Download Activity

10:45 - 12:00    Transferring Climate Science to the Classroom:            Louise Huffman
                          Environmental Literacy with a Focus on Climate Change

  Carbon Journey, Biodiversity and Habitat Loss, Phenology: Step Together Step                                     
    
Hands-on activities from Environmental Literacy Framework (ELF) Activity Book:  Carbon Journey, Biodiversity and Habitat Loss, Phenology: Step Together Step            Download Powerpoint

12:00 – 12:50    LUNCH   Meet Informally With Ice Core Scientist Mary Albert            302ABC

12:50 - 1:00      NASA Quiz:  Sea Level Rise                                Louise Huffman
    Quizzes can be accessed at: http://climate.nasa.gov/quizzes/index.cfm

1:00 – 1:45       Making Sense of Graphic Data                 Roberta Burnes, Kristen Poppleton
Activity: Hands-on Materials for Teaching about Global Climate Change through Graph Interpretation
Activity based on article 1 by Dr. Audrey Rule and article 2

1:45 – 2:15       CLEAN Pathway Project                                          Nick Haddad, Sarah Hill
In this session we reviewed the CLEAN Pathway project, and site to help identify the resources that will be useful in the classroom, and to look at specific examples of activities in the collection.  http://cleanet.org/  Download Powerpoint

2:15– 2:25        Break   How Does Melting Ice Affect Sea Level? Conclusions…

2:25 – 3:10       Speed Dating:  Meet Your Dream Activity                   Presentation Team

Stacking Up the Atmosphere     The Incredible Carbon Cycle
Polar Detectives                       Drivers Start Your Engines
Energy Choices                        Young People's Projects
Biome Meet and Greet              Climate Misconceptions
                   
Participants were introduced to a variety of educational materials addressing different aspects of climate change education.

3:10 – 3:40      Climate Change Solutions and Civic Engagement        Kristen Poppleton
    Participants were introduced to the importance of including solutions in any climate change education program.
Download Powerpoint

3:40 - 4:00       Films to Introduce Climate Science,                    Lynne Cherry, Ryan Vachon
                         Adventure Learning, and Citizen-Science                                                     

Lynne Cherry introduced films from her Young Voices on Climate Change Project and Ryan Vachon described his "Doctor Ryan" film project and classroom-ready lesson plan supplements.  

Watch Doctor Ryan's Introduction

4:00 - 4:30       Wrap-Up                                           Presentation Team

Web Resources Shared
For an alternative to the iclickers used for anonymous quizzes.
http://www.polleverywhere.com/

Information on Climate Literacy and activities
http://cleanet.org/

Regionally based background on climate change science
http://www.globalchange.gov/

Local/Place Based Climate Change Education Efforts
http://learnmoreaboutclimate.colorado.edu/
http://classroom.willstegerfoundation.org
http://climatewisconsin.org
http://parksclimatechallenge.org

Other Websites to visit:
http://icedrill.org
www.climate-expeditions.org
http://climateexplorer.multigraph.org
http://cires.colorado.edu/education/outreach/
http://www.andrill.education.org/education/elf

Information on the Presenters
Mary Albert is the Executive Director of the Ice Drilling Program Office and a Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College.
More information at: http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/people/faculty/mary-albert/

Roberta M. Burnes is the Environmental Education Specialist, Kentucky Division for Air Quality.

Lynne Cherry is the author and illustrator of over thirty award-winning books for children including The Great Kapok Tree and A River Ran Wild. She is the producer of the Young Voices on Climate Change project and film series.
More information at: http://youngvoicesonclimatechange.com/

Nick Haddad is a Project Director at TERC. Led by a group of experienced, forward-thinking math and science professionals, TERC is an independent, research-based organization dedicated to engaging and inspiring all students through stimulating curricula and programs designed to develop the knowledge and skills they need to ask questions, solve problems, and expand their opportunities.
More information at: http://www.terc.edu/

Louise Huffman is ANDRILL’s Coordinator of Education and Public Outreach.  ANDRILL is a multinational collaboration comprised of more than200 scientists, students, and educators from four nations (Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United States) to recover stratigraphic records from the Antarctic margin using drilling technology.
More information at:  http://www.andrill.org/education

Emily Kellagher is Education Outreach Faculty at CIRES at CU Boulder. CIRES researchers explore all aspects of the earth system and search for ways to better understand how natural and human-made disturbances impact our dynamic planet. Our focus on innovation and collaboration has made us a world leader in interdisciplinary research and teaching.
More information at:  http://cires.colorado.edu/education/outreach/

Linda Morris is the Education Program Manager at the Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) at Dartmouth College. The IDPO was established to articulate and maintain long term and short term goals and plans in conjunction with the ice coring and drilling research community, enhance communication and information exchange within the research community and beyond to the public, and oversee the IDDO.  More information at: http://www.icedrill.org/index.shtml

Kristen Poppleton is the Education Program Manager at the Will Steger Foundation, an environmental non-profit established by Polar explorer Will Steger and focused on climate change education, policy and outreach.
More information at:  http://www.willstegerfoundation.org

Ryan Vachon is a professor at University of Colorado who has traveled worldwide to produce a series of educational adventure science videos documenting climate scientists.
More information at: http://vimeo.com/user6201773

We are loving the fall photos that are coming in from students in your classrooms!  Make sure to check out the observations page daily to see all the new submissions.  If you just want to see images, click on the image tag on the righthand side.  Visit the page now.

We are busy this month getting ready for conference presentations at the North American Association for Environmental Education and Education Minnesota.  If you have any photos of your students in action, or stories you would like to share about how you are involved with this project please send an email with the photos and/story to Kristen Poppleton, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

If your colleagues are jealous of the Explore Minnesota's Biomes Kit you have been using, it is now easy to check one out from us via our website.  Educators anywhere can borrow them, but will have to pay shipping if they cannot pick them up from our office.

Don't forget to stop by the Will Steger Foundation table at Education Minnesota, October 20 or send colleagues to Kristen's session Explore Minnesota's Biomes in Your Classroom, 2:45-3:50 in Room 10!

Enjoy the lovely autumn weather!

Kristen Poppleton

Ann Benson

Parks Climate Challenge Video

Watch our latest video highlighting the Parks Climate Challenge cohort!

Featured Resource

Due to a grant from the National Education Association we were able to develop a small resource with background information and some activities related to  extreme weather and climate change.  Check it out.

Field Trip and Opportunities to Extend Learning on Minnesota's Changing Climate

Audubon Center of the North Woods announces 50 percent school scholarship expiring soon
In partnership with the Jeffers Foundation, the Audubon Center of the Northwoods is able to offer 50 percent scholarships to elementary schools that have never attended or have not attended a residential environmental learning center (RELC) in the past two years. The scholarship is applicable to the first year only that a school visits the Audubon Center of the North Woods.  More information.

School Buildings as Green Teaching Tools – Wednesday, October 19 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

This October, the National Environmental Education Foundation (www.neefusa.org) in partnership with the National Education Association Foundation (www.neafoundation.org) and Green Schools National Conference (www.greenschoolsnationalconference.org) is launching the first of a series of three webinars to help educators around the country learn from experts and peers how to green their schools and curriculum. Webinar participants will interact live with national experts and teachers who are transforming their schools for the 21st Century.  Registration is free!  All educators are invited to join us for the webinar.  For details and to register

The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge | The Siemens Foundation
The Siemens Foundation, Discovery Education, and the National Science Teachers Association invite you to join the only Challenge of its kind that empowers students to create solutions to environmental problems in their own backyards, and to share their results with students nationwide. They'll learn. They'll take action. And their ideas may well end up changing the world.
Description, contest criteria, rules, suggested timelines, and prizes are all available on the contest website.

Teaching Climate Change in Your Classroom,  2 credit online graduate course, Hamline University
October 30-December 4, 2011
Register by going to www.hamline.edu.  Under "Logins" on the right select "Course Listing" then select Fall 2011 under "Continuing Studies".  Scroll down to select ENED 6126.

Grades 2-4 Are Invited to Participate in the Wonders of Weather Art Contest ~ Deadline November 7thInstitute for Global Environmental Strategies

Welcome to the first edition of Minnesota's Changing Climate(MCC) Updates.  This is one of the ways we hope to keep in touch with all of the educators implementing the MCC project this year.  Every other week we will be sending a short newsletter that includes resources that might complement your work, including funding opportunities for field trips and service learning grants and professional development opportunities. 

In addition we will feature the submissions and work of some of your students.  Please let us know what you are up to, how the curriculum is working or not working and if there is any way we can support you.  We are looking for classes that might be open to having our videographer come in to the classroom or field setting where you are implementing the curriculum.  Contact Ann Benson with your contact information and when you plan on doing one of the activities if this might be a possibility.

We are absolutely ecstatic about the success of the online classroom submissions in the first weeks of the school year!  We have already had over 200 observations and photos submitted from students around the state.  If you have time, ask your students to look them over and comment on them or ask questions.

We will be announcing the schools where Will will be visiting in the next few weeks. Thanks to all of you that expressed interest.

Finally, based on some of your feedback we have decided to pilot monthly climate change educator meet ups during the 2011-2012 school year beginning October 4. Meet Ups will be onsite or via conference call every other month. Teachers and educators integrating or hoping to implement climate change in their education setting are invited to stop in for informal discussion and treats 4:00-6:00 October 4.  RSVP if you plan to attend.

If you know of any other educators that might be interested in getting on the MCC mailing list, please send us their email address.  Keep up the good work and enjoy the fall colors!

Kristen Poppleton
Ann Benson

Check out these spectacular photos from students at Glacier Hills School of Arts and Science Elementary!

Featured Resource

Climate Tracker is a fantasic new resource from the University of Minnnesota that allows students to visualize Minnesota's shifting climate and how it corresponds with the location of Minnesota's biomes.  Check it out!

Funding Resources
Grants Available for Schools to  Integrate Environmental and Outdoor Education
 The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is pleased to announce a request for proposals from Minnesota schools committed to integrating environmental and outdoor education into grades 7-12. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2011. Teams of teachers from an anticipated six schools will be selected to receive up to $5,000 in mini-grants and several days of free training from Minnesota environmental and outdoor education experts over the next two years. This funding is for the purpose of designing and implementing innovative environmental and outdoor education programs that bolster student achievement in middle school or high school science, physical education, social studies and/or mathematics.
 
Application materials, including more details on the program, are available on the MDE website at https://education.state.mn.us/EGMS/searchAllActiveGrants.do. Contact Jeff Ledermann at 651-582-8602 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further information on this funding opportunity.

Grant Provides Funding to Support Transportation Costs for Field Trips to Three Rivers Park District Education Centers
http://www.seek.state.mn.us/fullrec.cfm?ItemID=2127

Target Field Trip Grants
http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031880
 
PLT GreenWorks! Grants
Do you have an idea for a school/community native plant garden, a forest improvement project, a streamside restoration plan, a recycling program, or energy conservation project for your students?  Need funds to implement it? Apply for a GreenWorks! Grant for up to $1,000! For more information visit www.greenworks.org. Application deadline: September 30.

Green Thumb Challenge - Application deadline September 30  
The Green Thumb Challenge from the Green Education Foundation (GEF) aims to connect children with nature and the healthy benefits of gardening. GEF provides schools and youth groups with beginner-friendly resources to plant gardens of any size, in addition to fun activities and standards-based lessons linking the classroom to the garden. All participants have the opportunity to be awarded a $5,000 grant in recognition of their garden project. http://www.greeneducationfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=97&Itemid=289  
 
Toshiba America Foundation Grants for Grades K-5 - Application deadline October 1
Toshiba America Foundation offers grants of up to $1,000 to support innovative projects designed by math and science teachers to make their classrooms more exciting and successful for students. Any K-5 teacher in a public or private school is eligible. Proposed projects must advance the teacher's science and math teaching units. http://www.toshiba.com/taf/k5.jsp

Lexus Eco Challenge - October 31     
The Lexus Eco Challenge offers an opportunity for students in grades 6-12 to address environmental issues in three challenges: Land/Water, Air/Climate, and a Final Challenge. Teams have the opportunity to win $10,000 in each of the first two challenges and up to $30,000 in the final challenge. For each challenge, teams must choose a topic and use PowerPoint to illustrate an action plan. Participants are required to show how their ideas were implemented and also evaluate the results of their plan. http://www.scholastic.com/lexus/index.asp

Professional Development Opportunities

PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is currently accepting applications from teachers for the sixth year of teacher research experiences. Teachers are invited to submit an application to participate in field research learning experiences during the 2012 (usually Arctic) or 2012-2013 (usually Antarctic) field seasons.

More information and application forms are available at: http://www.polartrec.com/teachers/application/2012

Teaching Climate Change in Your Classroom,  2 credit online graduate course, Hamline University
October 30-December 4, 2011
Register by going to www.hamline.edu.  Under "Logins" on the right select "Course Listing" then select Fall 2011 under "Continuing Studies".  Scroll down to select ENED 6126.