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The summer 2011 algal bloom outbreak in the western section of Lake Erie was the worst that has ever been recorded according to a new report by the National Wildlife Federation. Researchers have different opinions on what caused this “perfect storm” of algal growth this summer, but all agree that immediate action must take place to prevent this from happening again.

Akron’s Coventry Middle School students have been studying this environmental catastrophe through their Disney Planet Challenge project, What is an algal bloom?...You are about to enter the Dead Zone! Disney’s Planet Challenge (DPC) is a project-based learning environmental competition for classrooms across the U.S. DPC teaches kids about science and conservation while empowering them to make a positive impact on their communities and planet.

Coventry students have been working with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Surface Water Division and participating in several labs on nutrient overloading. Community involvement will include “storm drain marking” on a minimum of 25 storm drains throughout the village.

The students held a fishing derby at the Division of Wildlife Fish Hatchery in Portage Lakes. Student Adam Marsh attended the derby with his mother and 2 siblings, stating that the reason he participated in the event “was to have fun and enjoy the outdoors in a clean and safe environment.” The students visited the Ohio State’s Aquatic Research Facility on Gibraltar Island observing the algal bloom first hand and completing water quality testing and stream monitoring.

Middle School students realize the economic and recreational significance of Lake Erie and hope to bring this ecological disaster to the forefront of environmental issues. Teachers Chris Lorence and Jim Trogdon are the coordinators of the project. Trogdon states, “The first step in solving any problem is to make people aware of the current situation and then take action. This is the goal of our project.” Coventry Middle School students are actively working with a variety of resources including the Ohio Division of Wildlife, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio State’s Aquatic Research Center, Stone Lab, Underwriter’s Laboratories and Ohio EPA Surface Water Division of Summit County.

Alec McClellan, President of Good Nature Organic LawnCare, partnered with Coventry Middle School to help promote the students’ Disney Project. Good Nature will donate $30 to the school’s outdoor education program for anyone who signs up for a full lawncare program. For more information, call Good Nature Organic Lawncare at 216-285-1881. Best of luck to these young environmentalists as they continue their work.

Students from across the country – and Canada! – tuned in to hear Brent Kim and Ralph Loglisci of Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future and I, as we discussed the environmental and community impact of daily food choices, the issues associated with modern industrial food production and its environmental impacts, and the history and effectiveness of the Meatless Monday campaign.

So share the What’s On Your Fork resources with your friends, family, colleagues and other students. Have a discussion with each other about the ways you can make a difference by making small changes to your daily routine. Remember, everything you do makes a difference…even at mealtime.

Click here and scroll down to the video player to watch our webinar and learn how YOU can make a difference

GUIDELINES
The contest is open to anyone who prepares a short, funny video for YouTube, which communicates a clear message about clean energy and/or green jobs.

Submissions must:

Be humorous!
Address the issue of clean energy and/or green jobs.
Reach a broad audience beyond just environmentalists.
Be an original production.
Be less than three minutes.
Posted to Eco-Comedy Video Competition 2012 YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/ecocomedy2012
Submitted by 11:59pm on March 2, 2012.
There will be six judges representing the Center for Environmental Filmmaking, Sierra Club, the US Environmental Protection Agency, Mill Reef Productions, and EcoSense. The decision of the judges is final. Awards are based on overall merit of the entries. Judges reserve the right not to grant an award. The organizations listed above reserve the right to post submissions on their websites.

Submissions are due by March 2, 2012.

Instructions for submission:

1. Visit www.youtube.com/ecocomedy2012

2. Click on the “Eco-Comedy Video Competition Spring 2012” video.

3. Below the video, click inside the Comments box.

4. Below the right side of the Comments box, click on “Create a video response”.

5. Upload your video by either clicking on “Choose a Video”, if you have already uploaded it to your account; OR if you have not, click on “Upload a Video” to begin the process. Then follow the upload instructions on the screen.

NOTE: Submitted videos will not be visible under “video responses” until they have been approved.

We look forward to watching your videos and awarding the winner $1,000! Good luck!

The winning entry will be announced and shown at American University on Tuesday, March 20 at the DC Environmental Film Festival. The creator will receive a $1,000 award from the Sierra Club. In the event of a tie, the monetary prize will be split between the winners equally.

GENERAL RULES
1. Videos must be the original work of the applicants. Applicants must hold the rights to any music, graphics, or stock footage used in their productions. Music Contestants may use any music that they own the rights to or that is not copyright protected to begin with. For example, contestants may use their own original music, music composed by friends, music that is found through creativecommons.org, or royalty free music that has been purchased from a source such as digitaljuice.com. Contestants may NOT use music that is copyright protected (for example, a song by the Rolling Stones) without obtaining the rights to it.

2. Any factual claims or references to research must be credited.

3. If a submission involves two or more applicants, the award will be divided equally among them.

4. Videos must be no longer than three (3) minutes.

5. Videos must not have received extensive funding from non-profits, government agencies, or private companies.

Format Rules
Videos should be submitted in the form of a YouTube post.

For More Information
Please e-mail Chris Palmer at palmer@american.edu.

Register now for our What's on Your Fork webinar today at 2pm ET. Click here to register

- Student Achievement Grants Now Available to Middle and High School Public Educators –

Washington, D.C., January 19, 2012 - EarthEcho International, a leading environmental education nonprofit organization (www.earthecho.org), is working with the NEA Foundation and Discovery Education to bring educators and students new resources to EarthEcho’s Water Planet Challenge site (www.waterplanetchallenge.org). Continuing to engage youth through web-based interactive tools, the new features include Student Achievement Grants with the NEA Foundation and a webinar with Discovery Education that will empower youth to design, create and implement service-learning projects in their communities.

On January 25 at 2:00 PM EST, EarthEcho will partner with Discovery Education, the leading provider of high quality, curriculum-based digital content and professional development resources, to host a food-focused webinar featuring Philippe Cousteau, Jr.  The webinar will explore the environmental and community impact of daily food choices and include commentary from guest experts Brent Kim—content developer on Teaching the Food System (www.jhsph.edu/teachingfood)—and Ralph Loglisci of Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.  Based on the What’s On Your Fork? Action Guide, the webinar will give participants a new perspective on issues associated with modern industrial food production and its environmental impacts.  To sign up for the What’s On Your Fork? webinar and download the Action Guide, go to www.waterplanetchallenge.org.  For teachers and students interested in learning more about a MEATLESS MONDAY campaign, the Action Guide provides information on offering plant-based food choices one day a week at school, at home, and throughout the community.

What’s On Your Fork? is authored for EarthEcho by Cathryn Berger Kaye with contributions from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. The Guide was inspired in part by the Participant Media-River Road Entertainment film, Food, Inc., released by Magnolia Pictures, and the discussion materials Participant Media and Center for Ecoliteracy created for the film.  Active participants will have a chance to win Food, Inc. videos during the webinar. 

The NEA Foundation-EarthEcho Water Planet Challenge Grants in amounts of $2,000 are available as Student Achievement Grants to middle and high school public educators.  A collaborative effort between EarthEcho and the NEA Foundation, the Water Planet Challenge grants support service-learning programs that improve the health of our water resources. To apply, applicants must cite specifically how they are utilizing EarthEcho’s Water Planet Challenge Action Guides in the classroom with their students. The application deadline is February 1.  For more information, go to www.neafoundation.org/grants.

From conserving energy and improving the quality of our drinking water to understanding the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, the Water Planet Challenge’s extensive collection of Action Guides, videos, lesson plans and service-learning materials helps educators and their students affect change one classroom, one community at a time. The Water Planet Challenge resources are available to middle and high schools through a partnership with Discovery Education.  Water Planet Challenge Action Guides and resources are provided at no cost to students, educators and community leaders.

Primary funding for the Water Planet Challenge is provided by the Toyota U.S.A. Foundation, a $100 million charitable endowment created to support education programs serving kindergarten through 12th grade students and their teachers in the United States, with an emphasis on mathematics, science and environmental science. For additional information about the Toyota U.S.A. Foundation, visit www.toyota.com/foundation.

 About Discovery Education

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) revolutionized television with Discovery Channel and is now transforming classrooms through Discovery Education. Powered by the number one nonfiction media company in the world, Discovery Education combines scientifically proven, standards-based digital media and a dynamic user community in order to empower teachers to improve student achievement. Already, more than half of all U.S. schools access Discovery Education digital services. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

About NEA Foundation

The NEA Foundation is a public charity supported by contributions from educators’ dues, corporate sponsors and others who support public education initiatives. We partner with education unions, districts and communities to create powerful, sustainable improvements in teaching and learning. We have invested $8 million in grants for more than 2,500 educators to help students succeed. Visit www.neafoundation.org for more information.

About EarthEcho International
EarthEcho International is a leading environmental nonprofit committed to youth engagement, action, and leadership through education. EarthEcho helps young people everywhere understand the critical role we play in the future of the planet through the one thing that connects us all – water. EarthEcho International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by siblings Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau in honor of their father Philippe Cousteau Sr., son of the legendary explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau. For more information about EarthEcho International, visit http://www.earthecho.org. 

Do Something is a national nonprofit organization that inspires young people to believe that change is possible, and trains, funds, and mobilizes them to be leaders who measurably strengthen their communities. The Do Something Award identifies exceptional young social entrepreneurs, activists, and community leaders who have a significant social impact. Five nominees will receive a $10,000 community grant, participation in the Do Something Awards TV show, media coverage, and continued support from DoSomething.org. Of those five winners, one will be selected to win the Grand Prize and will receive a total of $100,000 towards his or her cause or organization. The application deadline is March 1, 2012. Visit the Do Something website for application information.

DO SOMETHING AWARDS 2012:

The Award**:

Up to 5 Nominees: Each finalist will receive a $10,000 community grant.
1 Grand Prize Winner: One Grand Prize Winner will receive a $100,000 community grant.
Important Dates:

Application due: March 1st, 2012
Semi Finalists notified: mid April
In-person interviews in NYC: June 8th-12th
The Do Something Awards on Vh1: late August

2012 APPLICATION IS NOW AVAILABLE CLICK HERE TO APPLY

EarthEcho recently launched the What's On Your Fork? as part of their Water Planet Challenge. Youth are equipped with an information-packed action guide that they can use to organize a Meatless Monday campaign in their schools, homes and communities. Support and content was provided by the Toyota USA Foundation, Discovery Education, Participant Media and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.

Click here to read the interview on Huffington Post

Wildlife conservation issues exist all around us—and so do opportunities to address these issues. Start paying attention to changes happening in your community and think outside the box. Wildlife and their habitats are not just located in the woods or forested areas—they are in the trees in your backyard, the shrubs around your school building and everywhere else.  Ask yourself, what local wildlife habitats or natural resources are being threatened and by what? What problem is this creating in your community? What can you do to help?

Once you have focused in on a specific issue occurring in your community,  think about specific goals for your project, and the steps you will need to take in order to address the problem. Do you see any opportunities to protect or preserve wildlife habitat? In some cases, it may require creating a new habitat or perhaps conserving certain areas alongside development. Think about what kind of project could be developed to address the issue. Can you think of something that could get your whole community involved? What will the positive impacts be for the community? Perhaps you could add support and fresh ideas to efforts that are already in place.

In the application you will be asked to create a timeline for implementing your project, as well as a detailed budget, describing how you will tackle the problem, what tools you will use, who you will work with, and what positive outcomes you foresee. If chosen as a winner, you will be provided $500.00 to turn your project into a reality.  After completing your project in June, you will participate in an 80-hour wildlife conservation or natural resource internship in your local community during the summer of 2012.  At the end of the internship you will be awarded a $500.00 stipend.

Here’s your chance to make a difference!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO APPLY

Show times:

Saturday December 3: 13:30 & 21:30
Sunday December 4: 08:30, 17:30 & 22:00
Wednesday December 7: 05:30

All times GMT