Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in Wyoming
- Indicates a Headquarters grant
Yellowstone Teton Clean Energy Coalition $55,468
Phil Cameron, PO Box 11756, Jackson, WY 83002
Ytcleanenergy.org
WY Alternative Fuels
The WY Alternative Fuels program is designed to serve as a model for creating behavior change by developing a curriculum and workshop series that provide students and the public the information necessary to think critically and make informed decisions about which alternative fuel or strategy has the best application in a variety of situations. The information provided in the program covers topics such as alternative transportation fuel and vehicle technologies.
The topic of alternative fuels and transportation and the issue of air quality are relevant throughout the country. In addition, the curriculum is based on new national science education standards to ensure it is applicable in all states and communities. This project advances and strengthens the area of environmental education by developing a curriculum for alternative fuels and vehicle technologies targeting K-12 students and community members, which currently does not exist. The program has two goals: (1) create an alternative transportation fuel and vehicle technologies curriculum for school and community programs, and (2) facilitate a statewide workshop series educating teachers (formal and informal), non-profit leaders and community leaders about air pollution reduction through alternative transportation fuels, vehicle technologies and strategies, and train these participants to lead programs in their respective schools and communities.
Wyoming Association for Environmental Education (WAEE) $47,079
Sue McGuire, P.O. Box 11246, Jackson, WY 83002
Developing an Environmental Literacy Plan (ELP) for Wyoming
The Wyoming Association for Environmental Education (WAEE) is composed of kindergarten through grade 12 teachers, college faculty members, non-formal educators, government resource management staff, and members of the public interested in promoting environmental education. The primary goal of the project is to complete an Environmental Literacy Plan (ELP) for Wyoming. This plan addresses three areas for strengthening environmental education in public schools: (1) identifying the content knowledge and critical thinking skills necessary for understanding and making decisions that relate to the environment and then connecting these areas to the current state education standards, (2) addressing the means by which the knowledge and skills can be developed in students, including outdoor education, place-based education, and service learning, and (3) creating opportunities for teachers to increase their own knowledge and skills to meet the standards set forth in Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines for Learning. Two complementary goals are to update the Wild, Wonderful Wyoming curriculum and make it available online and to obtain new information as part of updating the Report on the Status of Environmental Education in Wyoming (2005).
Friends of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens $30,743
Riana Perez, 710 South Lions Park Drive, Cheyenne, WY 82001
Children's Village for Sustainable Living
The Children's Village for Sustainable Living implements a hands-on learning curriculum in the botanic gardens that models sustainable practices and exposes children and families to the technologies that power a greener world. Science coordinators for the district have been involved in the planning process to develop the Children's Village, which is Cheyenne's first children's museum and the first children's garden in the nation to teach sustainable practices as its primary learning objective. The goal of the project is to foster a conservation ethic and introduce children from pre-kindergarten to grade 6 to sustainable practices and technologies. The project also offers mentorship opportunities for middle and high school students. The Children's Village is designed to be a place of self-directed imaginative play and educator-directed imaginative learning.
Fremont County School District #14 $36,707
Cheryl Williams, 638 Blue Sky Highway, Ethete, WY 82520
Wyoming Indian Elementary School After School Ecology Program
The Wyoming Indian Elementary School after School Ecology program is an intensive after-school science program for students in grades 2 through 4 from the Wind River Indian Reservation who have never had any formal exposure to science. The program strives to improve chronically poor student achievement through field experiences that encourage cultural and ecological stewardship of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Its three main objectives are (1) to improve poor academic achievement by engaging students in science education; (2) to provide inquiry-based, culturally relevant field ecology to underserved students; and (3) to encourage local environmental and cultural stewardship and overall appreciation for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. This school program brings together Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho students with academics whose research focuses on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem with the hope that students benefit from the direct experiences of resource professionals and that resource professionals recognize the various cultural and economic conditions within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Future stewardship of the ecosystem relies on both.
Teton Science School $4,928
Dr. Doug Wachob, P.O. Box 68, Kelly, WY 83011
Connecting People to Water through Education and Research Program
The Teton Science School, in collaboration with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, is promoting appreciation of Wyoming's water resources through watershed awareness, teacher education, and research programs. The program objectives are to foster knowledge of Wyoming's water resources through watershed awareness initiatives, provide teacher training with a focus on watersheds and water quality, and promote career opportunities in the environmental sciences among students in grades 7 through 12.
Wyoming Association for Environmental Education $6,622
Susan R. McGuire, P.O. Box 11246, Jackson, WY 83002
Environmental Education Capacity Building in Wyoming
The Wyoming Association for Environmental Education (WAEE) promotes quality environmental education programs across the state. As a non-profit state affiliate of the North American Association for Environmental Education, WAEE is conducting the project as the first necessary step in building the capacity of Wyoming's environmental education profession. The goals of this project are to identify new environmental education leaders, create a communication network among environmental education professionals, evaluate the status of environmental education programs in the state, and create a statewide strategic plan for environmental education for the next 3 to 5 years.
Audubon Wyoming $5,000
Vicki L. Spencer, 400 East 1st Street, Suite 308, Casper, WY 82601
Wildflower Garden at the Audubon Center at Garden Creek
The goal of this project is to create a garden area where young children and adults can view native wildflowers, butterflies, and birds in an outdoor setting. The approximately 8,000-square-foot garden area is composed of four distinct zones: a garden designed to attract butterflies, an area designed to attract birds, an area of native grasses, and a desert-like area. Pathways allow visitors to walk among these zones and observe a wide variety of plants along with the butterflies and birds those plants attract. Because the garden area is close to a parking lot and classroom facility at the Audubon Center, young children and the elderly can view the plants and animals without having to hike out into the prairie.
National Audubon Society $10,000
Vicki L. Spencer, 400 East First Street, Suite 308, Casper, WY 82601
Audubon Wyoming and You: Making a Difference for Birds (A Video Production)
The purpose of this project is to create an educational video in order to increase awareness and knowledge of environmental issues affecting bird species and populations in Wyoming. Project goals include introducing environmental education and citizen science programs to individuals throughout the state, showing people how they can get involved in these programs to make a difference in the environment, and helping people learn how to make informed decisions and take responsible action in order to protect valuable resources.
National Audubon Society of Wyoming $5,000
Vicki L. Spencer, 101 Garden Creed Road, Casper, WY 82604
Volunteer Natural Training Program
The project creates a comprehensive training program for 25 volunteers who introduce visitors to the Audubon Center at Garden Creek. The volunteers are trained to provide natural history background and natural interpretation, and guide visitors throughout the facility. The volunteer naturalists expand the center's program to serve an additional 3,000 nonstudents each year.
University of Wyoming $15,000
Duane Keown, P. O. Box 3992, Wyoming Hall, Laramie, WY 82071
Wild Wonderful Wyoming Workshops
Faculty and staff of the Wyoming Conservation Connection in the university’s Natural Science Program prepare and deliver eight workshops. The workshops are delivered on site in the school districts; to build a sense of place, local resources are used. The audience for the workshops is teachers of all subjects in grades 7 through 12 in Wyoming schools. The goal of the project is to help students become environmentally knowledgeable, skilled, and dedicated citizens who are willing to work toward achieving and maintaining a dynamic equilibrium between the quality of life and the quality of the environment. The manual Choices for the Future are given to the 160 secondary school teachers who attend the workshops.
Campbell County School District $3,022
Rollo Williams, P. O. Box 3033, 1000 West 8th, Gillette, WY 82717-3033
Follow the Waste Day
The brown-bag lunch program is a hands-on presentation that explains and shows the origin of local resources and ultimately how they are safely disposed of. During the learning luncheon, children study the origin of their drinking water, where the water goes after it is used, and what happens to the remains of their lunch after they are thrown away. The goal of the project is to show how natural resources are connected, using various agencies at the local and regional levels. Through the Follow the Waste Day program, children and educators see how their daily activities can minimize waste and ultimately contribute to the conservation of their local natural resources. The lesson in source reduction provides educators and children with an understanding and appreciation of the need to make responsible and informed decisions in improving our environment. The knowledge is shared with the Wyoming Association of Environmental Education to disseminate it to school districts throughout the state and region.
Magic City $4,121
John Firestone or Mary Rozmajzl, 1750 Westland Road, #166, Cheyenne, WY 82001
Eco Center Recycling
Students and members of the general public learn about recycling and the need to keep our environment clean for ourselves and wildlife through the Eco Center project. School groups tour the Eco Center facility to learn first-hand. They view recycling exhibits at the center and receive recycling decals they can display to demonstrate their commitment to the concept. The project reaches approximately 225 students a month, some 15 percent of whom are African American or Hispanic. The Wyoming Game & Fish Department is a partner with Magic City in the project.
Teton Science School $3,662
April Landale, Box 68, Kelly, WY 83011
Project WET Workshops
Project WET teaches experiential natural science to people of all ages in the greater Yellowstone region. Participants in the program include 20 teachers of kindergarten through 12th-grade programs, 16 graduate students, and 16 Girl Scout leaders. The project provides three training workshops for environmental educators through the program, which is accredited by Utah State University, the University of Wyoming, and Prescott College.
University of Wyoming $5,000
Duane Keown, Box 3992, Wyoming Hall, Laramie, WY 82071
Wild Wonderful Wyoming
This project provides an environmental education manual for use in elementary schools in the entire state of Wyoming and parts of Montana and Nebraska. The manual focuses on training and materials that teach about the environment and natural resources. The curriculum is the work of 53 teachers who collaborated in its development. State resource management agencies, environmental organizations, the University of Wyoming, and Wyoming schools are partners in the project.
WY Association for Environmental Education $4,750
William Edwards, 520 Harvard Lane, Cheyenne, WY 82009
Environmental Education Master Plan
The Environmental Education Master Plan seeks to improve environmental literacy. The project focuses on direct mailings, newsletters, workshops, conferences, and public meetings to strengthen environmental knowledge among students, teachers, and other adults. The Governor's Office of the State of Wyoming; the Wyoming Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environmental Quality, and Game and Fish Department; and the North American Association for Environmental Education collaborate on the project.
Wyoming Recycling Association $5,000
Leslie Gnidinger, 250 Lincoln Avenue, Lander, WY 82520
Solid Waste Education
This project provides a solid waste education program for the Wind River Indian Reservation, serving a low-income minority population of approximately 14,000. Student workbooks and do-it-yourself educational packets are distributed to offices, classrooms, and homes; educational pamphlets, posters, and promotional materials publicize the program. Workshops for teachers, office workers, and the general public, along with a Recycling Expo, round out the effort to curb improper disposal of hazardous waste on the reservation. The University of Wyoming's Conservation Connection, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, and the Wind River Recycling Coalition are partners in the project.
Wyoming Geographic Alliance $17,621
Linda Marston, University of Wyoming, Box 3371, Laramie, WY 82071
Environmental Education Institute
This institute will use a new Internet component to train teachers of kindergarten through twelfth grade in Wyoming about mountain environs, resources, and development. Approximately 300 teachers will participate through an in-service component to produce new or modified activities, including a digitized map to be used on the Internet in classrooms throughout Wyoming.
Wyoming Girl Scout Council $4,996
Jane Caller, P. O. Box 50307, Casper, WY 82605
No Trace Camping
This project recruits and trains program specialists. It provides the Girl Scouts an analysis of old accepted methods of camping and explores new alternatives for preserving the environment by adopting a "no-trace" camping program. Through this project 455 girls from Wyoming and Colorado participate at a resident camp and 1,900 girls at a day camp. The project includes girls from the Wind River Indian Reservation.
The Nature Conservancy $3,750
Ann Humphrey, HC 30 Box 107, Tensleep, WY 82442
Tensleep Preserve
This project will be a long-term program in which participants will gain an enthusiastic sense of stewardship and an understanding of how biological diversity is important to their lives, while making real and significant contributions to the conservation efforts. The program will reach mostly rural residents, and will build state and local capacity to develop and deliver programs through an outdoor research laboratory. The one-week programs will be developed according to the season and the group's abilities and will emphasize habitat restoration.
Wyoming Geographic Alliance $10,884
Linda Marston, University of Wyoming Box 3371, Laramie, WY 82071
Environmental Education Institute for Wyoming Teachers
The goal of this project is to improve geographic environmental information in elementary and secondary schools. Lesson plans will be developed by twenty Wyoming teachers and tested by approximately 500 students. Project organizers hope to reach approximately 100 to 200 teachers and 600 to 1,500 students during the in-service activities.
Wyoming Nature Conservancy $9,194
Kim Palmer Parfitt, Red Canyon Ranch, 298 Main St., S. Lander, WY 82520
Red Canyon Ranch
No Summary Available.
Uinta County School District #1 $5,000
Craig Patterson, 701 W. Cheyenne Dr., Evanston, WY 82931-6002
Teaching Statistical Techniques
This project is designed to use computers and software as a new approach to teaching students about environmental impacts and environmental sciences and to upgrade the school's current ecology and environmental science curriculum. The results of the project will provide a new teaching tool which will reduce time required to teach students to use statistical techniques when quantifying data.
Little Snake River Conservation District $5,000
Larry Hicks, Box 355, Baggs, WY 82321
Biological Water Monitoring
The purpose of this project is to educate students and residents in the district on the importance of water quality through a program of biological water monitoring that helps to evaluate best management practices related to livestock grazing.
Carbon County School District #1 $5,000
Rawlins, WY 82301
Environmental Tool Kits
This grant funds a project to develop "toolkits" that will be used in model classrooms, grades kindergarten through 8. These kits, on various environmental topics, will be developed by teams of educators, businesses, agencies, and other local community members.
Carbon County School District #2 $5,000
Saratoga, WY 82331
Greenhouse Project
This project will allow students to plan and build a greenhouse. The students will be involved in researching, planting, and caring for plants that grow well in the xeriscape landscape.