This spring, classrooms in New Jersey have been abuzz with talk about the environment as students learn about the connection between their lives and rainforests around the world.

During the entire month of April, teachers at Quitman Street Community School in Newark used the Rainforest Alliance's hands-on lessons, stories, presentations and other resources on the Learning Site to inspire students to help make a difference in their environment. Our partnership was made possible by to the generous support of the Independence Community Foundation.

The Rainforest Alliance's multidisciplinary curriculum offers a wealth of information on forests, wildlife and local communities. It also provides a global perspective on the importance of protecting the world's natural resources, while giving students opportunities for direct action and introducing them to current on-the-ground conservation projects.

"Teachers embraced this study through an interdisciplinary approach that incorporated science, math, social studies, language arts, music, art and world language. The entire building was immersed in the study of the rainforest. Student displays reflected the rich curriculum that evolved as they learned about ways to save the rainforest. I'm forever grateful to the Rainforest Alliance for providing us this great opportunity and look forward to continuing this partnership," noted Jacquelynn Hartsfield, principal at Quitman Street Community School.

Read more anecdotes from teachers and educators who use our curriculum.

You can help us to make the Learning Site better and more relevant to your students. With the crucial feedback provided to us by teachers using our resources, we have developed a number of new materials to help easily incorporate the Rainforest Alliance curricula into your classrooms.

• Rainforest Layers is a guide to the plants and animals that inhabit each of the four layers of a rainforest.
• Rainfall Data provides the monthly rainfall data in Manaus, Brazil to compare with local rainfall data in the lessons featured in the second grade unit.
• Biome Overview is a guide to the major terrestrial biomes around the globe, including information on the different climate conditions and species that inhabit each biome.
• Species List: The Great Kapok Tree helps illustrate the concept of species interdependence by examining which rainforest species in Lynne Cherry's book depend on the great kapok tree for survival.
• Species profiles of the blue-gray tanager and Tennessee warbler provide details on the habitats, threats and lives of these migratory songbirds.

Do you have an idea for a resource that would help incorporate Rainforest Alliance Learning Site lessons, stories and other materials into your lesson plans? Send comments and ideas to education@ra.org.

We received many stories and photos describing how your classes celebrated Earth Day. In addition to studying the importance of rainforests, a number of classes decided to undertake projects that would help make a difference -- teaching other kids in their school, writing letters to companies that are harming the environment and holding fundraisers to help support our Adopt-A-Rainforest projects.

After learning about the threats to rainforests, the Second Grade Wildlife Savers of Brook Elementary School in Cumberland, Ohio collected pennies and spare change to donate to our Adopt-A-Rainforest program. With the help of their families and teachers, these dedicated students reached their goal of raising $100 within a week.

Students in the Riley School in Arlington Heights, Illinois visited classrooms, created flyers and made morning announcements to raise awareness about the importance of rainforest conservation. They also wrote letters to companies asking them to change their practices and donated $175 to the Rainforest Alliance. Their teacher, Mrs. Beth Bobbe said their project helped to show her students that "even though they are only eight years old, they are still old enough to make a difference in the world -- and to help encourage others to make a difference too!"

Send stories about how your students have helped make a difference in their environment to education@ra.org.

Get your class involved in supporting our conservation efforts.

Youth Service America and the Civil Society Institute are sponsoring Red, White & Green Climate Change Grants. Grants of $500 will be presented to young people between the ages of 15-25 and organizations that work with youth in this age group. Applicants should develop a project about climate change that teaches and engages their community and candidates in the 2006 elections. Although parental involvement is welcome, all projects should be youth-led. Applications should be submitted by September 1, 2006.

Road Scholar Teacher Awards afford experienced educators with grants of $7,000, $2,000 and $1,000 to take part in educational travel. Eligible educators include active teachers, principals, superintendents, school nurses, school librarians and guidance counselors with 20 years of experience in K-12 education. The deadline for applying or nominating an educator is June 30, 2006.

PSE&G, in partnership with New Jersey Business/Industry/Science Education Consortium (NJ BISEC) and the Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education (ANJEE), is sponsoring Environmental Education Grants of up to $3,500 for New Jersey teachers in grades K - 9 who implement an interdisciplinary approach to teaching about the environment. Applications must be submitted by June 16, 2006.

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© 2006 Rainforest Alliance